This course provides students with both theoretical and applied foundations for understanding and developing health communication campaigns. Students will explore ways to communicate effectively with individuals and populations to improve health and reduce the burden of disease, with applications to issues such as smoking, alcohol use, illicit drug use, physical activity and diet, condom use, public safety, and environmental health. Students will study theory-based principles for developing and delivering health messages to diverse populations, including underserved groups, and will gain practical experience in creating and assessing health communication interventions. Drawing on established theoretical frameworks, the course emphasizes not only the design and implementation of health campaigns but also their evaluation. The course also highlights two areas essential to contemporary practice. Students will learn to design digital health campaigns using platform-native strategies like TikTok storytelling, interactive tools such as chatbots, and integrated transmedia approaches that coordinate messages across multiple platforms. Students will also strengthen their ability to evaluate campaign effectiveness through pre-testing, digital analytics, and behavioral outcome assessment. By analyzing existing campaigns and developing applied projects, students will gain a strong understanding of how theory informs the creation and evaluation of campaigns that shape health behavior.

Note that this information may change at any time. Please visit the MyBU Student Portal for the most up-to-date course information.