This course addresses three distinct forms of delivering health promotion messages to the individual consumer, small groups, and large populations of people. The course will be divided into three modules:

  1. Health communication, based on the principles of social marketing and advocacy
  2. Health writing and public speaking
  3. Health communication strategies on an individual level

In this course, students will:

  • Develop foundational knowledge about effective health communication skills from the micro to the macro level.
  • Build key oral and writing skills for communicating health messages.
  • Become proficient in the basic concepts of the helping model.
  • Engage in further exploration of health communication issues that are of particular interest to them.
  • Become familiar with the elements necessary for effective social marketing campaigns.
  • Explore opportunities for collaboration and investigation in an online environment.

“In this course, students learn best practices and evidence-based strategies for designing, delivering and evaluating messages in the field of health promotion. We discover how we can more effectively and strategically promote health at the individual, organization, community and societal levels. And most of all, we learn how difficult and complex that process can actually be.” – American University Faculty Member

Topics covered include:

  • Introduction to health communication
  • The health belief model (HBM) and social cognitive theory (SCT)
  • The transtheoretical model (TTM) and the diffusions of innovations model (DIM)
  • Social marketing
  • Program evaluation, advocacy, and effective presentation skills
  • Health coaching

Learn more about topics and assignments here.

Gain the communication skills to advocate better nutrition in your community. Click here to learn more about the online Master of Science in Nutrition Education or call 855-725-7614 to speak with an admissions adviser today.