244827 Incorporating lifespan approaches into our work: The development of an undergraduate women's health across the lifespan public health course

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Alice Richman, PhD, MPH , Health Education and Promotion, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
Purpose: There is a new paradigm shift in public health, specifically within women's health and maternal and child health, in terms of viewing health through a lifespan or life course approach. Not only are we charged with viewing health through this new lens, but also implementing and incorporating a lifespan approach into our research, teaching, programs, and policy. Given this charge, the purpose of this presentation will be to share the conceptualization process, development, and outcome of an undergraduate ‘women's health across the lifespan' course.

Methods: From a public health perspective, this course explores the multidimensional nature of women's health. It explores the various aspects of women's emotional, social, spiritual, and physical wellbeing within the context of social, political, and economic environments. This course emphasizes a lifespan approach, recognizing the many health issues that affect women across their lifespan and the important interplay of health between and across life stages.

Results: The course is partitioned into three distinct sections: 1) adolescents to young adulthood, 2) young adulthood to midlife, and 3) midlife to the senior years. Grading is based on two exams, three related papers, a website review, and class discussion question development and dissemination. Course content/topics, readings, and class exercises will be discussed.

Conclusions: This course development process can be shared and used as a model for other like-minded classes. Hopefully, this course development sharing will generate discussion around how others use lifespan or life course approaches in their own work and best practices in doing so.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related education
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Learning Objectives: 1. Describe the conceptualization process and development of a women’s health across the lifespan public health course. 2. Discuss the content, topical areas, readings, and exercises utilized in the course. 3. Identify a way to incorporate the lifespan approach into classes, trainings, and generally into our own work.

Keywords: Women, Teaching

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a faculty member in the area of women's health and maternal and child health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Individual, social, and community factors related to women's health across the lifecycle
See more of: Women's Caucus