Public Health & Social Justice:A Course on Health Equity and Skills of Activist Social Change
Shelley White, PhD, MPHProgram Director, Master of Public Health
Assistant Professor, Sociology & Public Health
Simmons College
Disclosure
The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with any commercial interests to disclose
Developing Themes Across Teaching:
Courses, i.e.: Intro to Public Health
Global Health
Health Systems & Policy
Environmental Health
Sociology of HIV/AIDS
African World Perspectives
Health, Illness, and Society
Key Themes: Health as a human right History of public health as a
social justice pursuit Social movements &
potential of social change Assignments: Do Something!
Are We Getting to the Upstream?
Source: Who Will Keep the Public Healthy? Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century. 2003. Institute of Medicine; Gebbie, Kristine, Linda Rosenstock, and Lyla M. Hernandez, Eds.; pg 6.
Social Change requires a SKILL SET!
Source: Me to We Books
Genesis: Public Health & Social Justice
New course at Worcester State University Spring 2015
Fall 2015
Department of Health Sciences Majors/Minors: Public Health, Health Education
Pilot: Incorporate as requirement for Public Health?
Cross-Listed: Sociology
Global Studies
Women’s Studies
Honors
Course Structure Design: ~ 50% academic, 50% in action/practice Seminar style: Mondays 2:00-4:30 Followed by Social Justice Coalition meeting, 4:45-6:00
Student teams required to meet weekly
Class sessions: Large group academics
Skills-based workshopping
Team meetings/coordination
Course Mentors Free the Children/Bentley Service-Learning
Fellow Faculty
Community Organizers
2nd Iteration: Student Mentors
Course DescriptionThis course will examine the history and foundations of public health as a pursuit of social justice. We will consider various frameworks for understanding and advancing justice, equity, and human rights, positioning health as a core social justice concern.
We will then analyze various social justice challenges in public health, from local to global [many examples included].
Throughout, we will consider the power of social movements and community mobilization tactics for social change, as students acquire a skill set for organizing for social justice.
This course will use a variety of teaching and learning approaches that emphasize student-driven learning and active engagement. A large component of the course will be project-based, where students collaborate in groups to accomplish team-based goals, reflecting the participatory spirit of social justice organizing.
Learning Objectives1. Define social justice, relying on historical documents and theories of
justice, equity, and human rights.
2. Describe the foundations of public health as a social justice pursuit, relying on historical and contemporary publications depicting public health’s purpose and mission.
3. Identify and appraise at least five current social justice challenges, which may be local, national or global in scope, and describe how/why they are also public health challenges.
4. Demonstrate skills of public health advocacy, as articulated by the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.
5. Practice team work skills by defining group norms, appraising progress, providing and receiving peer feedback, and creating plans for continual improvement throughout the semester.
6. Design and complete a well-formulated action plan for social change in collaboration with campus and/or community partners.
Content/Topics
Public Health as Social Justice Food Security & Sovereignty Institutionalized Racism Water Privatization Corporate Influence on Health War & Primary Prevention Gender & Sexuality HIV/AIDS Access to Education IDU, Stigmatization & Intervention Fair Trade & Microdevelopment Consumer Activism Health-Based Social Movements
If you give me a fish, you have fed me for a day…
Foundational Readings Social Injustice and Public Health (2013) Barry S. Levy and
Victor W. Sidel (Eds.).
Health and Social Justice: Politics, Ideology, and Inequity in the Distribution of Disease (2003) Richard Hofrichter (Ed.).
Public Health and Social Justice (2013) Martin T. Donohoe (Ed.)
Raise Your Voice: A Student Guide to Making Positive Social Change (2006) Campus Compact.
Advocacy for Social Justice: A Global Action and Reflection Guide (2011) David Cohen, Rosa de la Vega, Gabrielle Watson.
Sociologists in Action: Sociology, Social Change and Social Justice (2014) and Sociologists in Action on Inequalities: Race, Class Gender and Sexuality (2015), Korgen, White and White (Eds).
Many topical article selections…
Teaching/Learning PhilosophyPaulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Skill Set Leadership Styles Working in Teams Action Planning Campaign Design Publicity & Marketing Event Planning Fundraising Public Speaking Community Power Mapping Coalition Building Stakeholder Management Conflict Resolution Health Advocacy Civic Skills Portfolio Design
Source: Me to We Books
Assignment Structure
Attendance, Class Participation & Professionalism (15%)
Individual Weekly Reflections (35%) Summary, analysis, reflection, and thoughtful questioning
of the week’s readings
Reflections and exercises for visioning, planning and assessment of one’s own role in social justice and one’s action project as it evolves over the semester
Action Project (50%)
Action Project Requirements Major requirements: 1) It must raise awareness in our
community about the multifaceted dimensions of the target issue and 2) It must call our community to action on the issue –that is, what is your “ask” of your community?
It must highlight the public health impacts of this issue, and must engage a social justice perspective– that is, it must: 1) utilize a “root causes” or ecological analysis to reveal entrenched inequalities and systemic oppressions; and 2) consider power dynamics that reproduce structures of “haves” and “have nots”.
It must build upon careful research, and situate students as at least one source of knowledge.
It must complement and build upon existing efforts - Rather than “pioneer in a vacuum,” teams should learn about ongoing social movement efforts and strategically align activities.
Action Project Deliverables Action Plan SMART goal and objectives
Work-back Plan – timeframe, responsibility, resources, contingencies
Team Work Materials Leadership styles mapping (Mary Shapiro, Simmons SOM)
Team Contract
Team Continuous Improvement Plan
Final Portfolio & Project Products Final Action Project assessment
Final team assessment
Products – i.e. campaign & outreach materials, petition results, attendance counts, operating manuals, community power map, media coverage, photos, etc.
Action Projects: Spring 2015Launching Campus Organizing1. Social Justice Coalition2. Fair Trade Fair3. Global Justice Speaker4. Action Research: Race &
Community-Police Tensions*
*Partnership:Worcester Division of Public HealthCommunity Health Improvement PlanDomain 5: Health Equity & Health Disparities
Action Projects: Fall 2015
Global Awareness Week
1. Access to Primary Education
2. Food Security/Sovereignty
3. Sustainable Water/Sanitation
4. Economic Security & Alternative Income
Student Feedback Final Course Eval: Spring 2015 (Scale of 5) 4.9: Overall quality of course & learning 4.6: Student effort & involvement 4.8: Learning/active involvement (This course actively involved me in what I was learning = 5)
4.93: Assignments, exams & grading 4.98: Faculty/student interaction 4.98: Communication 4.94: Course organization & planning
Mid-Term Evaluations, i.e. Fall 2015 “My goal in this course is to really understand what social justice is,
how to be active in social justice and public health, and to show myself that I can do that in my field by practicing it.”
“The goal of this course for me is to learn how to effectively make structural change that will help to make social justice a reality.”
Course Outcomes Sparked a social justice movement at WSU, supported
by the Social Justice Coalition An empowered, skilled student collective with solid faculty &
administrative backing Front page news of Worcester Telegram & Gazette!
Students seeking careers in social justice Different goals for Senior Practicum Connections to social justice organizations and mentors
Student confidence as change-makers ‘first time a professor asked me to actually DO SOMETHING’ ‘found my voice & understand my responsibility in social justice’ Applying skill set on campus and beyond… … Solving problems & fostering a new generation of social
justice leaders through SJC
Lessons/Next Steps Social justice learning requires not only content (i.e.
issues/topics), but a skill set (and the opportunity to practice, struggle, adjust, build, and succeed!)
Action Projects require advanced planning – student experience is a balance of prescribed and student-driven
Student reflection is essential – ongoing interrogation of one’s positionality, motivations, and experiences (positive & negative)
Intensive experience for both students and faculty!
Consider 4th credit “lab” to support team work
Designate as service-learning
Size, composition and readiness of the class matter!
Could this work as a major requirement?
How might this inform MPH curricula?
Simmons College MPH in Health Equity
Online MPH launching in 2017 (in-person immersions)
Health Equity & Social Justice infused throughout curriculum
Applied Health Equity Change Project as combined Capstone (Integrative Learning Experience) & Practicum
