380.604.01 LIFE COURSE PERSPECTIVES ON HEALTH

Teaches students to frame public health issues using a life course perspective. Introduces and examines basic principles of human development across the life span, from the prenatal period through senescence, and the idea that health outcomes reflect developmental processes. Provides a conceptual framework with which to understand the interrelationships among biological, psychological, and social factors and their influence on development and health. Also illustrates the application of this perspective to gain a critical understanding of public health issues.

After taking this course, students should be able to: *Describe the components of a life course perspective on health, the advantages of using this approach in public health, and the challenges involved in doing so. *Demonstrate a basic understanding of the life course and human development and its relationship to individual health. In particular, students should be able to identify the meaning and measurement of "health" at particular life stages and articulate interrelationships among the biological, psychological, behavioral and social processes that shape health across the life course. *Develop a conceptual framework illustrating a life course approach to a specific outcome of concern to public health.