Community-Based Public Health (CBPH)
Educational Objectives
To develop students’ skills and competencies for careers in both community-based public health practice and research, particularly for applications in underserved urban settings. By marrying training in these two areas, this certificate will prepare future community public health practitioners and researchers to collaborate. The certificate will train recipients in the skills and knowledge necessary for community-based public health program development, management and evaluation, community-based participatory research (CPBR) and other research in community settings.
It will also train students in the following key competencies for community-based public health practice and research, including:
Cultural Competency Skills and Attitudes
- Identify the role of cultural, social, and behavioral factors in determining the delivery of community-based public health
- Utilize appropriate methods for interacting sensitively, effectively, and professionally with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, racial, ethnic, and professional backgrounds, and persons of all ages and lifestyle preferences
- Develop and adapt approaches to problems that take into account cultural differences
Linking Social and Environmental Causes of Disease and Community Health
- Define, assess, and understand the health status of populations, determinants of health and illness, factors contributing to health promotion and disease prevention, and factors influencing the use of health services impacting communities
- Understand the historical development, structure, and interaction of national and local public health and health care systems
- Identify and apply research methods appropriate for community-based applications
Community Dimensions of Practice Skills and Attitudes
- Promote the utilization of leadership, team building, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills to build community partnerships and maintain key stakeholders
- Utilize best practices for engaging in effective community partnerships
- Identify community assets and available resources
Eligibility
The certificate is open to masters and doctoral students currently enrolled in any division of The Johns Hopkins University, with the exception of JHSPH MAS degree students, who are not eligible to apply until they have completed their primary degree program.
Admissions Process
Applicants should review the How to Apply page for information about eligibility and special instructions.
Requirements for Successful Completion
The certificate program requires a minimum of 18 term credits. Students must take all certificate courses for a letter grade and earn a minimum overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 in certificate courses. Any request to substitute a course that the faculty sponsors consider essential to meet the certificate program competencies must be given serious consideration. The student must propose the course to be substituted and present a rationale for the request. In no case will more than one substitution be permitted. All courses for the certificate program must be completed within a three-year period.
The student should review the section of the website that addresses completion before completing certificate program requirements. The student's transcript will not indicate that the certificate program was earned until the Notification of Completion has been submitted, verified by the certificate program and processed by the Registrar.
Course of Study
Students should check the course catalog to confirm when the courses are offered. The term and time may change from what is listed in the table below and students should also check for pre-requisites and whether instructor consent is required.
| Course No. | Course Title | No Credits | Online Term | Campus Term |
Introduction to Online Learning All students are required to complete this free online course during their first term of study | 0 | 1,2,3,4, Summer | - | |
| 550.860 | Academic & Research Ethics at JHSPH All students are required to complete this free online course during their first term of study | 0 | 1,2,3,4, Summer | - |
| Required (Core) Courses | ||||
| 410.630 | Implementation and Sustainability of Community-Based Health Programs | 3
| - | 4 |
| 410.631 | Introduction to Community-Based Participatory Research: Principles and Methods | 3 | - | 2 |
| Any students not enrolled in the School of Nursing are required to take the following practicum course. Students must apply to be accepted into the Baltimore Community Practicum during 1st term; instructor permission is required. Experience prior to enrollment in the student's current degree program is not applicable to the certificate program. | ||||
| 550.864 | Baltimore Community Practicum Please note: This is a multiterm course; students must enroll in both 2nd and 3rd terms. | Variable | - | 2 + 3 (multiterm) |
| School of Nursing students are required to take one of the following two practicum courses | ||||
| NR 500.602 | Public Health Nursing Theory & Practice-Practicum | - | - | Variable |
| NR 500.606 | Public Health Nursing Leadership, Management & Evaluation Capstone Practicum | - | - | Variable |
| Elective Courses: Each student must select at least one course from each of the following three groups of courses, for a total minimum of 10 credits | ||||
| Group I: Cultural Competency Skills and Attitudes | ||||
| NR 110.560 | Program Development and Evaluation in Health Care | - | - | Variable |
| 224.690 | Qualitative Research I: Theory and Methods | 5 | - | 3 |
| 224.691 | Qualitative Research II: Data Analysis | 5 | - | 4 |
| 410.650 | Introduction to Persuasive Communications: Theories and Practice | 4 | - | 2, W |
| 410.651 | Health Literacy: Challenges and Strategies for Effective Communication | 3 | - | 3 |
| 410.690 | Ethnographic Fieldwork | 4 | - | 3 |
| Group 2: Linking Social and Environmental Causes of Disease and Community Health | ||||
| 221.624 | Urban Health in Developing Countries | 3 | 4 | - |
| 301.615 | Seminar in Health Disparities | 3 | - | 2 |
| 305.607 | Public Health Practice | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 305.613 | Evaluation-Informed Program Development and Implementation | 4 | - | 3 |
| 380.612 | Applications in Program Monitoring and Evaluation Introduction to Urban Health | 4 | - | 4 |
| 410.611 | Health, Poverty and Public Policy in the US | 3 | - | 2 |
| 410.620 | Program Planning for Health Behavior Change | 3 | 4 | 1, W |
| Group 3: Community Dimensions of Practice Skills and Attitudes | ||||
| 180.655 | Baltimore Food Systems: A Case Study of Urban Food Environments | 4 | - | 3 |
| 180.880 | Special Studies in Environmental Health Community Outreach* | Variable | - | 1,2,3,4 |
| 221.635 | Advances in Community-Oriented Primary Health Care | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 301.645 | Health Advocacy | 3 | - | 4 |
| 410.861 | Graduate Seminar in Community-based Research* | 1 | - | 1,2,3,4 |
| NR 500.604 | PHN Population-based Public Health Nursing Interventions | 3 | - | Variable |
W = Offered in the Winter Institute held in January in Baltimore
SI = Offered in the Summer Institute in Baltimore
*Offered in all 4 terms, 1 unit per term -- minimum of 2 terms required.
Sponsoring Department
Contact Information
Certificate Program Contact
Name: Jessica Finkelstein
Phone: 410.502.4415
Email: Jess.Kastner@jhu.edu
Faculty Sponsor
Name: Janice Bowie
Faculty Co-Sponsor
Name: Mindi Levin