82094 - Community-Based Health Promotion

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student:

- knows the main theoretical models and approaches to risk prevention and health promotion;

- knows the main methodologies for investigating health needs;

- is able to identify suitable methodologies for prevention and health promotion interventions;

- has acquired some skills in the planning and evaluation of prevention and health promotion interventions.

Course contents

The course aims to introduce students to some intervention strategies and methods that are part of the professional skills of psychologists who work in the field of prevention and health promotion in a variety of contexts (e.g. schools, health services, neighborhoods, media ).

It consists of two teaching modules taught by the following teachers:

Module 1 - Prof. Elvira Cicognani 

Topics covered:

Health psychology: origins, reference frameworks (public health psychology and community health psychology) and theoretical models, scientific and lay perspectives on health and disease. Health inequalities. 

Health promotion: approaches, models and contexts of health promotion

The analysis of health needs and the planning and evaluation of interventions. 

Module 2 Prof. Francesca Esposito 

Topics covered:

Health and power: critical health psychology and its main characteristics from the point of view of epistemological and methodological perspectives.

Health and migration; health and detention.

Participatory and creative action research methodologies aimed at promoting health and transformative change. Civil society activation processes to guarantee and affirm the right to health.

Readings/Bibliography

Module 1 Prof.ssa Cicognani

Zani, B. & Cicognani, E. (2000) Psicologia della salute, Il Mulino, Bologna. (cap. 1, 2, 3, 5)

Gremigni, P. & Gorini, A. (a cura di) (2022), Psicologia e salute, Carocci, Roma (Capitoli 1, 4, 5, 8, 18, 19, 21).

 

Module 2 - Prof.ssa Esposito

• Main texts (mandatory):

Contestabile, G. (2024). Psicologia della resistenza: di salute mentale, cambiamento e lotta. Effequ. Specifically:

• Section 1 “Della salute” (pp. 11-51, except for the chapter “Danzare nel buio”)
• Section 2 “Dello Sfruttamento” (only the first two chapters, pp. 53-73)
• Section 4 “Della Resistenza” (only the last two chapters, pp. 175-190).

Martín-Baró, I. (autore) Croce, M. e Di Lernia, F. (a cura di). (2018). Psicologia della Liberazione. Bordeaux edizioni.

Chapters:

• Verso una Psicologia della Liberazione (pp. 69-92)
• Analisi della Violenza (pp. 147-201)
• Per una storia psicosociale della violenza (203-225)
• Guerra e salute mentale (227-247)
• Una analisi psicosociale del trauma (249-274)

Jabr, S. (2024). Il Tempo del Genocidio. Rendere Testimonianza di un anno in Palestina. Sensibili alle Foglie.

Sonn, C. C., Fernández, J. S., Ferreira Moura Jr, J., Eviandaru Madyaningrum, M., & Malherbe, N. (2024). Decolonisation in and Beyond Community Psychologies: A Transnational Plurilogue. In Handbook of Decolonial Community Psychology (pp. 1-23). Springer.

Podcast:“The Operative Word!”, Podcast of the International Society of Critical Health Psychology (edited by Dr Britta Wigginton, Dr Ally Gibson, and Dr Brett Scholz). In particular listen to the following: Issue 3, Volume 1, on “Power”:

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theoperativeword/episodes/Volume-1-Issue-3-Power-e2i6bi/a-a6bucd

 

• Texts for further exploration of topics covered in the module (optional, depending on the chosen subjects):

Health and Power: Critical Health Psychology

Chamberlain, K. (2018). Poverty, health, and health psychology: A critical perspective. Psicologia della Salute, 1, 5-18. https://doi.org/10.3280/PDS2018-001001

Farmer, P. (1996). On Suffering and Structural Violence: A View from Below. Daedalus, 125(1), 261–283. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20027362

Morison, T., Lyons, A.C., & Chamberlain, K. (2018). Critical health psychology: Applications for social action. In K O’Doherty & D Hodgetts (Eds.), SAGE Handbook of Applied Social Psychology (pp. 215-231). London: Sage.

Murray, M. (2015). Introducing Critical Health Psychology. In M Murray (Ed.), Critical Health Psychology (Second edition) (pp. 1-16). Bloomsbury.

Riemer, M., Reich, S. M., Evans, S. D., Nelson, G., Isaac Prilleltensky, I. (2020). Community psychology: In pursuit of liberation and well-being (3rd edition). Red Globe Press.

Prilleltensky I. (2012). Wellness as fairness. American Journal of Community Psychology, 49(1-2), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-011-9448-8

Stam, H. J.(2015). ‘A Critical History of Health Psychology and Its Relationship to Biomedicine’. In M Murray (Ed.), Critical Health Psychology (Second edition) (pp. 1-16). Bloomsbury.

Weis, L. & Fine, M. (2012). Critical bifocality and circuits of privilege: expanding critical ethnographic theory and design. Harvard Educational Review, 82(2), 173–201.

Liberation Psychology and Decolonial Approaches to Health Promotion

Arcidiacono, C., & Di Martino, S. (2012). Psicologia della liberazione epsicologia critica di comunità come conquista di felicità, libertà ed equità. Rivista di Psicologia di Comunità, 8(1), 67-80.

Fanon, F. (2015). Pelle nera, maschere bianche. Edizioni ETS. Capitolo IV - Sul presunto complesso di dipendenza del colonizzato (pp. 87-107).

Lykes, M. B. (2000). Possible contributions of a psychology of liberation: Whither health and human rights? Journal of Health Psychology, 5(3), 383–397. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910530000500312

Ramugondo, E.L., & Emery-Whittington, I. (2022). A Decolonising Approach to Health Promotion. In S. Kessi, S. Suffla, M. Seedat (Eds.), Decolonial Enactments in Community Psychology (pp. 191-211). Community Psychology. Springer.

Ramugondo, E., Lepere, R., & Nebe, W. (2017). Decolonising stigma and diagnosis as healing work. Health Tomorrow: Interdisciplinarity & Internationality, 5. https://ht.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/ht/article/view/40246/36428

Samah, J. (2021). Sumud. Resistere all'oppressione. Sensibili alle Foglie. Capitolo: Sulla Salute Mentale (pp. 25-49).

Sonn, C. C., Fernández, J. S., Ferreira Moura Jr, J., Eviandaru Madyaningrum, M., & Malherbe, N. (2024). Handbook of Decolonial Community Psychology. Springer.

Liebenberg, L., Jefferies, T., Eboreime, E. (2025). The Role of Participatory Action Research and Photovoice in Global Mental Health Research and Promotion. In P. Liamputtong (Ed) Handbook of Concepts in Health, Health Behavior and Environmental Health (pp. 1-20). Springer.

Health and Migration/Detention

Esposito, F., Caja, E., e Mattiello, G. (2022). Corpi reclusi in attesa di espulsione: La detenzione amministrativa in Europa al tempo della sindemia. SEB27.

Chapters:

• Prefazione;
• L’aquila;
• Introduzione;
• Il confinamento della mobilità: Innovazioni e continuità nella storia della detenzione amministrativa in Italia;
• “Ormai non ci guarda più nessuno”: un confinamento nel confinamento;
• E dopo il lockdown, cosa?

Prilleltensky I. (2008). Migrant well-being is a multilevel, dynamic, value dependent phenomenon. American journal of community psychology, 42(3-4), 359–364. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-008-9196-6

Podcast Unchained Collective: “Immigration Detention the Hidden Costs”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/immigration-detention-the-hidden-costs/id1731118109

Participatory Action Research to Promote the Right to Health

Bodini C., Cavagnis S., Chierzi F., Da Mosto D., Di Pasquale M., Lucchi F., Mammana L., Marzaroli P., Menchetti M., Musti M.A., Negrogno L., Pandolfi P., Perlangeli V., Pollice G., Quaranta I., Stivanello E. (2024). Servizi di salute mentale e disuguaglianze: dalle evidenze epidemiologiche alle risposte dei servizi. Risultati di un’analisi multimetodologica. https://centri.unibo.it/csi/it/progetti/servizi-di-salute-mentale-e-disuguaglianze

Centro Studi e Ricerche in salute Internazionale e Interculturale, Università di Bologna (2023). L’equità nel diritto alla salute: il contrasto alle disuguaglianze nella città di Bologna. Disponibile presso: https://centri.unibo.it/csi/it/progetti/tutti-i-materiali-della-ricerca-l-equita-nel-diritto-alla-salute

Fals Borda, O. (1979). The problem of investigating reality in order to transform it. Dialectical Anthropology, 4, 33-56.

Fals Borda ,O. (2001). Participatory (action) Research in Social Theory: Origins, Challenges. In P. Reason, H. Bradbury (Eds), Handbook of Action Research, Participative Inquiry, Practice. Sage.

Fine, M. (2016). Just methods in revolting times. Qualitative research in psychology, 13(4), 347–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2016.1219800

Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonising methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. Zed Books.

Torre, S., Benegiamo, M., & Dal Gobbo, A. (2020). Il Pensiero Decoloniale: Dalle Radici del Dibattito ad una Proposta di Metodo. ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 19(2), 448–468. https://doi.org/10.14288/acme.v19i2.1946

Consulting “The Public Science project”: https://publicscienceproject.org/about/

Teaching methods

• lectures
• analysis and discussion of papers in group
• development of an intervention 

Assessment methods

The final exam is intended to assess the knowledge and skills acquired on the topics addressed in the course. The following examination methods are foreseen.

A. Attending students (i.e., those who attended at least two-thirds of the lessons)

• Module 1

A written exam (4 open-ended questions, duration: 2 hours) on the course content, to be taken at the end of Module 1.

The evaluation, graded out of thirty, will consider the completeness and thoroughness of the answers, as well as the ability to critically reflect on the course content (the latter is necessary to obtain honors).

• Module 2

Preparation of an essay (3,000 words) to be completed at the end of Module 2. Students will identify and agree upon the topics to be developed with the teacher and will work on an essay plan during the lessons.

The evaluation, graded out of thirty, will take into account the following aspects: a) Originality in the choice of topic and its relevance to the course content b) Depth of knowledge and critical engagement with the relevant scientific literature, and its application in developing the student's own arguments c) Formal quality of the written work produced

Honors (cum laude) may be awarded if the student receives a satisfactory evaluation in all of the above areas.

The final grade will be the average of the scores obtained on the written exam (Module 1) and the essay (Module 2). If both assessments are passed and the student accepts the result, the grade will be officially recorded on the scheduled exam dates.

 

B. In all other cases (This includes attending students who do not take the exam at the end of each module or wish to retake it, as well as non-attending students)

The exam consists of two parts

A written test (6–8 open-ended questions, duration: 2 hours) covering the course content

A follow-up oral exam, available only after passing the written test, through which the grade may be increased by up to 2 points

A bonus of 1 point may be awarded to students who attend and report during the oral exam on the course (associated with “Community Health Promotion”) titled “Psychology Services in the Local Healthcare System: Models of Operation, Experiences, and Best Practices”, taught by Dr. Gianluca Farfaneti (AUSL della Romagna). The course is open to all Master’s degree students and also aims to introduce the TPV (Professional Training Program) within the National Health Service (SSN). (The schedule and syllabus will be available in September.)

The final evaluation, graded out of thirty, will take into account the following aspects: a) Completeness of the answers b) Ability to critically analyze the content learned c) Ability to make connections between theoretical concepts and apply them to the analysis of real-world cases d) Formal quality of the written exam.

Honors (cum laude) may be awarded if satisfactory performance is achieved in all the criteria above.

Registration via the Studenti Online portal is required.

 

ERASMUS students may take the exam in English.

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

slides (available on IOL online Platform), scientific papers, online bibliographic sources.

Office hours

See the website of Elvira Cicognani

See the website of Francesca Esposito