82094 - Community-Based Health Promotion

Learning outcomes

The course aims to introduce students to some intervention strategies and methods that are part of the professional competences of psychologists who work in the field of prevention and health promotion in a variety of contexts (school, health services, local communities, media).

Course contents

The Course is delivered in the I semester (starting from 28 September 2021), on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon (h. 14-17). It is addressed to II year students of the Master programme in School and Community Psychology. Classes will be in Cesena, Department of Psychology, Piazza Aldo Moro, 90, Cesena (FC), aula F.

Health promotion from the theoretical approach of social psychology and community health psychology: historical developments, specificities, new challenges. Analysis of the "determinants" of health and illness and of health behaviors, at macrosocial, contextual, psychosocial and individual psychological level. Assessement of health needs. Behavior change techniques. Participatory planning of preventive and health promotion interventions. Risk perception and communication. Technological innovations and health promotion. Assessment of intervention programmes.

Readings/Bibliography

(a) Social psychological approaches to health promotion:

•Stroebe (2011). Social psychology and health (3rd ed). Open University Press (chapters will be indicated before the beginning of the course on "Virtuale")

(b) Community psychology approaches to health promotion

•Cicognani (2013) Inteventi di comunità per la promozione della salute, in Ricci Bitti e Gremigni (a cura di), Psicologia della salute. Roma, Carocci.

(c) Information and useful materials on need analysis, project planning and evaluation

https:// [https://ctb.ku.edu/en]ctb.ku.edu/en [https://ctb.ku.edu/en] (community toolbox)

www.dors.it

(d) Evaluation of health promotion interventions

•Zani & Cicognani (2009). Evaluating the Participatory Process in a Community-Based Health Promotion Project. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the community, 38:1, 55-69.

•Cicognani, E., Albanesi, C., Valletta, L., Prati, G. (2019). Quality of collaboration within health promotion partnerships: Impact on sense of community, empowerment, and perceived projects' outcomes. Journal of Community Psychology, 48(2):323-336.

•Ledderer, L., Kjær, M., Madsen, E. K., Busch, J., & Fage-Butler, A. (2020). Nudging in Public Health Lifestyle Interventions: A Systematic Literature Review and Metasynthesis. Health Education & Behavior, 1090198120931788.

oppure in alternativa:

Forberger, S., Reisch, L., Kampfmann, T., & Zeeb, H. (2019). Nudging to move: a scoping review of the use of choice architecture interventions to promote physical activity in the general population. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 16(1), 1-14

•Course slides

NOTE: materials will be uploaded on "Virtuale" platform

Teaching methods

The following instruments will be used:

• lectures
• group discussions
• case study analysis
• critical analysis of papers and projects

For the group work students are suggested to bring their laptops.

Assessment methods

 

The final exam aims to assess students' knowledge of the psychosocial and community psychology approaches to health promotion; of the "determinants" of health and health behaviors; of basics of project planning and evaluation, on methods for health promotion interventions.

(a)students attending classes

The exam includes two parts.

a)project work (50%) to be conducted in small groups (3-4 members). Students will be requested to develop the analysis of a health issue, starting from the materials provided, and to elaborate intervention proposals. The results will be described in a 20 pages report, to be preliminarily presented and discussed during class (during the last lectures), before finalising.

b)oral exam (50%) on the contents of the lectures and the reference list. A possibility will be offered to plan the exam in December.

The final grade will be based on the following criteria: a)completeness of responses; b)capacity of critical analysis on the contents; c) capacity to establish connections among the theoretical concepts and to apply them to the analysis of concrete cases; d) formal characteristics of the outputs; e)the degree of involvement and active participation during classes. Honors will be allowed in case of satisfactory evaluation of all the previous points.

(b)students not attending classes

The exam will include two parts:

1)Written exam (10 open ended questions) (2 hrs), on the contents discussed in the course and compulsory readings.

2)Oral exam, in which it will be possible to increase the grade of max 2 points. Additional readings for oral exam will be provided in the reading list.

The final grade will be based on the following criteria: a)completeness of responses; b)capacity of critical analysis on the contents; c) capacity to establish connections among the theoretical concepts and to apply them to the analysis of concrete cases; d) formal characteristics of the outputs.

Students should register for the exam on Studenti online platform.

Erasmus students can take the exam in English.

Teaching tools

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

Office hours

See the website of Elvira Cicognani