Skip to main content

COMM 479 Communication for Health Equity

Students will learn to apply an equity lens to multiple facets of health communication including: how race, culture, and bias play a role in patient-provider communication, health communication campaigns, and mediated representations of health issues in the U.S. context. Students will learn about the historical sources and causes of health disparities as well as learn ways to improve health disparities across these areas. Students will also be exposed to a community engagement component and have the opportunity to work with health disparities researchers and organizations.

Prerequisites

4 Undergraduate credits

Effective August 18, 2025 to present

Learning outcomes

General

  • Explain how racism, culture, and other social determinants influence health outcomes
  • Describe the historical basis of health disparities
  • Analyze how communication both interpersonally and in mediated contexts shapes how different audiences receive and use health messaging
  • Apply health disparities knowledge to a health equity issue in the community
  • Create job materials using knowledge learned from class to translate their skills and knowledge to explore career options in health equity
  • Apply equity lenses and critical theories in the context of health communication
  • Evaluate current efforts to address health disparities in the U.S.
  • Develop health communication plans and materials to promote health equity