Contemporary Health Issues

Curriculum guideline

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Course
SPSC 2252
Discontinued
No
Course code
SPSC 2252
Descriptive
Contemporary Health Issues
Department
Sport Science
Faculty
Science & Technology
Credits
3.00
Start date
End term
202120
PLAR
Yes
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
35
Contact hours
3 hours lecture / 1 hour seminar
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning activities
  • Lecture
  • Guest speakers
  • Laboratories
  • Seminars
  • Videos
  • Slides
  • Overheads
Course description
This course will provide students with knowledge of the current concepts in health. Students will learn how to promote healthy behaviour, build healthy lifestyles and prevent disease. Assessment of personal health status and looking at how to maintain a healthy balance with respect to body image, physical activity and avoidance of harmful habits will be investigated.
Course content
  1. Promoting healthy behaviour, health and wellness, gender differences and health status, improving health, behaviour change with respect to health.
  2. The following topics, drawn upon or changed somewhat, to cover current trends or concerns in health behaviour.
    1. Behaviour Change
      • Different Behaviour Change theories
      • Identifying health behaviours
      • Identifying unhealthy behaviours
      • Psychosocial Health
    2. Managing Stress: Toward Prevention and Control
      • What is stress?
      • General adaptation syndrome
      • Sources of stress
      • Stress management
    3. Addiction and Addictive Behaviour
      • Defining addiction
      • The addictive process
      • Types of addiction
      • Treatments and recovery for addiction
      • Confronting addiction
    4. Pharmaceutical & Illicit Drugs
      • Drug dynamics
      • Drug use, abuse, interactions & Drug user profile
      • Prescription drugs
      • Over-the-counter drugs
      • Controlled & uncontrolled substances
    5. Healthy Relationships
      • Identifying health and unhealthy relationships
      • Different types of relationships
      • Managing relationships
      • Birth control
    6. Alcohol
      • Physiological and behavioural effects of alcohol
      • Alcoholism
      • Recovery
      • Managing alcohol behaviour
    7. Tobacco and Caffeine
      • Tobacco and social issues
      • Physiological effects of tobacco
      • Health hazards of smoking
      • Smokeless tobacco
      • Caffeine addiction
      • Managing tobacco and caffeine
    8. Cardiovascular Disease
      • Types of heart disease
      • Controlling the risks
      • Gender issues
      • Managing cardiovascular health
    9. Cancer
      • What causes cancer?
      • Types of Cancer
      • Facing and managing cancer
    10. Environmental Health
      • Population Issues
      • Air, water, noise, land pollution
      • Radiation
      • Managing environmental pollution
    11. Modern Maladies
      • Respiratory ailments
      • Neurological disorders
      • Gender-related disorders
      • Digestion-related disorders
      • Musculoskeletal disorders
      • Managing chronic ailments
    12. Nutrition
      • Health eating
      • Obtaining essential nutrients
      • Vegetarianism
      • Food Safety: Increasing concerns
      • Managing eating behaviour
    13. Weight Balance and Body Image
      • Body image
      • Risk factors for obesity
      • Managing weight
      • Eating disorders
    14. Personal Fitness
      • Benefits of regular physical activity
      • Fitness Parameters
      • Fitness-related injuries
      • Planning a fitness program
      • Managing fitness behaviour
    15. Health Aging
      • What is normal aging?
      • Health care costs for aging
      • Health challenges of the elderly
      • Actions for healthy aging
      • Reducing age-related risks
    16. Death and Dying
      • Understanding death
      • Process of dying
      • Hospice and palliative care
      • Right to die and euthanasia
      • Managing life and death decisions

 

Learning outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, students will:
1. Possess the basic knowledge of contemporary health concepts.
2. Be able to utilize this knowledge to critically analyze their behaviours as they relate to health and 
fitness.
3. Be aware of the changing health care system.
4. Be familiar with how to build a healthy lifestyle.
5. Be familiar with preventing and fighting disease.
6. Be familiar with their own health status and related family history and attempt to modify their status to suit 
future needs.

At the conclusion of this course, students will:

  1. Possess the basic knowledge of contemporary health concepts.
  2. Be able to utilize this knowledge to critically analyze their behaviours as they relate to health and fitness.
  3. Be aware of the changing health care system.
  4. Be familiar with how to build a healthy lifestyle.
  5. Be familiar with preventing and fighting disease.
  6. Be familiar with their own health status and related family history and attempt to modify their status to suit future needs.
Means of assessment

The selection of evaluation tools for this course is based upon adherence to Douglas College evaluation policy regarding number and weighing of evaluations. For example, a course of three credits or more should have at least three separate evaluations. 

The following is presented as an example assessment format for this course:

Mid-term Evaluation 20%
Major Assignments (2) 45%
Final Examination 25%
Preparation and Participation 10%
TOTAL: 100%
Textbook materials
Will be decided by course instructors. Potential resources include:
Donatelle, R.J., & Thompson, A. (2011). Health: The Basics (5th Canadian edition). Boston, MA: Allyn & 
Bacon.

Will be decided by course instructors. Potential resources include:

  • Donatelle, R.J., & Thompson, A. (2011). Health: The Basics (5th Canadian edition). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.