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Engaging Students: Health Disparities-Related Course Offerings

UCLA regularly offers a number of courses in different departments on issues related to the BRITE Center’s work and health disparities in general. Here is a list of courses for the 2011 academic year that cover material on health disparities, health status, health education, HIV/AIDS, minority health, and minority health research among others. This list should only be used as a guide as courses may be added or deleted from the curriculum during the academic year.

Courses by Department

Afro-American Studies

C291 SEM 2,Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care
Important aspect in studying to become culturally sensitive health care provider is recognition that barrier and access disparities exist for Hispanics/Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and immigrant populations. There is increasing evidence that race and ethnicity remain significant predictors of quality of health care received. Providers’ recognition of health beliefs, family values, decision making styles, privacy needs, and folk remedies is vital to culturally responsive health care. As U.S. becomes more diverse nation, it becomes ever more important that we increase racial and ethnic diversity among health professionals. Goal is for students who seek to become health care professionals to understand importance of how race and ethnicity impacts delivery of health care. Focus on need to increase diversity of health professions workforce as means of addressing health disparities.

C291 SEM 4 Race, Racism, and Law
Throughout American history, race relations have been inextricably linked to law. Both perpetuation of racism and struggle against it have involved various legal institutions, especially U.S. Supreme Court. Lawyers on all sides have often played pivotal roles in establishing legal standards defining political, economic, social, and psychological status of African Americans (and other racial and ethnic minorities). Historical overview and in-depth examination of selected major highlights of these legal developments. Topics include constitutional sources of racism, legal foundations establishing and eliminating slavery, major Supreme Court decisions before and during civil rights era, and contemporary legal retreat from civil rights protections. Examination of legal processes and legal profession in broader historical and political context. Provides and deepens students’ understanding of this aspect of American law.
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American Indian Studies

C222SL. Working in Tribal Communities: Service Learning
Seminar, one hour; fieldwork, four hours. Enforced requisite: course C221. Recommended: course C220. Participation in community service learning project within Native American communities and organizations where students are mentored and supported by faculty members, other students, and project directors toward completing assigned service learning tasks and contributing to project activities. May be repeated with consent of instructor. Concurrently scheduled with course C122SL. S/U or letter grading.
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Anthropology

234. Seminar: Psychocultural Studies and Medical Anthropology
Devoted to present state of research in psychocultural studies. Survey of work in child development and socialization, personality, psychobiology, transcultural psychiatry, deviance, learning, perception, cognition, and psychocultural perspectives on change. S/U or letter grading.
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Asian – American Studies

No related courses at this time.
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Chicana and Chicano Studies

M106. Health in Chicano/Latino Population
(Same as Public Health M106.) Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour. Designed for juniors/seniors. Examination of Chicano/Latino health status through life expectancy, causes of death, reportable diseases, services utilization, provider supply, and risk behaviors within demographic/immigration changes. Binational review of health effects in U.S. and Mexico. Letter grading.

M128. Race, Gender, and U.S. Labor
Designed for juniors/seniors. Introduction to history and organization of labor movement in U.S. and North America. Discussion of race, class, and gender issues raised within movement, and various strategies for social change and economic equity pursued through organized labor and other means. Letter grading.
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Community Health Sciences

132. Health, Disease, and Health Services in Latin America
Introduction to health, disease, and health services in Latin America, with emphasis on epidemiology, health administration, medical anthropology, and nutrition. P/NP or letter grading.

M140. Health Issues for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Myth or Model?
(Same as Asian American Studies M129.) Lecture, three hours; fieldwork, one hour. Introductory overview of mental and physical health issues of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; identification of gaps in health status indicators and barriers to both care delivery and research for these populations. Letter grading.

187A. Introduction to Interventions for At-Risk Populations
Health and social needs/services from primarily public health perspective, drawing on related academic/professional disciplines. Community-based service learning strategy used to enhance knowledge of concepts covered. As part of service portion, students trained as caseworkers and committee members. Letter grading.

200. Global Health Problems
Overview of health profile of world in 20th century. Global health problems and methods by which they have been dealt in context of Alma Ata goal of health for all by year 2000. Letter grading.

205. Immigrant Health
Lecture, two hours; discussion, one hour. Limited to graduate students. Overview of key topics in public health for documented and undocumented immigrants and refugees in U.S. Demographics, health status, behavioral risk factors, and social determinants, health and human rights, and access to healthcare and prevention services. Analysis of public policy across topics. Builds skills necessary to develop integrated approach to health of immigrant populations. Letter grading.

210. Community Health Sciences
Lecture, three hours. Preparation: one social sciences course. Basic concepts, relationships, and policy issues in field of community health, variability in definitions of health and illness, correlates of health and illness behavior, impact of social and community structure on health status, major contemporary approaches to health promotion and health education at community level. Use of comparative international perspective. Letter grading.

211B. Program Planning, Research, and Evaluation in Community Health Sciences
Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour; outside assignments, eight hours. Requisite: course 210. Course 211A is requisite to 211B. Development, planning, and administration of public health programs in community settings. Introduction to range of research methods and techniques used in designing and conducting health research, with particular emphasis on evaluation of community-based public health programs. Course organized into three modules. Letter grading.

211A, and Biostatistics 100A or Epidemiology 100. Development, planning, and administration of public health programs in community settings. Introduction to range of research methods and techniques used in designing and conducting health research, with particular emphasis on evaluation of community-based public health programs. Course organized into three modules. Letter grading.

213. Research in Community and Patient Health Education
Lecture, three hours; discussion, two hours. Requisite: course 210. Application of conceptual, theoretical, and evaluation skills to community-based health education risk-reduction programs. Computer applications, data management, and research methodologies taught through microcomputer and mainframe computer management and analysis of program databases. Letter grading.

235. Influence of Social and Physical Environment on Racial Health Disparities
Seminar, three hours. Preparation: at least one biostatistics or epidemiology course. Limited to graduate students. Examination of how community stressors and neighborhood resources may contribute to health disparities. Discussion of multiple factors that contribute to environmental injustice and their potential solutions. Do health disparities arise because minorities and low-income populations live in harmful environments? Is relationship between environment and health disparities merely one of potential exposure to chemical/physical hazards, or are there psychosocial mechanisms at community level that act above or beyond effects of physical environment? Letter grading.

M239. Race and Ethnicity as Concept in Practice and Research
Integration of cross-cultural findings in healthcare with current American (U.S.) healthcare system paradigms to facilitate designing culturally based public health programs and train culturally competent practitioners. Letter grading.

257. Program Planning in Community Disaster Preparedness
Lecture, four hours; outside study, eight hours. Requisites: courses 211A, 211B, 295. Health education and emergency management principles combined to design, plan, implement, and evaluate community disaster preparedness programs, including needs assessment, identification of target population, objective writing, program planning, and process, outcome, and impact evaluation. Letter grading.

276. Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Analysis of use and acceptance of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by clients and providers. Core beliefs of CAM, relationship of CAM and spirituality, licensure and certification of CAM providers, relationship of CAM and conventional medicine, impact of CAM on client identity. Letter grading.

293. Social and Behavioral Research in AIDS: Roundtable Discussion
Review and discussion of research programs directed toward identification of psychosocial, biobehavioral, environmental, and community factors related to prevention and control of AIDS/HIV. Letter grading.

M294. Social and Behavioral Factors of HIV/AIDS: Global Perspective
(Same as Psychiatry M288.) Lecture, four hours. Requisites: course 100 and Epidemiology 100, or prior social sciences courses. Overview of social and behavioral factors that influence both transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS throughout world. Letter grading.

427. Reproductive Health in Sub-Saharan Africa
Lecture, four hours. Recommended requisite: course 247. In-depth understanding of reproductive health challenges facing sub-Saharan Africa and main programs designed to address them. Topics include family planning, STIs, abortion, adolescents, HIV/AIDS, and refugees. Letter grading.

451. Post-Disaster Community Health
Lecture, four hours. Requisite: course 295. Examination of how public health research and practices can be combined to address post-disaster community health needs. Identification of disaster-related health problems, data collection strategies, and service delivery approaches in post-disaster environment. Letter grading.

CM470. Improving Worker Health: Social Movements, Policy Debates, and Public Health
(Formerly numbered M470.) (Same as Environmental Health Sciences M471 and Urban Planning M470.) Lecture, three hours; fieldwork, two hours. Examination of intersection between work, health, and environment, analysis of social causes of health disparities, investigation of historical trends and social movements, interpretation of current policy debates, and development of innovative interventions. Concurrently scheduled with course CM170. S/U or letter grading.

477. Health Disparities, Health Equity, and Sexual Minority Populations
Lecture, two hours; discussion, one hour. Limited to graduate students. Examination of health disparities affecting sexual minority populations, category that includes lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender (LGBT) persons. Use of Healthy People 2010 Companion Document for LGBT Health to outline key health issues and national recommendations for achieving reductions in each area. Discussion of considerations for providing clinical care and public health practice in this population, unique social and contextual factors influencing LGBT health, and methodological issues for conducting research among LGBT persons. S/U or letter grading.

485. Resource Development for Community Health Programs
Lecture, three hours; fieldwork, one hour. Designed for graduate students. Overview course of fund and resource development for public health and community-based programs. Lectures and workshops include developing grant proposals, researching funding sources, evaluating proposals, developing volunteer and in-kind resources, and implementing capital campaigns. Letter grading.
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Education

130. Race, Class, and Education Inequality in U.S.
Focus extensively on understanding educational experiences of following groups in U.S.: African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Chicanas/Chicanos/Latinas/Latinos, and low-income white Americans. Examination of how historical development of public education in U.S. has influenced its present form. Critical look at some current issues and policy debates in education, including debate over school reform, bilingual education, and affirmative action. Letter grading.

275. Race and Education
Examination of role of race in educational policymaking. Exploration of broad interpretation of how schools contribute to racial stratification and inequality by linking sociological and sociopsychological theories of race, racial attitudes, and conflict to historical policy analysis. Letter grading.
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Environmental Health Sciences

M471. Improving Worker Health: Social Movements, Policy Debates, and Public Health
Examination of intersection between work, health, and environment, analysis of social causes of health disparities, investigation of historical trends and social movements, interpretation of current policy debates, and development of innovative interventions. S/U or letter grading.
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Epidemiology

227. AIDS: Major Public Health Challenge
Presentation of epidemiologic, biologic, psychological, and clinical characteristics of AIDS and HIV-1 infection. Discussion of policy implications and intervention strategies. S/U or letter grading.

228. Biology of HIV
Overview of virologic and immunologic aspects of HIV disease for epidemiology or other health disciplines. Brief discussion of clinical manifestations and biosafety in laboratory. Letter grading.

232. Methods in STI/HIV Epidemiology
Introduction to range of different methodologies used to collect data and conduct analysis on reproductive epidemiology topics, including methods that produce quantitative data and methods that produce qualitative data, with emphasis on use of methods appropriate for challenging and sensitive research topics such as sexual behavior, abortion use, and sexual abuse. Letter grading.

293. International HIV/AIDS Seminar
Ongoing discussion of worldwide pandemic of HIV/AIDS, with emphasis on problems of surveillance, reporting, and intervention. Discussion of recent literature. Presentations by fellows from other countries. S/U grading.
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History

M151B. History of Chicano Peoples
Designed for juniors/seniors. Survey lecture course on historical development of Mexican (Chicano) community and people of Mexican descent (Indio-Mestizo-Mulato) north of Rio through 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, with special focus on labor and politics. Provides integrated understanding of change over time in Mexican community by inquiry into major formative historical forces affecting community. Social structure, economy, labor, culture, political organization, conflict, and international relations. Emphasis on social forces, class analysis, social, economic, and labor conflict, ideas, domination, and resistance. Developments related to historical events of significance occurring both in U.S. and Mexico. Lectures, special presentations, reading assignments, written examinations, library and field research, and submission of paper. P/NP or letter grading.
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Health Services

140. Foundations of Maternal and Child Health
Seminar, four hours. Introduction to field of maternal and child health, with focus on major issues affecting health and well-being of children and families over life course. Emphasis on health, prevention, and supportive programs at different stages of child’s life; application of life course health development framework to understand health disparities and implications for policy and practice. Letter grading.

206. Latino Health Policy: Theory, Method, and Data
Lecture, three hours. Theory, method, and data pertaining to Latino health policy issues. Topics include minority health disparity model, theories on Latino culture, issues on communicable diseases, immigration, assimilation, and physician supply. Letter grading.

249F. Special Topics in Health Services: Quality Assessment and Assurance
Seminar, four hours. Preparation: one health services or epidemiology course. Requisites: course 100, Biostatistics 100A, Epidemiology 100. Fundamental issues in quality assessment, quality assurance, and measurement of health status. S/U or letter grading.

266A. Community-Based Participatory Health Research: Methods and Applications
Lecture, one hour; discussion, one hour; fieldwork, two hours. Limited to clinical scholars fellows. Mentoring of field experiences with introduction to critical issues in conducting research in community settings. Review of assignments, interventions, and evaluation designs for community settings and discussion of practical issues in partnering with communities. Letter grading.

266B. Community-Based Participatory Health Research: Methods and Applications
Lecture, one hour; discussion, one hour; fieldwork, two hours. Limited to clinical scholars fellows. Mentoring of field experiences with introduction to critical issues in conducting research in community settings. Review of assignments, interventions, and evaluation designs for community settings and discussion of practical issues in partnering with communities. Letter grading.

M274. Health Status and Health Behaviors of Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations
(Same as Psychology M274.) Lecture, two hours; discussion, one hour. Limited to graduate students. Overview of physical and mental health behaviors and status of major racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. Where appropriate, discussion of international issues as well. S/U or letter grading.
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Labor and Workplace Studies

M170. Improving Worker Health: Social Movements, Policy Debates, and Public Health
(Same as Community Health Sciences CM170.) Lecture, three hours; fieldwork, two hours. Examination of intersection between work, health, and environment, analysis of social causes of health disparities, investigation of historical trends and social movements, interpretation of current policy debates, and development of innovative interventions. P/NP or letter grading.
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Latin American Studies

M262. HIV/AIDS and Culture in Latin America
Exploration of cultural, political, and public health context for people living with and at risk for HIV/AIDS and their families in Latin America. Public health aspects, including epidemiology, comorbidity concerns and community interventions, medical anthropological study of experience of those impacted, and grass-roots responses, as well as political/economic context addressing poverty and structural violence. Letter grading.
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Nursing

249. Meeting Health-Related Needs in Underserved Populations
Lecture, four hours. Requisite: course 439A. Examination of systematic barriers within healthcare settings that limit access to those in greatest need of culturally appropriate interventions. Unmet healthcare needs often result in health disparities and compromised quality of life among underserved, low income, uninsured, marginalized populations. Analysis of current evidence-based strategies and interventions designed to address these clinical problems and improve outcomes in culturally competent manner. Presentation of context of healthcare financing, limited access, and public policy. Letter grading.

295A. Nursing Science Seminar
Seminar, one hour. Introduction to nursing research methods, activities, and programs within specialty strands at UCLA School of Nursing: biobehavioral sciences, biologic sciences, health disparities/vulnerable populations, and health services. Exemplar work of UCLA nurse scholars highlighted. Overview of nursing research at UCLA and potential research opportunities for doctoral study. S/U grading.
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Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences

M214. Cross-Cultural Studies of Socialization and Children
Selected topics in cross-cultural study of socialization and child training. Methods, ethnographic data, and theoretical orientations. Emphasis on current research.

M222. Transcultural Psychiatry
Consideration of psychiatric topics in cross-cultural perspective, such as studies of drug use, deviance, suicide, homicide, behavioral disorders, “culture specific” syndromes, non-Western psychiatries, and questions of “sick” societies. May be repeated for credit.

M240. Assessment and Treatment of African American Families
Designed for graduate students. Course aids mental health professionals and trainees in evaluation and treatment of African American families in terms of their cultural milieu, historical background, and economic status. Didactic presentations by instructors and invited guests form basis for supervised evaluation and case management with African American children and families. Letter grading.

259. Legal and Ethical Issues with Vulnerable Populations
Discussion of current laws dealing with vulnerable populations (e.g., children, developmentally disabled people, elderly people); philosophies, ethics, ethical codes, issues, and how to resolve them. Use of videotapes and discussion of cases.

264. Health and Mental Health Disparities from Psychosocial and Cultural Perspectives
Designed for graduate and medical students, resident physicians, and juniors/seniors (with consent of instructor) interested in learning about general, sexual, and mental health disparities. Survey course to introduce students to health disparities that exist for ethnic minorities and factors that may contribute to disproportionate prevalence rates. Review and discussion of research literature, with focus on specific diseases such as HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, depression, and breast and prostate cancer. Discussion of stereotypes and myths about healthcare of ethnic populations. Examination of psychosocial and cultural contexts as potential or contributing factors. S/U or letter grading.

M288. Social and Behavioral Factors of HIV/AIDS: Global Perspective
Overview of social and behavioral factors which influence both transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS throughout the world. Letter grading.

M289. Intervention to Reduce HIV and Its Consequences
Examination of interventions to reduce HIV/AIDS transmission. Review of theory and research supporting efficacy of HIV interventions for variety of high-risk populations. Letter grading.

290. Los Angeles HIV-Community Colloquia
Examination of emerging scientific HIV-related research. Discussion of policy issues, theories, and designs of HIV-related services and programs and shifting epidemiology of the virus and disease. S/U grading.

295A. Substantive Issues in Substance Abuse I
Neurobiology and psychopharmacology of drug abuse, as well as epidemiology and prevention. Discussion of pros and cons of various treatment modalities for drug dependence. S/U grading.

295B. Substantive Issues in Substance Abuse II
Drug use patterns and treatment issues in specific populations such as women, adolescents, homeless, multiply diagnosed, as well as different ethnic populations. Exploration of relationship between drug abuse, sexuality, and HIV/AIDS. S/U grading.

295C. Substantive Issues in Substance Abuse III
Theoretical perspectives on drug use and abuse as well as policy and ethical aspects of drug abuse research. Research design and analysis issues pertinent to drug abuse research. S/U grading.

405. Trauma and Sexual Abuse Research Seminar
Seminar, three hours. Designed for graduate and medical students and resident physicians interested in learning about biobehavioral trauma research. Introduction to DSM-IV TR diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as biopsychosocial sequela. Examination and discussion of child and adult sexual abuse in context of being causative precursors of acute and chronic causes of PTSD. Evaluation of allostatic load, among other biologic variables, within context of physiological markers for PTSD. Review of current modes of treatment, including therapeutic and pharmacological interventions. Discussion of research methods particularly important for trauma research. S/U or letter grading.

434. Seminar: Addiction Psychiatry
Cutting-edge information on basic and applied aspects of addiction psychiatry (neurobiology, pharmacology, genetics, and evidence-based medical and behavioral therapies) and opportunities for participants to collaborate with established scientists in addiction research. S/U grading.

468. Translational Neuroscience of Drug Addiction
Designed for graduate students. Students need cross-disciplinary knowledge to understand drug abuse etiology, behavior, consequences, and treatment. Coverage of major topics in drug addiction by emphasizing use of animal models to understand human addiction and to disclose how findings derived from human studies can be used to expand development of animal models. S/U grading.
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Psychology

179A. Health Behavior and Health Status of Ethnic Groups: Behavioral Perspective
Lecture, three hours. Prerequisites: course 10, junior or senior standing. Survey course of psychological aspects of health behavior and health status in major ethnic groups in the U.S. Emphasis on major diseases outlined by the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS).

216F. Community Psychology
Seminar, three hours. Limited to graduate students. Social problems focus, with discussion of both conceptual and methodological issues that arise when designing and evaluating community interventions. Issues related to conceptualization of social problems as opposed to problems of individuals, and presentation of multidimensional explanatory models and interventions for several social problems. Special attention to ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities and to methodological issues faced in conducting research on these issues. Letter grading.

264. Health and Mental Health Disparities from Psychosocial and Cultural Perspectives
Seminar, three hours. Designed for graduate and medical students, resident physicians, and juniors/seniors (with consent of instructor) interested in learning about general, sexual, and mental health disparities. Survey course to introduce students to health disparities that exist for ethnic minorities and factors that may contribute to disproportionate prevalence rates. Review and discussion of research literature, with focus on specific diseases such as HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, depression, and breast and prostate cancer. Discussion of stereotypes and myths about healthcare of ethnic populations. Examination of psychosocial and cultural contexts as potential or contributing factors. S/U or letter grading.

M274. Health Status and Health Behaviors of Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations
(Same as Health Services M274.) Lecture, two hours; discussion, one hour. Limited to graduate students. Overview of physical and mental health behaviors and status of major racial/ethnic groups in U.S. Where appropriate, discussion of international issues as well. S/U or letter grading.
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Public Health

M106. Health in Chicano/Latino Population
(Same as Chicana and Chicano Studies M106.) Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour. Designed for juniors/seniors. Examination of Chicano/Latino health status through life expectancy, causes of death, reportable diseases, services utilization, provider supply, and risk behaviors within demographic/immigration changes. Binational review of health effects in U.S. and Mexico. Letter grading.

M160A. Health Outreach and Education for At-Risk Populations
First in series of courses to explore prevention of disease in at-risk populations, clinical services and referrals for disadvantaged, and effects of low socioeconomic status on academic achievement, career, and family. Lectures by faculty and practitioners, with field visits. P/NP or letter grading.

M160B. Health Outreach and Education for At-Risk Populations
Second in series of courses to explore prevention of disease in at-risk populations, clinical services and referrals for disadvantaged, and effects of low socioeconomic status on academic achievement, career, and family. Lectures by faculty and practitioners, discussion groups, and field activities including health education. P/NP or letter grading.
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Public Policy

M268. Microeconomic Theory of Health Sector
Microeconomic aspects of healthcare system, including health manpower substitution, choice of efficient modes of treatment, market efficiency, and competition.
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Sociology

230A. Comparative Ethnicity and Nationalism
Preparation for independent research in area of comparative ethnicity and nationalism through close reading of key theoretical and empirical works. S/U or letter grading.
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Social Work

No related courses at this time.
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