UNST 421: Marketing Public Health Capstone
CRN 44137; Section 519 MW 9:00am to 11:20am
Winter Term 2012 Location: NH 362
Instructor: Debbie Kaufman Phone: 503-725-5479
Office: URBN 471A Office Hours: TR 10:30am to noon
Email: via D2L (preferred) or
Goals of the Capstone Program
· Inquiry and Critical Thinking - Students will learn various modes of inquiry through interdisciplinary curricula—problem-posing, investigating, conceptualizing—in order to become active, self-motivated, and empowered learners.
· Communication - Students will enhance their capacity to communicate in various ways—writing, graphics, numeracy, and other visual and oral means—to collaborate effectively with others in group work, and to be competent in appropriate communication technologies.
· The Diversity of Human Experience - Students will enhance their appreciation for and understanding of the rich complexity of the human experience through the study of differences in ethnic and cultural perspectives, class, race, gender, sexual orientation, and ability.
· Ethics and Social Responsibility - Students will expand their understanding of the impact and value of individuals and their choices on society, both intellectually and socially, through group projects and collaboration in learning communities.
Our Community Partner
This term, we will be working with the Multnomah County Health Department Tobacco Control Program. Our contacts there will be Erik Vidstrand, Becky Wright and Amy Gredler.
Class Description and Outcomes
We will begin with a general exploration of public health and marketing. What does it mean to put these two concepts together? Why do we need to market public health? What is the role of public health in social change? What are the challenges?
The rest of the term will be spent examining tools we can use to market public health and improve our effectiveness. A list of the tools we will be covering and the approximate order can be found in the schedule below.
We will wrap up our topics with a discussion of how we can more effectively “market” or promote the institution of public health. The last weeks of the term will be student-led: our Taste Test Event; Book Group Reports; Individual Research Project Presentations; and, the presentation of your work to the Community Partners.
Learning Outcomes
· Students recognize and describe the importance of marketing and marketing skills in public health work, including challenges.
· Students identify and demonstrate a variety of tools used for marketing and influencing public health, from individual behavior change to policy advocacy.
· Students recognize the challenges and opportunities presented by our Community Partner’s work, and the specific project for the term.
· Students produce a “virtual notebook” for the Community Partner of tobacco industry strategies for marketing to young adults in Multnomah County.
During the term, we will be discussing some controversial subjects about which people may have strong opinions. Our goal is to learn from each other, not to debate. It is expected that everyone will show respect for other opinions, students, guests and instructors at all times.
Reading Materials/Articles
§ Required Course Packet from Clean Copy
§ All other reading material can be found via links on D2L
§ One of the three choices for the Book Groups (see below)
For those interested in further work in this field, I recommend:
Marketing Public Health: Strategies to Promote Social Change;
Michael Siegel and Lynne Doner Lotenberg;
2nd Edition; Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury, MA; 2007.
Expectations and Grading
Ideally, all students will attend all class sessions. If you must miss class, please notify me in advance, or promptly, if something unexpected comes up. You may have up to two absences where you will receive one of the two participation points if you have notified me. In order to receive full participation points, you must be on time and stay for the entire class period. If you are ill, please stay home and take care of yourself! If you have extraordinary circumstances, we will work together to figure out a fair solution. Attendance will be taken starting the second week, and your two lowest grades for participation will be dropped at the end of the term.
It is my intention to create a classroom environment where everyone feels comfortable speaking and listening, and considering a variety of viewpoints. Everyone is encouraged to participate in dialogue rather than debate, the differences of which will be covered in class.
There are two aspects to participation in class: speaking and listening. A range of diverse perspectives greatly enriches the class and what we all get out of it. Speaking is important so we have diverse perspectives to consider; listening is where the learning occurs. I expect that you will have done the reading before class, and come ready to contribute to a discussion. When doing the reading, make notes on the following: ~How would I explain these ideas in my own words?
~What questions do I have about these ideas?
~Did I find anything surprising?
~Do I disagree with anything written here?
~In what ways can I relate this to my life? Or, not?
Grading Standards
Item / Occurrences / Points Each / Total PointsClass Participation (drop 2 lowest of 17) / 15 / 2 / 30
Personal Reflections / 4 / 5 / 20
Current Campaign / 1 / 5 / 5
Book Group / 1 / 20 / 20
Individual Research Project / 1 / 20 / 20
Taste Test Event / 1 / 5 / 5
Community Partner Work / 1 / 100 / 100
Total Potential Points / 200
A 92% or above B- 80% to 81%
A- 90% to 91% C+ 78% to 79%
B+ 88% to 89% C 72% to 77%
B 82% to 87% C- 70% to 71%
Class Courtesies
Out of respect for me, our guest speakers and your classmates, I ask that you please abide by the following courtesies:
· Arrive on time and ready to participate;
· Turn off cell phone and other electronic device noises;
· Keep laptops off and closed;
· If you must attend to something outside of class activities (such as texting, emailing, phoning, working on something for another class), please step outside the classroom;
· Be willing to devote this two and hours and 20 minutes out of your day to our topics and class activities.
My goal is to make this class and our work worthwhile for all involved, including our community. By fulfilling these responsibilities, you will get more out of the class, be in a position to contribute more to our Community Partners, and get a better grade!
Assignments and Projects
In order to receive the maximum points on assignments, please pay attention to:
1. The instructions! We must apply fair and consistent standards for grading, so we have to base the assessment of everyone’s work on one set of instructions.
2. Academic standards, including grammar, spelling, citations, honesty, professionalism and creativity.
3. Adding value. What unique perspective or information do you bring? Do you have a particular experience or have you found something through research that you would like to share? (Don’t forget the citation!) You can also demonstrate that you have done the reading and been attentive in class by incorporating the concepts in your writing. (However, please don’t simply repeat exactly what is in the assigned reading or a detailed summary of a class discussion.) While going over your final draft, ask yourself: What value have I added? What will the person reviewing this assignment learn?
Assignments that are creative and show initiative in learning about the topic will receive the most points. If you are unclear about my expectations, please ask! I am happy to discuss them with you.
Here is a list of assignments for the term with short descriptions. More details will be handed out at the time the assignments are made. Detailed descriptions will be posted on D2L.
1. Current Campaigns (5 points) – This will be a short report on a current social marketing campaign of interest to you, and supporting specific communities. We will begin class each day with one of these reports.
2. Personal Reflections (5 points each) – These are short writing assignments that will give you the opportunity to apply some of the concepts we are learning about in class to your personal situation or interests.
3. Book Groups (20 points) – Participants will read the selected book, pose questions and discuss how the book relates to public health, and prepare a short book review for the class. These books are available from the Multnomah County Library and via the PSU Library, so with some planning, you shouldn’t have to purchase them – although they are great public health books for your own library! The book choices are:
a. “The Ghost Map” by Steven Johnson;
b. “The Blue Zones” by Dan Beuttner; or,
c. “The Tipping Point” by Malcom Gladwell.
4. Individual Research Project (20 points) – What are the health-related issues you wonder about? Is it really more expensive to buy organic? Are expensive juices better than the major brands? Does frozen or canned fruit have the same nutrition as fresh? What’s the deal with plastics? Is it possible to eat a healthy meal at a fast food restaurant? What is really in energy drinks? You do the research and enlighten the rest of the class!
5. Taste Test Event (5 points) – Research shows that one of the best ways to get people to eat more fruits and vegetables is to provide samples. We’ll test it out with our own sampling of some favorites and maybe some things you’ve never tried before!
6. Community Partner Projects (100 points) – This term, we will be supporting the Multnomah County Health Department Tobacco Control Program by creating a virtual notebook of tobacco industry strategies to market to young adults in Multnomah County.
Communication Tools
I enjoy communicating with students during the term and appreciate being updated on things outside of class that might impact your participation or the quality of your work. I think you will find that I am quite flexible if you communicate well, and in a timely manner. Please don’t wait until the last week of class to let me know that you are struggling in some way with this course. If you let me know immediately, we will have more options than if you wait until the end of the term.
D2L: I will use D2L regularly for communication purposes, to post assignments and your points, and for general announcements for the class. You are responsible for knowing the information posted so, please check it daily! If you are having any problems with access, please let me know. The people at the computer help desk in the basement of Smith Center (; x54357) and the Tutoring Center (SMSU 439, x55462) can help with D2L. You may also communicate with your classmates via D2L.
Email: Please use D2L to email me. I check my email several times a day during the week. I will not necessarily check my email regularly on the weekends. I will also use D2L to email you. If you have your D2L email forwarded to another address, you cannot “reply” from the other email address. You have to go into D2L to reply. I use my PSU email for many different activities that I’m involved with here on campus. Using D2L email helps me to keep my correspondence with students separate, and allows me to better track grading and requests. Please help me with this by using D2L email!
Phone: Please feel free to call or leave a voice message at my PSU number listed above if you would like to talk. I do not usually check my PSU voice mail on days I am not on campus. If you have an emergency or an urgent question, you can use my cell phone number between 9am and 8pm: 503-833-2802.
Appointments: My office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30am to noon. If these times don’t work for you, I would be happy to schedule an appointment. I am on campus Monday through Thursday; feel free to drop by my office to see if I’m around.
Week-by-Week Topic Outline
This is a tentative schedule. It will be adjusted for our community partner work, and based on our progress with the topics. Detailed checklists of reading and assignments can be found for each week on D2L.
Week 1 (Jan 9 and 11)
· Introductions
· Course Overview
· Meet the Community Partners
Week 2 (Jan 18)
· No class on the 16th, MLK Holiday
· Why market public health?
· What are the challenges?
· What is marketing for social change?
Week 3 (Jan 23 and 25)
· Tool: Customer-Centered Mindset
· Tool: MOA – Motivation-Opportunity-Ability
· Community Partner “Training”
Week 4 (Jan 30 and Feb 1)
· Tool: Social Marketing
· Tool: Behavior change models
· Tool: Core values
· Due: Personal Reflection #1
Week 5 (Feb 6 and 8)
· Tool: Understanding the Social Determinants of Health
· Tool: Understanding Health Disparities
· Tool: Community Asset Mapping
· Due: Personal Reflection #2
Week 6 (Feb 13 and 15)
· Tool: Policy – Public and Non-Public
· Tool: Public Policy Advocacy
· Tool: Media advocacy
· Due: Personal Reflection #3
Week 7 (Feb 20 and 22)
· Tool: Understanding privilege