Master of Public Health (MPH)
Prevention. Promotion. Communication.

MPH Concentrations

Health Behavior

Concentration area director:
Dr. Gary Giovino
Department of Health Behavior
312 Kimball Tower
716 829-6952
ggiovino@buffalo.edu

Public health is a problem-oriented field and these problems have multiple determinants, including social, behavioral, environmental, biological, genetic, and organizational risk factors. Solving public health problems requires a multidisciplinary approach. Health behavior is one such discipline. The social and behavioral sciences in public health address the behavioral, social and cultural factors related to individual and population health and health disparities over the life course.  Research and practice in this area contributes to the development, administration and evaluation of programs and policies in public health and health services to promote and sustain healthy environments and healthy lives for individuals and populations. Public health professionals with expertise in health behavior work in a wide range of public health settings and are involved often with implementing policies and programs that promote behavioral change and enhance public health (for example, smoking cessation; increasing physical activity, improving diet, reducing risky behaviors).

Courses and Competencies

Other program items (school policies, waivers, credit transfers, multi-award degree programs, etc.)

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Courses and Competencies

Individual courses have a set of detailed competencies provided in course syllabi.  What follows are overarching statements that summarize these competencies.

Core required MPH courses

The required core courses taken by all MPH students are as follows. They address competencies established by the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) for the five core areas of the MPH degree:  biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health policy and management, and social and behavioral sciences. NOTE: SPM 501 and STA 527 must be taken in the first semester of a student's program. (In extenuating circumstances, students can request a waiver to the first semester requirement from their concentration area director but the courses must be taken by the second year of the program.)

See the course calendar for a schedule of required courses.

The required core MPH courses will enable students to:

  • Apply descriptive techniques to public health data; calculate and interpret epidemiologic measures of association, risk and disease frequency; define and apply the basic elements of epidemiologic study designs; describe bias, confounding and effect modification and the basic approaches for their evaluation in epidemiologic data; demonstrate appropriate inferences from epidemiologic data; evaluate epidemiologic reports; define the principles of a good screening program and calculate and interpret relevant measures; and describe disease outbreak investigations. (SPM 501)
  • Describe the components and major operational features of the U.S. health care delivery system from a population perspective, within a historical context of the technical, economic, political and social forces that continue to propel change. (SPM 507)
  • Understand the nature of public health as a profession, take into account the diversity of risk factors affecting population health as well as the options available to improve population health, and explain the public health strategy and its benefits and limitations for improving population health. (SPM 533)
  • Through the acquisition of basic knowledge in the biological sciences, evaluate and interpret the influence that the biological sciences have on population based health and public health programs and services. (SPM 535)
  • Explain the process of risk assessment and its utilization in decision-making to prevent and control environmental hazards, and describe and evaluate causes, effects, and amelioration of environmental health problems from an ecological or systems perspective. (SPM 549)
  • Through an understanding of the behavioral, social, and cultural factors related to individual and population health and health disparities over the life course, better develop, administer, and evaluate programs and policies in public health and health services directed at promoting and sustaining healthy environments and healthy lives for individuals and populations. (HB 527)
  • Plan, perform, and report basic statistical calculations and analyses and critically read public health and medical care journal articles. (STA 527)
  • Undertake effective data management, manipulation, and analyses and prepare graphic reports at a basic level using the statistical software package SAS. (STA 506)

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Concentration Courses

In addition to the core MPH survey course on health behavior and courses on program evaluation and health behavior change, students in the Health Behavior concentration complete 9 hours of elective courses. Students select from courses examining specific areas of health behavior focus (e.g., eating behavior, tobacco use), practical tools for promoting health (e.g., community health assessments), and health behavior in public health practice (e.g., international public health).

Required concentration course (requirements go into effect for incoming students Fall 2009 semester):

Students select three (9 credits total) of the following courses:

See the course calendar for a schedule of required and selective courses.

The MPH concentration in Health Behavior trains students to engage in theory-based analysis of the determinants of health behavior with a focus on a multi-level, biopsychosocial understanding of behavior. It also provides knowledge of how to design, implement, and evaluate evidence-based interventions that are directed toward identified public health problems in populations. The concentration will prepare public health practitioners for a variety of positions related to community development, health program implementation, and health education.

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Field Training (HB 544)

Important links:

The competencies acquired during field training will vary among field training experiences.  However, there are competencies which are addressed in most if not all field training sites irrespective of students’ MPH concentrations.  These are as follows:  

  • Articulate an achievable mission, set of core values, and vision.
  • Engage in dialogue and learning from others to advance public health goals.
  • Demonstrate transparency, integrity, and honesty in all actions.
  • Promote high standards of personal and organizational integrity, compassion, honesty, and respect for all people.
  • Appreciate the importance of working collaboratively with diverse communities and constituencies (e.g., individual clients, practitioners, agencies, organizations, and researchers).
  • Apply legal and ethical principles to the use of information technology and resources in public health settings.
  • Use information technology to access, evaluate, and  interpret public health data.
  • Describe the legal and ethical bases for public health and health services.
  • Develop enhanced awareness of basic concepts and as appropriate use skills involved in culturally appropriate community engagement and empowerment with diverse communities.

Students in the health behavior concentration should be able to demonstrate concentration-specific competencies in any of the following as appropriate to the particular field training experience:

  • Identify the basic health behavior theory(ies), concepts and models employed at the field training site.
  • Identify the social and behavioral risk factors that affect the health of the individu­als and population evident at the field training site.
  • Identify individual, organizational and community concerns, assets, resources and deficits as they affect the social and behavioral science interventions employed at the field training site.
  • Identify the critical stakeholders at the field training site who affect the planning, implementation and evaluation of the public health programs, policies and interventions at the site.
  • Describe the steps and procedures for the planning, implementation and evaluation of the public health programs, policies or interventions used at the field training site.
  • Describe the role of social and com­munity factors in both the onset and solution of the public health problems evident at the field training site.
  • Describe the advantages of the social and behavioral science interventions and policies employed at the site compared to alternatives.
  • Apply evidence-based approaches in the development and evaluation of social and behavioral science interventions employed at the field training site.
  • Apply ethical principles to the public health program planning, implementation and evaluation activities conducted at the field training site. 
  • Specify the multiple targets and levels of any social and behavioral science programs and/or policies conducted at the field training site.

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Integrative Project (HB 630)

Important links:

The purpose of the integrative project is for students to demonstrate they can develop an integrated approach that encompasses the academic discipline of a public health curriculum to address current issues that affect the public’s health.  It gives students the opportunity to incorporate what they learned from their courses and practice experiences or from prior work experience into a paper that focuses on a specific public health issue.  This also gives students experience in writing and critical thinking, and because they give a presentation on their project, in public speaking. 

Although the integrative project is only 2 credits, this is not an indication of the amount of effort required. In the integrative project students have the opportunity to master a topic of their own choosing, one they can proudly display to future employers and colleagues as an area where they have special expertise. The level of that expertise will be proportional to the effort expended.

The topics covered by the integrative project papers vary widely and likewise the competencies acquired can be expected to vary among projects.  However, there are competencies which are addressed in most if not all projects and these are:

  • Demonstrate effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context of professional public health activities.
  • Demonstrate integration by identifying linkages between the specifics of the project topic and public health disciplines and applying methods and techniques acquired in the program to the specific topic.

By the completion of the integrative project, students in the health behavior concentration will have demonstrated:

  1. The ability to integrate and apply principles, methods, and knowledge from preceding courses to address a specific health behavior issue of public health significance. The format for addressing the problem could be:
    • An analysis of the problem, including its nature and magnitude, possible causes and contributing factors, and prevention and intervention strategies.
    • A grant proposal for research into some dimension of the problem, such as causes, new prevention and intervention strategies, or evaluation of current strategies.
    • Implementation of a program for addressing the problem. This could be conduct of a research study or implementation of a prevention or intervention strategy in a specific target population.
    • A program evaluation proposal in which an evaluation mechanism is developed that addresses the problem.
    • A descriptive epidemiologic assessment of the problem in terms of person, place, and time and assessment of factors contributing to the behavior under study.
    • An individualized project developed by the student in consultation with his or her faculty advisor.
  2. The particular core, interdisciplinary/cross-cutting, and concentration-specific competencies each student uses will vary by project, and the relevant competencies should be determined in consultation with the student’s project advisor and be evident in the final written report. However, it is expected that the project will demonstrate that the student is able to do one or more of the following competencies as appropriate to the project:
    • Apply relevant theories, concepts and models from a range of social and behavioral disciplines that are used in public health into the project.
    • Incorporate knowledge of the causes of social and behavioral factors that affect the health of individuals and populations into the project, as relevant to the project.
    • Incorporate relevant individual, organizational and community concerns, assets, resources and deficits for social and behavioral science interventions.
    • Involve critical stakeholders as relevant to project aims.
    • Describe the steps and procedures used in the planning, implementation and/or evaluation of the project.
    • Describe the social and community factors involved in the onset and solution of the public health problem(s) addressed by the project.
    • Describe the merits of relevant social and behavioral science interventions and policies.
    • Apply evidence-based approaches in the development and evaluation of social and behavioral science interventions, as relevant to the project.
    • Apply ethical principles to public health program planning, implementation and evaluation, as relevant to the project.
    • Specify multiple targets and levels of intervention for social and behavioral science programs and/or policies, as relevant to the project.
  3. Demonstrate integration of preceding coursework by identifying linkages between the specific approaches used to address the health problem and the principles, methods, and knowledge base acquired in the program. This is demonstrated, both in execution of the project and in the final written and oral presentations by:
    • Application of core epidemiologic, biostatistical, environmental health, health behavior, and/or health services administration methods, data, or knowledge as appropriate to the topic.
    • Application of principles, methods, and knowledge from the health behavior concentration required and elective courses as appropriate to the topic.
  4. Demonstrate effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context of professional public health activities.
    • This will be demonstrated by writing a logical, sound, evidence informed, organized, and well-written paper, with acceptable English grammar, style and format.
    • It will also be demonstrated by a well-prepared oral presentation.

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