Spring 2025 - HSCI 449 D100

Community and Health Service (3)

Class Number: 3511

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2025: Mon, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    90 units including HSCI 312 with a minimum grade of C- and HSCI 319 or 327, with a minimum grade of C-. Students may be required to successfully complete a Criminal Record Check.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Multi-week service learning project with a community-based partner organization or school arranged each semester. Related class work addresses community partnerships, health promotion, reciprocity, local control, sustainability, participatory research, and skills. Students with credit for HSCI 349 may not complete this course for credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course involves a multi-week service learning project with a community partner. Class work will be practice-based to apply knowledge previously acquired in health sciences undergraduate program. Students will have opportunity for dialogue and reflection addressing issues related to collaboration, health promotion practice, health equity, community engagement, reflective practice and more. How do these concepts show up in practice? What is the role of partnerships in community work and health service? What does it mean to work alongside equity deserving groups? Students will have an opportunity to delve deeper into these questions through experiential learning and gain the skills essential to transition into the field. The service learning project is an opportunity to be exposed to real-world environments and have an opportunity to work with community partners.

Course Delivery:

INSTRUCTOR LED CLASSES: Half of the lectures will be dialogue-based and will be held in person on Monday afternoons at the Burnaby campus. On the alternate weeks, instructor will have regular check-ins with each student team and community partners to support progress of the community projects. Attendance to both sessions is mandatory for all students.

SERVICE-LEARNING SCHEDULE FOR HSCI 449: 
 Each week, students will work in small teams a minimum of 3 hours (per student) on community projects, at flexible hours that adapt to the student team and community partner schedule. Students are responsible for setting up the schedule with the community partner. One member of each team is chosen to be the ‘community liaison’ to ensure that there is reliable and consistent and clear communication with the community partner.

OVERVIEW OF SERVICE LEARNING COMPONENT FOR HSCI 449 The service learning portion of this course will include working with community partners. Students will have an opportunity to gain skills related to health promotion practice, while also contributing to specific projects and initiatives aimed at enhancing community well-being.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

By the end of this course, students who participate and fulfill the course requirements will be prepared to:

a) Describe how theoretical underpinnings of health promotion can be applied at the community level.
b) Work collaboratively in a team and apply course learnings into practice.
c) Understand the role of partner involvement, design and implementation of proposals, interventions or research to address a community and wider health inequities.
d) Apply community engagement principles in real-life setting to mobilize knowledge.
e) Reflect upon personal and professional skills (e.g. collaboration, critical thinking, self awareness, team building) in relation to practicing community-based service.

Grading

  • Weekly journals 20%
  • Team charter 10%
  • Self and peer evaluations 20%
  • Team service learning project 50%

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Course Textbooks, Readings & Materials

Online Resources: The course will use SFU platforms, including Canvas and Zoom for this term. Students are expected to hand their assignments in and regularly check the canvas site for course announcements. Canvas will be the primary route of notification for assignments, grades, and notifications. The instructor may make minor changes to the syllabus throughout the course. Changes will be announced in class and through Canvas.

REQUIRED READING:

Circle of Health Kit: Interactive Health Promotion Framework. Prince Edward Island: Health and Community Services Agency (1996). Available at http://www.circleofhealth.net/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Minkler & Wakimoto (2021). Community Organizing and Community Building for Heath and Social Equity. Fourth Edition. Online book version available through SFU Library.

All additional readings will be made available in class.


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.