How we live has always influenced health. This has never been truer than in the 21st century. Yet the study of health usually focuses on the biology of disease, not on the complex interplay of the social, economic and political, and biological determinants of health or delivery of heath care services. Brandeis University's new undergraduate Program, Health: Science, Society and Policy (HSSP), changes that. This distinctive and fundamentally interdisciplinary major and minor will draw on the biological and social sciences, the humanities, and policy and management studies, to investigate a basic human right--""""""""the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health...without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition."""""""" (1946, Constitution of the World Health Organization). The HSSP curriculum focuses on a broad array of issues, including the social, cultural, economic, and biological determinants of health and health care in the United States and throughout the world. Its students will study the process of protein synthesis and grapple with the concepts of diversity, social exclusion, entitlements, and social contracts. We believe this program will prepare students for a wider range of health-related professions than traditional departmentally sponsored majors. This application requests funds to support three specific aims related to the development and implementation of the HSSP Program. These are: 1) To create one of the core components of the HSSP Program--an integrative seminar on health which will serve as a capstone course for Seniors in the HSSP program, 2) To support course development and refinement over the coming years for the pivotal epidemiology course offered by HSSP, and 3) To develop and coordinate opportunities for a required """"""""hands on"""""""" experience in which students can apply the knowledge they have gained either through an internship in a health-oriented organization or working with faculty to conduct an original health-related research project. Elizabeth Goodman, MD, Professor of Child and Adolescent Health at Brandeis, will lead this curriculum building effort with input from a highly interdisciplinary group of collaborating faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Represented departments include biology, neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, sociology, health policy, and sustainable international development. ? ?
