In this course, students gain contemporary knowledge of economic principles such as efficiency and value as it relates to health care. The principles of health care financial management, including accounting and finance, are vitally important to the viability and ongoing operations of a health care entity. Students have the opportunity to interpret and analyze the financial statements, use and analyze financial ratios, utilize variance analysis, understand and implement operating and capital budgeting, and develop knowledge of the business planning process. Students create portions of a business/financial plan and assess the viability of their plan using accepted financial management tools.

Management in modern healthcare organizations has become increasingly more complex and challenging. Leaders in behavioral healthcare management can expect their roles and responsibilities to be multifaceted. In this course, students will explore the commonalities and differences between healthcare management in general and behavioral healthcare in particular. They will also consider what it means to be an effective leader and an effective manager and how to apply theories of leadership to the behavioral healthcare setting. Additionally, the range of management roles and functions will be identified and applied to a behavioral healthcare setting.

Health psychologists work toward positive physical, psychosocial, and behavioral outcomes for individuals, groups, and organizations. Health psychologists study health behavior in individuals and groups, relationships between patients and providers, how individuals and groups adapt to illness, damaging health behaviors, health cognitions, and many other related issues. In this specialization course, students explore the biopsychosocial and social ecological models of health psychology, among others, as well as behavioral and biomedical theories, using them to study health in individuals and groups. Students examine the effects of psychological, behavioral, and social factors on physical health and wellness. Students also explore key health enhancing and compromising behaviors and how they are connected to chronic health conditions. Through the examination of seminal publications and current literature, students synthesize research on these issues in relation to various chronic health conditions.

An overview of marketing and public relations principles as they relate to public health, highlighting theoretical concepts that are commonly used in health communications research, is provided to students in this specialization course. Topics include using social marketing techniques, promoting health literacy, developing community partnerships, and creating culturally sensitive and appropriate promotional materials. Students focus on using social media to identify and advance public health interests and ethical principles. Through case studies, students examine how they can use marketing practices to translate health research into social action and behavioral change.

The focus of this specialization course is the development of leadership competencies and skills to support the delivery of quality health care. Emphasis is placed on understanding tools and applications for improving health system performance. Using a systems approach, students explore the organizational structures that impact health care quality performance and, ultimately, patient outcomes. Using macro (enterprise-wide) and micro (individual and team performance) perspectives, students examine the leadership roles that define, develop, and support decisions affecting quality improvement strategies. Students in this course address how key organizational theories, principles, and concepts relate to achieving the effective and efficient delivery of safe health care services. Comparative effectiveness methods and strategies are introduced to aid leaders in building organizational capacity to utilize data to compete on quality and value measures. Through the development of a quality program initiative, students demonstrate an understanding of the impact an initiative has on organizational structure, its environment, and the system’s leadership.