Design and assessment of a public health course as a general education elective for non-medical undergraduates
Although public health programs among undergraduate students have been increasing and gaining popularity worldwide, few studies have focused on the needs and structure of public health courses for non-medical students. This study aimed to design a public health course as a general education elective...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1496283/full |
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| author | Xinyang Li Xiaoxi Zheng Boqiang Wen Bowei Zhang Xiaolong Xing Liye Zhu Wentao Gu Shuo Wang |
| author_facet | Xinyang Li Xiaoxi Zheng Boqiang Wen Bowei Zhang Xiaolong Xing Liye Zhu Wentao Gu Shuo Wang |
| author_sort | Xinyang Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although public health programs among undergraduate students have been increasing and gaining popularity worldwide, few studies have focused on the needs and structure of public health courses for non-medical students. This study aimed to design a public health course as a general education elective for non-medical undergraduates at Nankai University, one of China’s leading multidisciplinary and research-oriented universities. Students’ feedback on the course was collected and analyzed after the completion of the elective course. We designed and developed the course under the general education elective course at Nankai University. The course includes four segments: (a) Public Health Fundamentals and Population Research Methods; (b) Chemical Safety and Health, (c) Diet, Nutrition, and Health, (d) Immunology, Microbiology, and Infectious Diseases, spanning 34 class hours (with 6 class hours designated for a flipped classroom format). The teaching content was divided into five parts: (1) Health and Medicine Knowledge, (2) Public Health Knowledge, (3) Public Health Methodology and Philosophy, (4) Proper View of Health Issues, and (5) Values Education. Students’ feedback after the course indicated that Diet, Nutrition, and Health was the most interesting segment, and the students considered basic biological or medical knowledge to be more important than other public health knowledge. A problem-based learning model was implemented for flipped classrooms, and we found that the problem-based learning questions were not only helpful for students’ knowledge construction but also for educators in understanding and managing the learning expectations of non-medical students. We believe that the lesson may guide other institutions in designing similar curricula. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-02f341fec0a142b0a6b74668b58c5877 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-02f341fec0a142b0a6b74668b58c58772025-08-20T02:13:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-02-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.14962831496283Design and assessment of a public health course as a general education elective for non-medical undergraduatesXinyang Li0Xiaoxi Zheng1Boqiang Wen2Bowei Zhang3Xiaolong Xing4Liye Zhu5Wentao Gu6Shuo Wang7Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, Research Institute of Public Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, ChinaInstitute of Health Education, Hebei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shijiazhuang, ChinaTianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, Research Institute of Public Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, ChinaTianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, Research Institute of Public Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, ChinaTianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, Research Institute of Public Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, ChinaTianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, Research Institute of Public Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, ChinaTianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, Research Institute of Public Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, ChinaAlthough public health programs among undergraduate students have been increasing and gaining popularity worldwide, few studies have focused on the needs and structure of public health courses for non-medical students. This study aimed to design a public health course as a general education elective for non-medical undergraduates at Nankai University, one of China’s leading multidisciplinary and research-oriented universities. Students’ feedback on the course was collected and analyzed after the completion of the elective course. We designed and developed the course under the general education elective course at Nankai University. The course includes four segments: (a) Public Health Fundamentals and Population Research Methods; (b) Chemical Safety and Health, (c) Diet, Nutrition, and Health, (d) Immunology, Microbiology, and Infectious Diseases, spanning 34 class hours (with 6 class hours designated for a flipped classroom format). The teaching content was divided into five parts: (1) Health and Medicine Knowledge, (2) Public Health Knowledge, (3) Public Health Methodology and Philosophy, (4) Proper View of Health Issues, and (5) Values Education. Students’ feedback after the course indicated that Diet, Nutrition, and Health was the most interesting segment, and the students considered basic biological or medical knowledge to be more important than other public health knowledge. A problem-based learning model was implemented for flipped classrooms, and we found that the problem-based learning questions were not only helpful for students’ knowledge construction but also for educators in understanding and managing the learning expectations of non-medical students. We believe that the lesson may guide other institutions in designing similar curricula.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1496283/fullpublic healthpedagogynon-medical studentsundergraduategeneral education curriculuminstruction |
| spellingShingle | Xinyang Li Xiaoxi Zheng Boqiang Wen Bowei Zhang Xiaolong Xing Liye Zhu Wentao Gu Shuo Wang Design and assessment of a public health course as a general education elective for non-medical undergraduates Frontiers in Public Health public health pedagogy non-medical students undergraduate general education curriculum instruction |
| title | Design and assessment of a public health course as a general education elective for non-medical undergraduates |
| title_full | Design and assessment of a public health course as a general education elective for non-medical undergraduates |
| title_fullStr | Design and assessment of a public health course as a general education elective for non-medical undergraduates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Design and assessment of a public health course as a general education elective for non-medical undergraduates |
| title_short | Design and assessment of a public health course as a general education elective for non-medical undergraduates |
| title_sort | design and assessment of a public health course as a general education elective for non medical undergraduates |
| topic | public health pedagogy non-medical students undergraduate general education curriculum instruction |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1496283/full |
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