College of Public Health (Cph)

DRAFT: Subject to change.

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF GERONTOLOGY (GRN) COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH (CPH)

Course Syllabus CPH\GRN 365 – Live Strong through Life (Section 002) Spring2013

Tuesday: 11:00 am to 12:15 pm. College of Nursing Room 213

Contact Information

Instructor: T. Brock Symons, Ph.D. Department of Gerontology J520 Kentucky Clinic Phone 257-1450 X 80198 Email: [email protected] (preferred contact method)

Office Hours: Walk-in – Tuesday 9:00 am to 11:00 am Appointments by email, will respond within 48 hours.

Course Description

Live strong through life is intended to demonstrate what we as individuals can do to achieve and maintain optimum health and well-being through life. The classroom experiences of this course are intended to clearly define the intersection of three health-related pillars: nutrition, physical activity and mental health. This class will explore how the three pillars improve health across life by first exploring how the human body fails (aging, cardiovascular and metabolic disease, obesity, and cancer) and then demonstrating how the human body can thrive through life.

The global objectives of this course are to: 1) Identify and demonstrate one’s options for the achievement of lifelong health. 2) Empower one to make educated health-related decisions for a lifetime of good health.

Course Prerequisites – None.

Public Health Competencies for Live Strong through Life

 Contribute to public health through the practice of sound professional attitudes, values, concepts, and ethics;  Recognize and facilitate diversity of thought, culture, gender, and ethnicity through interdisciplinary communication and collaboration;  Participate in professional educational activities that contribute to the knowledge base and service outreach of gerontology; DRAFT: Subject to change.

 Obtain, integrate and apply cross-cutting knowledge and skills (competencies) supportive of, but in addition to, core public health areas of knowledge: health services and the social and behavioral sciences;

Student Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this course, students will be able to do the following:  Understand how nutrition, physical activity and mental health overlap to improve health across life.  Understand and evaluate evidence-based strategies for the preservation of one’s health and influences that may enhance one’s quality of life at any age.  Understand and be able to explain the health risks that reduce one’s potential achieving and maintaining optimal health and well-being.  Understand and explain common testing methods and guidelines to help them evaluate and improve their health habits.

Textbook and Reference Materials

Required Text: Still evaluating choices.

Reference Materials: Assigned readings and/or reference materials will be in the form of text chapters, journal articles, multimedia CD, and on-line resources. Readings and assignments must be completed prior to the class for which they are assigned. Failure to complete the readings will hinder one's in-class comprehension abilities. Readings will either be provided, placed on reserve in the UKMC library, given as references for you to access through the library, or will be able to be accessed through the Blackboard software system.

Course Requirements and Student Evaluations.

Course requirements involve the following activities:

Examinations Three examinations will be given during the semester. The examinations will be non- cumulative. These examinations are intended to evaluate foundational knowledge gained from class lectures and readings, and will contain a mix of questions including multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer. The first two examinations will be of 75 minutes duration and will be in class. The last examination will be a two hour comprehensive examination during finals week that will give the student the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned over the semester.

Topic Abstracts A variety of topic abstracts will be assigned in this class. They will be based to varying degrees on lecture material and assigned readings, on class discussions, and on personal experiences and thoughts, with the dominant purpose being to critically evaluate knowledge, and to situate knowledge within a variety of applied contexts. These exercises will generally be fairly brief, say, 300 or 500 words or 1 page in length, and will generally be due a week after the date of assignment. Although six (6) topic abstracts may be assigned, only the best five (5) scores will be used toward final grade determination. DRAFT: Subject to change.

Performance (grading) in this class will be evaluated from the following:

Examinations Participation …………………. 10 Topic abstracts (5 * 6) ..…. 30 Test 1 ……………………………. 30 Test 2 ……………………………. 30 = 100 pts.

 Grading will initially be based on a standard 10-point scale, i.e., 90+ = A, 80-89 = B, 70-79=C, 0- 69=E. Depending on the final point distribution, we reserve the right to modify this scale. No modification will cause a grade lower than that specified above.  Attendance will not count directly toward the final grade; however…  Students MUST be present in class for examinations, and when assignment sheets are distributed and when assignments are collected, in order to receive credit. Only excused absences (see Format and Expectations below) are exempt.  Mid-term grades must be submitted to the registrar. This grade will be self-evident according to points accumulated as compared to points possible, and based on a 10-point scale as described above.  Make-up examinations and exercises will be allowed and scheduled as soon as possible after the regular date due, and in a way that ensures maximum fairness to all students in the class.

Instructor Expectations

 Most of this class will revolve around interactive lectures and discussions, and will include involvement of personal experiences/perceptions. Everyone should feel free to participate, and we welcome personal thoughts and opinions. But we also ask you to respect the diversity of the class. Please do not try to dominate discussions, and please try to leave any biases at the door when you enter class. We may at times be talking about some rather sensitive issues, and we would really like to avoid any embarrassment or offense toward any individuals or groups. If anything we discuss in class makes you uncomfortable, PLEASE talk with us about it after class.  You should be taking notes throughout the semester. Note taking is a basic skill in any class and is invaluable in promoting effective learning. We are happy to help you develop your note-taking skills.  Wikipedia cannot be used as a cited reference as noted by a co-founder of Wikipedia! You may use Wikipedia to identify appropriate source material. Remember Wikipedia is not peer reviewed!  We expect you to submit papers using proper English grammar, syntax, and spelling. You are encouraged to use spell check and grammar check prior to submitting your written work. The Writing Laboratory is available to anyone who may need assistance.  Attendance is your responsibility. Absence is irresponsible and a waste of good time and money. If for some legitimate reason you cannot make it to class, you must let us know beforehand so that accommodations can be made. We encourage you to be familiar with the section of Student DRAFT: Subject to change.

Rights and Responsibilities (http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/ ) that deals with definitions of a legitimate “absence.”  Please arrive at class on time, and be ready to start. Please do not prepare to leave until the class is over. If you must be a bit late or leave a bit early, please do so in a quiet manner.  Please avoid any behavior that is distracting to others. This may include idle chatter, reading the Kernel, sleeping, or eating or drinking things that are noisy or smelly.  All personal electronic devices, including cell phones and laptop computers, must be deactivated and packed out of sight while class is in session.  In addition to scheduled office hours, please feel free to contact me via email at any other time if you have questions, if you need help, or if you want to discuss a topic further. I will get back to you as soon as possible.

 Finally, if you have a disability or situation that may somehow affect your class performance, please schedule a meeting with me so that the appropriate accommodations can be made.

Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is highly valued at the University. You must always submit work that represents your original words or ideas. If any words or ideas used in a class assignment submission do not represent your original words or ideas, you must cite all relevant sources and make clear the extent to which such sources were used. Words or ideas that require citation include, but are not limited to, all hard copy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable sources. Please see the University’s policies concerning the consequences for plagiarism. Source: www.uky.edu/ombud/plagerism.pdf Policy: www.uky.edu/usc/new/rulesandregulationsmark.htm

Accommodations

If you have a documented disability that requires academic accommodations, please see me as soon as possible during scheduled office hours. In order to receive accommodations in this course, submit to me a Letter of Accommodation from the Disability Resource Center (www.uky.edu/TLC/grants/uk_ed/services/drc.html). If you have not already done so, please register with the Disability Resource Center for coordination of campus disability services available to students with disabilities.

Religious Observances

Students will be given the opportunity to make up work (typically, exams or assignments) when students notify their instructor that religious observances prevent the student from doing their work at its scheduled time. Students must notify the course instructor at least two weeks prior to such an absence and propose how to make up the missed academic work.

Inclement Weather DRAFT: Subject to change.

The University of Kentucky has a detailed policy for decisions to close in inclement weather. The snow policy is described in detail at http://www.uky.edu/MicroLabs/documents/p-weather.pdf or you can call (859) 257-5684.

Late Work Policy

All assigned work must be submitted during class on the date specified in assignment sheets. Late submission will be reduced in grade by 10 percentage points per business day to a maximum of three (3) days, after which a “0” grade will be recorded. Please meet your deadlines, folks!

Excused Absences Policy

Attendance, excused absences and make-up opportunities for this course will conform to the course policies established by the Office of Academic Ombud Services as found at www.uky.edu/Ombud/policies.php DRAFT: Subject to change.

Course Schedule and Topics

Date Topic

Week 1 Class 2 1.10.2013 Syllabus and introduction to the course. Week 2 Class 1 1.15.2013 Achieving personal health and well-being. Class 2 1.17.2013 How our bodies fail. Week 3 Class 1 1.22.2013 The cell. Class 2 1.24.2013 The inflammatory response. Week 4 Class 1 1.29.2013 The immune response. Class 2 1.31.2013 Cellular biology and physiology of aging. Week 5 Class 1 2.05.2013 Infectious disease. Class 2 2.07.2013 Chronic disease. Week 6 Class 1 2.12.2013 Nutrition – physiology of nutrition. Class 2 2.14.2013 Nutrition – whole foods for optimum health. Week 7 Class 1 2.19.2013 Nutrition – weight management and obesity. Class 2 2.21.2013 Nutrition – chronic disease. Week 8 Class 1 2.26.2013 Nutrition – aging. Class 2 2.28.2013 Test 1 Week 9 Class 1 3.05.2013 Physical Activity – physiology of exercise. Class 2 3.07.2013 Physical Activity – health-related fitness. Week 10 Class 1 3.12.2013 Spring Vacation Class 2 3.14.2013 Spring Vacation Week 11 Class 1 3.19.2013 Physical Activity – endurance and resistance training. Class 2 3.21.2013 Physical Activity – exercise is medicine, chronic disease. Week 12 Class 1 3.26.2013 Physical Activity – aging. Class 2 3.28.2013 Mental Health – physiology of stress. Week 13 Class 1 4.02.2013 Mental Health –mind-body communication. Class 2 4.04.2013 Mental Health – stress management. Week 14 Class 1 4.09.2013 Mental Health – Alzheimer’s and dementia. Class 2 4.11.2013 Mental Health – maintaining your mental edge. Week 15 Class 1 4.16.2013 Exploring alternative medicines. Class 2 4.18.2013 Women’s and men’s health. Week 16 Class 1 4.23.2013 Healthy choices in your daily life. Class 2 4.25.2013 Health and wellness through life. Exam 4.30.2013 Test 2 – 10:30 to 12:30 : College of Nursing Room 213