SEF-EDG8067 - Certificate in Women's Health Issues

Course Description

Women represent over half of the global population. While women have a longer life expectancy than men in most every country, they don't necessarily get to enjoy healthier lives. Millions of women suffer from health issues each year throughout the world – health issues that would not affect them if they were men. Women and their health issues have traditionally been neglected both nationally and globally. Poverty, scarce education or economic opportunities, gender bias, gender discrimination, unjust laws, and human rights violations impede advancements in women's health worldwide. The ability to effectively communicate their needs also impacts women's health. When women's health concerns, women's rights, and empowerment are made a priority, the result is immense improvements in the health and well-being of women and their children on a global scale.

Course Outline

Lesson 01 - Women's Health Issues

Women represent over half of the global population. Despite this, women and their health issues have traditionally been neglected both nationally and globally. Although this is slowly changing, many of the health issues facing women today do not receive the appropriate attention they deserve and women's health suffers as a result. The major health issues facing women include heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, urinary incontinence, and skin conditions, as well as a variety of gynecological health concerns (including sexually transmitted diseases).

Lesson 02 - Oral Health: Beautiful Smiles for Life

Oral health can affect virtually every other aspect of our health. Good oral health can not only prevent disease in the mouth but it can also prevent many chronic diseases. Good oral health is more than "pretty teeth" and affects our ability to speak, smile, eat, and show emotions. It impacts self-esteem, school performance, and attendance at school and work.

Lesson 03 - Women's Mental Health and Wellness

Good mental health is as important as physical and spiritual health and research continues to show how closely mental, physical, and spiritual health are connected. A healthy mental state allows us to enjoy life, good physical health, helps us cope with life's challenges, and provides a feeling of well-being and inner strength. A healthy mental state also supports family, friends, and communities. Gender is a crucial determinant of mental health and mental illness. Gender bias occurs in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.

Lesson 04 - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Health Issues

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning individuals—often referred to under the umbrella acronym LGBTQ—are becoming more visible and acknowledged in societies both in the United States and throughout the world. Yet, because of the discrimination and stigma often associated with who LGBTQ people are, healthcare providers and researchers still do not have complete information about their health status. The LGBTQ community is often combined as a single group in research studies and for advocacy, but each is a distinct population with its own unique health needs.

Lesson 05 - International Women's Health—Challenges and Opportunities

While women have a longer life expectancy than men in most every country, they don't necessarily get to enjoy healthier lives. Millions of women suffer from health issues each year throughout the world—health issues that would not affect them if they were men. Poverty, scarce education or economic opportunities, gender bias, gender discrimination, unjust laws, and human rights violations impede advancements in women's health worldwide. When women's health concerns, women's rights, and empowerment are made a priority, the result is immense improvements in the health and well-being of women and their children on a global scale.

Lesson 06 - Effective and Empowering Communication

Communication is how people exchange information, opinions, and ideas and it links all human beings together. Intimate, complex, and necessary for our very survival, communication can profoundly affect our overall health and wellness. Today, communication not only transmits information and knowledge, but more importantly, it helps us relate to each other as human beings around the globe in a context of relationships, cultures, families, organizations, and nations. What we say, how we say it, and what we mean are critical and can be life changing.

Lesson 07 - Self-Care for Health and Well-Being

Caring for yourself is one of the most important things you can do for yourself, and it is also one of the easiest things to forget to do or put aside in favor of tending to others. Good self-care involves small self-care habits that, when done regularly, have the ability to greatly enhance your body, mind, and spirit. When you care effectively for yourself, you benefit and so do others in your life.

Learner Outcomes

The outcome of this course is for the learner to describe key health issues facing women, both globally and nationally. This course addresses physical and mental health issues for women; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning health issues; effective and empowering communication; and self-care for health and well-being.

Notes

This is an asynchronous online course offered through the third party vendor ed2go. This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook. The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online. There are no set meeting times and you may work on the material whenever it is convenient for you. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

Completion Requirements:

You must complete all lessons to receive your certificate. You must pass the final exam in all lessons with a score of 80% or higher AND complete the Evaluation Form in order to receive your Certificate of Completion. Finals are graded as Pass or No Pass. Receipt of your certificate indicates successful completion of the course and that you have passed all final exams with a score of 80% or greater. You may retake final exams as many times as necessary within the duration of the course at no additional charge.