HNE-33306 Public Health Nutrition: Development of Nutrition Intervention Programmes

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

HNE-20306 Nutrition Behaviour; MCB-10806 Social Psychology; HNE-31006 Study designs and interpretation in epidemiology and public health; HNE-33806 Public Health Practice.

Contents:

The courses Public Health Nutrition and Public Health Practice are the core-courses for future public health nutritionists aiming at a career in the public and private sector in developing and developed countries (western and non-western). In the course Public Health Nutrition students learn how to systematically develop and implement nutrition intervention programmes using the Intervention Mapping (IM) approach.
Intervention programmes promote health by directing individuals' eating behaviour and influencing the social and physical environment. Students learn to identify the determinants of a health problem in terms of nutritional and functional status, nutrition behaviour, environmental factors, behavioural determinants and environmental determinants. Accordingly, students learn how to develop an intervention programme by formulating programme objectives, select intervention methods and strategies, and plan for adoption, implementation and sustainability.
Within the course, illustrations of organisations working in the field of public health nutrition are presented. The following organisations contribute in this or subsequent years: governmental (ministries, local governments, GGD) and non-governmental organisations (NGO's), health promotion organisations (Dutch Nutrition Centre), industrial parties, agricultural branch organisations (LTO), and marketing (retail).

Learning outcomes:

- understand the need for systematic planning of health and nutrition promotion programmes and the steps and approaches in the Intervention Mapping framework;
- show they can apply a socio-ecological approach in planning of health and nutrition promotion programmes;
- understand the need for involvement of all relevant stakeholders in programme planning;
- demonstrate they can conduct a needs assessment and apply theories and evidence from quantitative and qualitative research in this phase;
- demonstrate they can formulate programme objectives;
- demonstrate they can select theoretical methods and practical strategies and apply theories in this phase;
- demonstrate they can compose an intervention plan including a mix of appropriate interventions;
- demonstrate they can design a plan for adoption, implementation and maintenance.

Activities:

Students will apply the theory about intervention planning from lectures, knowledge clips and readings in a group assignment.
A fully completed workbook is the final deliverable of the assignment.
The course includes 10 plenary lectures of 2 hours, 2 plenary workshops of 2 hours, and a plenary presentation of the group assignment.
Students are expected to work in groups for 8-12 hours a week of which one hour is guided by a tutor.

Examination:

The assessment of this course is based on a written exam and the group assignment, which will be weighed equally (each 50%).
However, a mark of 5.5 for each individual part is required to successfully complete the course.

Literature:

Course reader including literature will be available at the WUR-shop, Forum.
The course is supported by a digital Blackboard learning environment
Bartholomew LK, Parcel G et al. (2011). Planning health promotion programs. An Intervention Mapping Approach (recommended).