DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH

WORD FROM THE HEAD OF DEPARTMENT

You are welcome to the Department of Family and Community Health, School of Public Health. It is one of the four Departments in the School and is inspirational and innovative place to study. The department is made up of Public Health Nutrition and Mental Health. The department has a strong research culture based on the application of fundamental scientific principles to address issues of family and community health, nutrition, diet and disease, mental health and public health.

The goal of the Department is to train students to be able to identify major problems affecting the health of communities and offer solutions. The student should be able to function effectively as a public health practitioner at community/district/regional level, and should be interested in developing his/her knowledge and interest in the field of community and family health through research after the undergraduate course. The department trains both scholars and health practitioners. This includes officers who find it inconvenient to be in full time residence to undertake any degree course being offered by the department.

FACULTY

Our Faculty are renowned and are at the cutting edge of their specialisations. Quite a number occupy roles at the global level and serve on a number of national and international boards.

OUR PROGRAMMES

The department offers an undergraduate programme leading to the award of Bachelor of Public Health (Nutrition) and Bachelor of Public Health (Mental Health).

PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION

Malnutrition and diet-related non-communicable diseases are rising globally. The study of public health nutrition will provide a solid academic and practical training for a variety of careers. Public health nutrition encompass some of the most critically important - and hotly debated - issues affecting modern society, including world hunger and malnutrition, obesity and non-communicable diseases, the “double-burden” of malnutrition, food safety and the globalization of food.  The area of National Food and Nutrition Policy, its current state, relevance for Public Health Perspectives for multisectoral actions health and socio-economic development have often featured on national nutrition fora led by faculty from the department. Nutrition professionals help individuals and the public make better informed choices about food and help to improve wellbeing and health. 

This interactive course aims to provide comprehensive training in public health nutrition and to give you a solid grounding in the knowledge and skills that are required to work as a public health nutritionist. It offers students an in-depth education in human nutrition covering the underlying principles and evidence base, concepts and theories of nutrition in relation to public health practice and how nutrition and health or ill health relates. It is an integrated programme covering dietary, public health, social, behavioural, epidemiological, physiological and biochemical aspects of nutritional science. Specialist topics include maternal and child nutrition, nutrition in emergencies, nutrition programme planning, evaluation and monitoring, nutritional epidemiology and nutritional related chronic disease.

PUBLIC HEALTH (MENTAL HEALTH)

Mental health has to do with the study of the risk factors and etiology of mental disorders and the onset of protective factors. Mental Health is emerging prominently in the global arena of Public Health. In Ghana, we are in an epidemiological transition, where life-style diseases are becoming more prominent. The WHO estimates that one in every four people experience a mental disorder in their lifetime. This is very true in Ghana, where depression is high, alcohol and substance abuse is on the increase, anxiety disorders abound and a lot of Ghanaians are grappling with sexual disorders. In fact, the WHO slogan that “there is no health without mental health” is very relevant to Ghana.

The task and responsibility of the Mental Health Unit of the School of Public Health is to train our students to understand the risk factors and aetiology of mental disorders. We also aim to train them to disseminate evidence-based information to assist those in the communities to protect themselves from these disorders. We train our students also to assist those who are afflicted with mental disorders.

The programme is only offered to Mental Health Practioners at Diploma level and involves the study of the core symptoms of mental disorders. The training offers them the skills and guidance needed for the assessment, psychotherapy, counseling, or equivalent activities to individuals, couples, families, or groups for behavioural, cognitive, social, mental, or emotional disorders, including interpersonal or personal situations. Students will learn how these disorders are diagnosed and managed in the family, in the communities, in the general population and in the psychiatric facilities. We emphasize on the skills for preventive practices, to avert the onset of the disorders. 

COURSES

Our programmes are divided into Core courses which gives the student a holistic perspective of public health and elective courses which focuses on specialized areas of training.

CORE COURSES ACROSS ALL LEVELS

Level 100 (semester one) 

Level 100 (Semester two)

Level 200 (semester 1) 

Level 200 (semester 2)

Level 300 (semester 1)

Level 300 (semester 2)

Level 400 (semester 1)

Level 400 (semester 2)

ELECTIVE COURSES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION

Level 300 (semester 1)

• Physical growth and development
• Assessment of nutritional status
• Diet and disease

Level 300 (semester 2)

• Effective education for nutrition in action (ENACT)
• Applied nutrition
• Assessment of nutritional status of a community
• Nutrition surveillance

Level 400 (semester 1)

Level 400 (semester 2)

CAREER PROSPECTS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION

There is increasing community interest in nutrition and health, and a growing demand for specialists in these fields. UHAS's Public health nutrition course is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills required to work in a range of occupations particularly within the Health Service and Local government, bilateral and multilateral organisations, non-governmental organisations, in private, business or community or public health settings. The programme also equips you with the skills to work as an independent nutrition consultant in a consultation firm.

FACULTY

Our Faculty are renowned and at the cutting edge of their specialisations. Quite a number are occupy roles at the global level and serve on a number of national and international boards.

ELECTIVE COURSES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH (MENTAL HEALTH)

OUTLINE OF PROGRAMME FOR YEAR THREE SEMESTER ONE

OUTLINE OF PROGRAMME FOR YEAR THREE SEMESTER TWO

OUTLINE OF PROGRAMME FOR YEAR FOUR SEMESTER ONE

OUTLINE OF PROGRAMME FOR YEAR FOUR SEMESTER TWO

CAREER PROSPECTS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION (MENTAL HEALTH)

There is increasing community interest in health, and a growing demand for specialists in these fields. UHAS's Public health programmes are designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills required to work in a range of occupations particularly within the Health Service and Local government, bilateral and multilateral organisations, non-governmental organisations, in private, business or community or public health settings.

CURRENT PROJECTS

• HIV stigma and social support for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Volta Region of Ghana
• Informal patient payments in the formal health sector among older people in three hospitals in the Volta Region of Ghana: Policy implications for geriatric care
• Incorporation of edible insects into complementary foods for protein and iron enrichment: nutritional content and acceptability