Course Description, Outcomes, and Required Materials

HED 003

Course Description

• CRN: TBA

• Number of Units: 3

• Prerequisites: None

• Co-requisites: None

• Advisories: SCC minimum English and Math Standards

Course Description

A study of health issues that are unique to women with a focus on women's health maintenance and care, and the development of skills and acquisitions of knowledge necessary to make informed choices in health matters of concern to women. Open to all students. Satisfies one-half of the Health, Physical Education requirement.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, a student should be able to demonstrate the following activities:

1. Recognize the political, social, economical, and religious issues underlying women's health issues.
2. Comprehend and appreciate the uniqueness of women's physiology.
3. Analyze and speculate on the impact of health damaging behaviors practiced by some women.
4. Analyze the alternative actions to special health threatening situations.
5. Evaluate the health resources available to women

Student Learning Outcomes

As a result of successful completion of this course, a student will be able to:

Required Course Materials and Technology

1. Contemporary Women's Health, 5th Edition
2. Access to a computer

Course Content Outline

1. To recognize the political, social, economical, and religious issues underlying women's health issues
   1. Regional customs and rules
   2. The actions of the Supreme Court
   3. State and federal legislation
   4. Society's attitudes toward the cost of bearing and rearing children
   5.  The paradox of women and their health risks
   6. Wellness for women
   7. The information exchange between women and health care providers
2. To comprehend and appreciate the uniqueness of women's physiology
   1. Female reproduction
   2. Fertility control
   3. The female sexuality
   4. The menstrual cycle
   5. Premenstrual syndrome
   6. Fact and fiction of menarche
   7. The menopause
   8. Alternative sexual life styles
   9. Living with ourselves and others
3. To analyze and speculate on the impact of health damaging behaviors practiced by some women
   1. The problem of anorexia nervosa
   2. The problem of bulimia
   3. The problem of obesity and its concomitant health risks
   4. Women and exercise
   5. Women and the use of tobacco
   6. Women and the use of alcohol and other drugs
   7. The physiological responses of women to stress
   8. The effect of the environment on women
4. To analyze the alternative actions to special health threatening situations
   1. Women and childbirth
   2. The risks and myths of induced abortion
   3. Motherhood and its hazards
   4. Women and loss and the many faces of grief
   5. Women and rape
   6. Wife battering
   7. The need for self defense
   8. Women and musculoskeletal pain
   9. Osteoporosis as a potential health problem
   10. Cancers common to women
5. To evaluate the health resources available to women
   1. Women and the self-care movement
   2. Women and assertiveness
   3. Selecting a therapist
   4. Selecting a physician
   5. Screening for cervical cancer
   6. Screening for breast cancer
   7. Governmental actions for women's health
   8. Personal power assessment
   9. Women and their prospects for health
6. To comprehend the physical and emotional effects of sexually transmitted disease (STD)
   1. Most common STD
      1. Syphilis
      2. Gonorrhea
      3. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
      4. Genital herpes
      5. Genital warts
      6. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome O(AIDS)
      7. Chlamydial infections
   2. Effects on the fetus
      1. Bypassing the birth canal
      2. Drug therapy
      3. Birth defects
   3. Strategies against STDs
      1. Sexual history of partners
      2. Use of prophylactics
      3. Responses to skin rashes and sores
      4. Limiting the number of sexual partners
      5. Hygiene standards
      6. Consultation with health care practitioners