SOC 3180

Health Disparities

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

This course will examine how health disparities are defined and measured, sources of health disparities, and strategies to reduce health disparities. During the course students will learn of the complexities of factors that influence patterns of disease and health at multiple levels by analyzing studies of health outcomes, the social conditions that are related to the health of populations, and some of the mechanisms through which these patterns are produced.

Prerequisites PUBPOL 2350. Recommended prerequisite: PUBPOL 2101 or equivalent.

Distribution Requirements (D-AG, SBA-AG), (D-HE, SBA-HE)

Last 4 Terms Offered 2025SP, 2023SP, 2022SP, 2020FA

Outcomes

• Be able to describe the patterns of health disparities and to explain why these patterns persist over time.
• Be able to compare and contrast mechanisms through which social determinants of health may affect individuals' health status and health care.
• Be able to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of strategies for reducing health disparities.
• Synthesize research reports to write effective summaries of the causes and consequences of health disparities and develop recommendations for research and policy.

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