Society, Human Development, and Health

The mission of the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health (SHDH) is to improve health throughout the lifespan, including a special emphasis on children and adolescents. This mission is achieved through research to identify the social and behavioral determinants of health, development and evaluation of interventions and policies leading to the improvement of population health, and the preparation of professionals and researchers who will fill leadership positions in advocacy and public service.

The department’s educational mission is to train both scholars and practitioners: scholars whose research will illuminate basic social determinants of health and who will identify and test innovative social policy and service interventions; practitioners who are skilled in designing, implementing, and evaluating health-enhancing interventions in action settings. 

The department highlights four areas of interest:

Health and social policy
A wide range of social policies—including but not limited to labor, poverty, family, housing, and educational policy—have a dramatic impact on health. This area of interest prepares students to design new and improve existing social policies and focuses on strategies for the successful implementation of social policies that improve health. Students who study in this area may be interested in working on public policy through research, within the government, or in a nonprofit organization.

Human development
The department’s emphasis on human development across the life course results from faculty research and interest in three domains: the physical, mental, and behavioral health and wellbeing of children and adolescents; basic developmental processes (including physical growth, nutrition, and psychological development); and growing attention to the impact of early-life conditions on long-term health and functioning. Course work in this area of interest includes material on physical growth and development, principles of psychological and social development, and longitudinal research methods. Research conducted by faculty members involves longitudinal studies of both at-risk and community samples, emphasizing cumulative risk and protective influences across the lifespan and implications for prevention, early intervention, and treatment strategies.

Planned social change
This area of interest focuses on the application of theory in the design of intervention programs, as well as on research and evaluation methodology. The area includes work on interventions using randomized clinical trial designs and quasi-experimental approaches. Attention is given to the following design steps: problem diagnosis, assessment, formative research, program design, and evaluation. The social settings for interventions may be communities, workplaces, schools and colleges, and health care facilities. Populations of interest include those who are underserved, marginalized, and in special need. Intervention strategies include educational interventions, community organizing and development, social marketing, communication, adult-learning approaches, and advocacy.

Social determinants of health
This area of interest emphasizes the analysis of the major social conditions that affect the health of populations. Research stresses socioeconomic position, social and economic inequality, discrimination, social networks and support, social capital, work conditions, and psychological states. Seminars, tutorials, and courses enable students to explore a range of the health consequences of various social factors by studying varied subgroups, at different times and places and under diverse and changing conditions. Students examine mechanisms and processes through which social factors exert their impact, and also investigate mechanisms that mediate or moderate relationships between social factors and health outcomes.

Degree Programs in Society, Human Development, and Health

As described below, the department offers both 80-credit and 42.5-credit master of science (SM) programs, a dual-degree master’s program for nurses and social workers, and a doctoral program leading to the doctor of science (SD) or doctor of public health (DPH) degree. Students in all degree programs may follow the SHDH concentration in maternal and child health (MCH) and/or an interdisciplinary concentration in women, gender, and health. Within the doctoral and 80-credit master’s programs only, students may follow a concentration in health communication.

Master of Science in Society,Human Development, and Health (80-credit and 42.5-credit programs)

The 80-credit, professional SM program prepares students for a variety of positions in community, public, and private settings. These roles include the design, management, and evaluation of programs, particularly health promotion and disease prevention programs, health communication programs, and those providing services to women, youth, and children. Other roles include work in research, public policy, and advocacy. Students in the MCH concentration are prepared for careers in maternal and child health practice, research, planning, policy development, and advocacy. The health communication concentration is especially intended for those who seek positions as independent researchers and scholars; public health communicators in the private sector, state and federal agencies, international agencies, and nonprofit organizations; and public health leaders who require communication skills.

Recent graduates have taken such positions as the evaluator on a violence prevention program for adolescents, associate director of public health and research at Georgetown University, assistant medical director of the Rhode Island Health Department, and intern in the Presidential Management Program, Office of the Budget for Health and Human Services; others have gone on to earn doctoral degrees. Applications are encouraged from students who have a strong social sciences and/or natural sciences background, public health experience, and defined public health goals. Solid mathematics and writing skills and successful experience with course work requiring critical reading and writing, drawing of inferences, and rigorous analysis are crucial. Previous graduate work is not required.

Students must earn at least 20 credits in departmental courses. They are not required to declare an area of interest within the department but are encouraged to take course work in all four. In addition to fulfilling HSPH, SHDH, and practice core requirements, students are expected to delineate professional goals and to develop an area of expertise. They often focus on a subject area (such as AIDS; addiction; cardiovascular or cancer risk reduction; the health of children, adolescents, or women; and mental health) and/or a skill area (such as program design and evaluation, communication, policy analysis, or marketing). Students must complete a practicum, which consists of skill development in a practice setting, two seminars, and a final paper.

Students in the MCH concentration elect one of two focus areas, each of which has specific requirements in addition to the basic master’s degree curriculum. The MCH epidemiology focus is for those wishing to develop research skills for work in research, advocacy, or policy organizations; the MCH program planning and policy focus is geared toward those interested in policy formulation or program design and management. In the health communication concentration, students must take a core course on theories of health communication, a course on health communication in applied settings, and one on advanced topics.

The 42.5-credit SM program is intended to prepare students for research careers in public and private agencies. Applicants eligible for the 42.5-credit program are established practitioners or investigators holding prior master’s or doctoral degrees in the social/behavioral sciences, health care, or a public health field. Students in this program must fulfill the schoolwide requirements and earn 15 credits in departmental courses. They should work closely with their advisers to develop a study plan to meet their particular academic and career goals.

Master of Science in Society, Human Development, and Health (HSPH 42.5- credit program) and Master of Science in Parent-Child Nursing or Women’s Health, or Master of Social Work (Simmons College) 

These professional, dual-degree programs, which require that 42.5 credits be earned at HSPH, are designed to prepare nurse practitioners and social workers for leadership roles in public and private institutions serving children and their families. Recent graduates have taken such positions as director of clinical services for the Family Planning Association of Maine and staff director for the World Health Organization Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood Program.

Applicants should have a relevant bachelor’s degree and the equivalent of at least three years of relevant experience. International applicants with equivalent degrees and experience are eligible to apply. International nurses must have equivalent licensure. Applicants must also meet the general admission requirements of both HSPH and Simmons College.

Students enroll in half-time study at both Simmons College and HSPH for two academic years, in addition to studying at Simmons for one summer session. See the department’s Curriculum and Advisory Guide for degree requirements. Continued matriculation is dependent on maintaining satisfactory academic progress in both programs. 

Doctor of Science in Society,Human Development, and Health/Doctor of Public Health

The doctoral program provides a common core education addressing issues of society, human development, and health at the same time as developing expertise in one of the four previously described areas (health and social policy, human development, planned social change, and the social determinants of health). Students must select an academic focus in one of the four areas of interest. Students in the MCH concentration complete the normal requirements for the doctoral program. They choose one of the four areas of interest as a focus and must complete either a major (preferred) or a minor in MCH. All students should consult the department’s Curriculum and Advising Guide for a listing of required courses.

Current and recent doctoral students in the department have undertaken dissertation research projects on the following topics: socioeconomic position, allergic disease, and cancer risk; cross-national comparisons of perinatal care technologies on neonatal survival; poverty, policy, neighborhoods, and health; effectiveness of public policies for children with disabilities; social influences on health behaviors of college students with same-sex experience; depressive symptoms in postpartum women; gender inequality and health; measurement and social and physical contexts of physical activity; and cost-effectiveness of lead-poisoning prevention programs.

Recent graduates have taken such positions as Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, postdoctoral fellow at the National Development and Research Institute in New York, research scientist at Harvard University, project officers in philanthropic foundations, and assistant professors at schools of public health and medical schools. Graduates are pursuing careers in academia, government, and nonprofit organizations as leading researchers, teachers, policymakers, and program developers, such as chair of a department of obstetrics in Taiwan and chief of the leadpoisoning branch at the CDC.

Most students enter the doctoral program with a strong foundation in the social, behavioral, clinical, public health, or natural sciences and with an earned master’s degree in a social science (such as sociology, psychology, economics, political science, public policy, and anthropology); clinical health (such as nursing and social work); public health (such as epidemiology and health education); or natural sciences (such as biology, physiology, and neurosciences).

For the SD the department accepts a small number of students without a master’s degree directly into the program. Applicants to the DPH program must hold an MPH and a prior doctoral degree.

Limited funding is awarded on a competitive basis to qualified applicants in both master’s and doctoral programs. Two training grants from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau support students in the MCH concentration. A fellowship for doctoral students is available in the area of cancer prevention, and some doctoral fellowships may also be available for underrepresented minorities. A limited number of universitywide presidential fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis to underrepresented minorities and to students from developing countries who are planning on public service or academic careers. Students receive funding in other areas through research assistantships and their own grant applications.