Faculty:
Peter M. Koehneke, Chair; Dr. Khalid W. Bibi, Director; Philip Smeltzer;
Adjunct Faculty: 4.
The Health and Human Performance MS program prepares students in the areas of rehabilitative and preventive health, with special emphasis on cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and health promotion. With the appropriate certifications, graduates of the program are trained for positions such as cardiac rehabilitation specialists, stress-testing technologists, health promotion program directors and health and fitness consultants.
Geared towards students and professionals in the allied health professions, the program's curriculum focuses on preparing students for new careers or for career advancement. The program provides a choice between two sub-fields; preventive health or rehabilitative health, with the appropriate selection of courses from the offerings listed below. In addition, students will have the choice between a practical emphasis or a research emphasis. The latter option is primarily for students who plan to pursue doctoral studies.
The program may be completed within one academic year plus summer, or longer. Advisement with the director should be scheduled prior to enrollment in the first course.
Admission
In addition to meeting the general requirements for admission to the graduate school of education and human services, the applicant must complete the following undergraduate or graduate requirements:
- At least one year of anatomy and physiology
- Kinesiology or the equivalent
- Physiology of Exercise or the equivalent
- Official transcripts from all academic institution attended
COURSES 2002-2004
HHP 501 Epidemiology of Exercise (3 credits)
Studies role of exercise in health and disease including acute and chronic effects of exercise upon the cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic and muscular systems of individuals with cardiovascular, pulmonary or metabolic diseases. Explores therapeutic benefits of exercise in primary and secondary prevention.
HHP 502 Nutrition (4 credits)
Studies nutrition principles, behavior and counseling, as well as clinical applications of nutrition as it relates to health, clinical exercise physiology and cardiac rehabilitation.
HHP 503 Internship I (3 credits)
Offers a supervised part-time internship in clinical and non-clinical exercise programs or in clinical exercise testing laboratories. Includes clinical exercise testing, exercise prescription and/or exercise leadership experiences. Requires students to complete a minimum of 120 hours during a ten-week period. Prerequisite: Permission of adviser.
HHP 521 Health and Fitness Assessment (2 credits)
Laboratory experiences in adult health assessment and fitness assessment. Practical experiences include the assessment of cardiovascular risk and risk stratification, body composition assessment, functional capacity assessment and muscular fitness assessment.
HHP 513 Internship II (3 credits)
Continues the supervised internship in another role in a clinical exercise program or clinical exercise-testing laboratory. Students are required to complete a minimum of 120 hours during a ten-week period. Requires three case studies to be completed and approved by the faculty supervisor. Prerequisite: HHP 503.
HHP 611 Laboratory in Stress and Graded Exercise Testing (2 credits)
Offers a practicum in clinical-graded exercise testing, including determination of EKG, blood pressure, pulmonary and metabolic response to exercise and prescription of exercise for at-risk to high-risk persons in cardiopulmonary prevention, intervention and rehabilitation programs. Prerequisites: HHP 501, HHP 521, and must be taken concurrently with HHP 601.
HHP 612 Clinical Exercise Physiology Workshop (1 credit)
Offers allied health professionals an opportunity to advance their knowledge and competence in graded exercise testing, exercise prescription and exercise programming as applied to rehabilitative exercise programs designed for individuals with cardiovascular, pulmonary or metabolic diseases. Assists with preparation for American College of Sports Medicine or Cardiovascular Credentialing International certification.
HHP 512 Health/Fitness Workshop (1 credit)
Offers health and fitness specialists and other allied health professionals an opportunity to advance their knowledge and competence in exercise prescription, exercise programming and health assessment as applied to asymptomatic apparently healthy individuals. Assists with preparation for American College of Sports Medicine Health/Fitness Instructor certification.
HHP 511 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (3 credits)
Examines scientific literature regarding lifestyle choices that promote optimal health and functioning. Behaviors regarding self-protection, self-care and health promotion are compared to recommendations emerging from this literature.
HHP 531 Applied Statistics for the Health Professions (3 credits)
Selects appropriate statistical procedures, analyze data, and interprets the results. Uses SPSS for Windows to cover descriptive statistics, tests of differences and to develop methods of presenting tables and graphs.
HHP 601 Electrocardiography (2 credits)
Studies basic and intermediate electrocardiography, including cardiac function, lead systems, rate, rhythm, axis, infarction, ischemia, hypertrophy; effects of cardiovascular drugs, and/or exercise on the electrocardiogram.
HHP 602 Pathophysiology (4 credits)
Surveys the current knowledge of cardiovascular function relating the physiology of the circulatory system in its normal, diseased and stressed states. Emphasizes the interaction between the components of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Current research topics are covered.
HHP 603 Thesis I (3 credits)
Provides initiation to scholarly investigation. Requires students to submit a written research proposal for approval by a thesis/project committee and to present an oral proposal at a college seminar. Prerequisite: Permission of program adviser.
HHP 613 Thesis II (3 credits)
Continues HHP 603 with an approved thesis proposal and culminates in an approved written thesis. Prerequisite: HHP 603.
HHP 621 Cardiovascular Pharmacodynamics (3 credits)
Studies the current medications used in the treatment of congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, angina and hypertension; the effects of these medications during acute and chronic exercise and cardiac emergency medications. Prerequisite: HHP 602 or permission of instructor.
HHP 631 Research Design and Methodology (3 credits)
Considers research methods and designs used in a variety of professional settings. Emphasizes the development of research techniques, including the ability to define research problems; develop hypotheses; review and interpret literature; apply research designs; organize, analyze and present data and draw relevant conclusions.