Objectives of the Health Education and Health Promotion Program

1. General Objectives

The overall objectives of this program are to educate and empower graduates to:

Apply health promotion approaches and strategies.
Modify and develop health-promoting behaviors and decisions at the individual, community, and organizational levels.
Improve healthy lifestyles and quality of life in the community.
Promote a culture of health in society.

2. Roles of Graduates in Society

Graduates may serve in educational, research, consultation, management, and communication roles.

The professional duties associated with each role are as follows:

A. Educational Role

Design, implement, and evaluate formal and informal educational courses.
Empower health-system personnel and strengthen community capacity.
Implement educational programs to facilitate communication at organizational and community levels.
Develop and standardize educational materials and content.
Apply modern teaching methods.

B. Research Role

Generate knowledge and scientific evidence through the design and conduct of scientific research, including:

Identify and select effective communication channels for education.
Study people's habits, customs, behaviors, and lifestyles in relation to health issues.
Study the effectiveness of health education and health promotion programs.
Conduct content analysis of health education materials.
Assess needs and set priorities.
Study behavior using theories and models.
Develop research instruments for health education and health promotion studies.
Collect and analyze data and document findings.
Publish articles in reputable journals and present results of health-related research.
Present research findings at national and international scientific forums.
Critically review and evaluate research proposals, articles, and scientific texts.
Collaborate on national, regional, and international health-related projects.

C. Consultation Role

Provide consultation in the following areas:

Changing and improving behaviors and lifestyles that are safe and promote health among population groups, including children, adolescents, young adults, women, older adults, and people with disabilities.
Preventing and controlling high-risk behaviors and psychosocial harms, including substance and medication misuse and HIV/AIDS.
Sexual health.

D. Management and Leadership

The management role includes:

Planning
Resource allocation
Organization
Capacity building
Direction and leadership
Monitoring and evaluation

E. Communication Role

Establish effective communication with groups, associations, and community organizations to encourage them, obtain their participation and support, and facilitate and expand health education and health promotion programs. This includes:

Building coalitions or strengthening intra- and intersectoral coordination.
Communicating with local media.
Communicating effectively with governmental and nongovernmental organizations, including associations and civil-society organizations.
Using modern information and communication technologies.

3. Employment Opportunities for Graduates

Graduates of this program may work in the following settings:

The headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and its affiliated institutions.
Research centers.
Health education and health promotion consultation and service centers.
Other organizations, including:
Educational institutions and the Ministry of Education.
The national broadcasting organization, media institutions, and news agencies.
Comprehensive health centers.
Municipal social affairs departments, including neighborhood centers and health houses.
Auditing and evaluation units for cultural and educational products, such as the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the National Foundation for Computer Games.
Social affairs departments in various organizations, including the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, and crime-prevention units of the Judiciary (cultural and social prevention education).

4. Expected Competencies and Skills of Graduates

A. Expected Foundational Competencies

The general competencies expected of graduates at this level include:

Statistics and data-analysis methods, including parametric and nonparametric statistical methods, sample-size calculation, and data analysis.
Epidemiology: understanding factors affecting disease and health in the community (agent, host, and environment); different epidemiological models (such as the epidemiological triangle, web of causation, and wheel model); and classification of epidemiological factors by time, place, and person, including the concepts of association and causality.

B. Expected Specialized Competencies

The following table translates the competency areas and associated professional duties. Course codes are reproduced as legible in the source.

Competency	Professional Duties / Description	Course Code(s)
Communication, interaction, intersectoral coordination, and negotiation	Establish constructive, dynamic, and positive interactions without conflict among sectors related to the health system; build coalitions or strengthen intra- and intersectoral coordination.	60
Application of educational technologies; training people at different levels	Assess educational needs in the domains of knowledge, attitudes, and behavior; define objectives; develop educational content; prepare an action plan; design, implement, and evaluate formal and informal educational courses; empower health-system personnel and communities; implement educational communication programs at organizational and community levels; use modern teaching methods.	199, 91
Research in health education and health promotion	Participate in relevant health research; apply quantitative and qualitative research methods to design, implement, and evaluate health education and health promotion interventions; prepare research proposals and develop research instruments.	60, 61, 90
Design, planning, implementation, and evaluation of behavior-change interventions	Apply relevant theories to programs at individual, organizational, and community levels in settings such as schools, hospitals, and workplaces.	61, 90
Use of communication approaches in individual and community behavior change	Use interpersonal, mass-communication, and policymaker-oriented approaches; obtain broad-based support and mobilize communities for health campaigns; build coalitions; apply principles for designing multimedia materials (text, images, sound, video, and animation).	96
Behavior analysis based on factors influencing health	Apply learning theories and approaches to change beliefs and behaviors and maintain them; use concepts of socialization, values, norms, social control, institutions, roles, and social theories of health; apply sociological theories to health culture.	91, 91
Consultation	Use skills for initiating consultations and managing interviews; apply individual counseling methods and techniques (face-to-face, telephone, virtual, and email); apply group counseling methods and techniques.	91

C. Expected Practical Skills

The source provides a table of skills and minimum numbers of performances required for learning, divided into observation, assisted performance, independent performance, and total performances. Some digits in the extracted source are unclear due to the original PDF's text encoding; the skill names are translated below without silently correcting those figures.

Practical Skill	Minimum performance counts
Individual and group counseling	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Facilitating group discussion	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Delivering a lecture, practical demonstration, or role-play	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Preparing a lesson plan	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Designing messages (visual, auditory, and written)	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Producing digital media (multimedia, podcasts)	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Producing a short educational film or health-promotion advertisement	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Producing printed media (booklets, posters, pamphlets)	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Developing and organizing content	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Critiquing and analyzing media and audiences	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Communication skills (individual and research interviews)	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Situation analysis and designing an intervention program in the workplace	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Analyzing health-care centers	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Situation analysis and designing a community intervention program	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Situation analysis and designing a school intervention program	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.
Analyzing a media target group and producing media	See original table; some figures are unclear in the extracted PDF text.

5. Educational Strategies

The educational program is implemented through a combination of student-centered and instructor-centered activities, based on professional tasks and community needs. These activities use instructional and participatory methods. In summary, the program is based on the following strategies:

Professional-task-based education.
A combination of student-centered and instructor-centered education.
Problem-based education.
Community-oriented education.
Topic-based education.
Evidence-based education.
Media laboratory-based education (Media Lab).

6. Teaching Methods and Techniques

The program primarily uses the following teaching methods and techniques:

Interactive lectures, role-play, and demonstrations.
Interdisciplinary and inter-university meetings and group teaching sessions.
Group discussion and small-group techniques.
Educational workshops.
Journal club.
Participation in teaching learners at lower levels.
Self-directed learning.
Field-based education (internship and practical training).
Project-based learning.
Virtual education.

7. Ethical Expectations for Learners

The ethical responsibilities of master's graduates in this field include:

Being responsible and accountable to the public for educating, promoting, maintaining, and improving the health of individuals, families, groups, and communities, prioritizing actions that support health and well-being while respecting personal autonomy, human rights, and equality.
Being responsible and accountable to the profession by preserving its dignity and standards and promoting professional ethical conduct among colleagues.
Being responsible and accountable for the competent and scientific implementation of health education and health promotion programs. Strategies and methods must be selected and applied with respect for the rights, dignity, confidentiality, and human values of the audience.
Being responsible and accountable for research and evaluation. Research or evaluation must be planned and conducted in accordance with national laws and regulations, organizational policies, and professional standards.

8. Student Assessment

A. Assessment Methods

Students will be assessed using the following methods:

Written examinations.
Oral examinations.
Computer-based interactive examinations.
DOPS (Direct Observation of Procedural Skills).
Project-based assessment.

B. Assessment Frequency

Midterm examinations.
End-of-course examinations.

Source

Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Deputy for Education, Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Medical Sciences Planning. Educational Program and Regulations for the Master's Degree in Health Education and Health Promotion. The year printed in the source PDF is not clearly legible in the extracted text.