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Student perceptions and opinions regarding the relevance of course content can influence their desire and motivation to learn. Instructors can benefit from including content relevant to students' lives, possibly leading them to take a greater interest in gaining knowledge and applying the material. This study aimed to investigate the health topics included in an introductory health course offered at a medium-sized, public liberal arts university in Tennessee and to explore perceptions of current undergraduate students regarding the relevance of those topics. Over the 2018–2019 academic year, four focus groups were conducted with 14 students who discussed their perceptions, opinions, and experiences of the course and offered suggestions regarding topics they thought should be incorporated in future iterations of the course. Participants wished that topics currently covered in the course, such as nutrition and fitness, would incorporate more experiential learning to provide greater applicability to their lives as college students. Students also expressed a desire for greater coverage of topics that they considered particularly relevant to their lifestyle and health, such as mental health, sleep, time management, and decision making. Information from this study can be used to help develop course content for undergraduate personal health courses so students can feel more connected to the material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to accreditation of our Master of Public Health program, integration of Indigenous public health competencies, and implementation of the health promotion practitioner accreditation in Australia, we designed a core Master of Public Health promotion course. In this article, we begin by describing the three sets of competencies that informed our course development. Despite consensus that reflexivity is central to effective health promotion practice, there was limited reference to reflexive practice within established competencies. However, given our broader alignment with Freire's philosophy of "conscientization," we came to realize that reflexivity was central to our pedagogical framework. In what follows, we describe the conceptualization of reflexivity that guided course development and how reflexivity was integrated into the lecture and assessment content. We highlight how reflection, as part of the assessment, was applied as a means of engaging students in their journey through understanding the inextricably social, political, economic, and cultural nature of health and health promotion practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiencing discrimination based on body size has numerous health consequences and negatively affects motivation for positive health behaviors. Because weight bias is particularly prevalent among health professionals, interventions to reduce weight bias in this group are essential. The purpose of this mixed-methods, 15-week study was to develop and examine the effect of a college course focused on reducing weight bias in health promotion undergraduates. In this study (N = 64), quantitative change in implicit and explicit weight bias among students enrolled in a course to reduce weight bias was compared with a control group and two other groups of students in the health promotion degree program. Qualitative data were also analyzed through content analysis of pre- and postsemester writing assignments among students in the course focused on weight bias. Statistical analyses revealed a significant reduction in explicit weight bias among students in the course focused on weight bias with no significant changes in explicit weight bias for any other group. There were no significant changes in implicit weight bias for any group. Content analysis of qualitative data was consistent with the quantitative reductions in extrinsic weight bias. Students shared substantially more nuanced understandings of obesity postsemester. Furthermore, the persistence of internal contradictions in students’ analyses illustrates the particular challenge in reducing implicit bias. These results demonstrate that, although intrinsic weight bias may be more difficult to change, a college course focused on reducing weight bias can facilitate significant reductions in extrinsic weight bias among health promotion undergraduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]