ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

1. Applicant must have Senior High School Certificate (SSSCE) aggregate 24 or West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) with aggregate 36 or better which should include credits in three core: English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science and three elective subjects in the following: Chemistry, Biology, Elective Mathematics or Physics.
2. State Registered Nurses (SRN) and Registered Midwives will receive exemptions from the level 100 courses and be eligible for admission to level 200.

• Medical Assistant and General Nursing Diploma as well as Bachelor degree holders in life sciences (Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Sports and Exercise Medicine, Psychology) will be considered for admission to level 300 of the programme and will as such be able to complete the programme in two years.

1. Mature applicants must be at least 25years at the time of admission and must possess either five credits as GCE O-Level including English language and Mathematics or WASSCE/SSCE with credits in three core subjects (English, Mathematics and Integrated Science) plus three elective subjects (Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics or Physics).
2. Foreign students may be considered for admission if they hold a qualification equivalent to those stated above, proved they are proficient in English, Equivalent qualifications include; A-levels, High School Diplomas.

INTRODUCTION

As far back as 1986, the World Health Organization had identified the need for Health Promotion, defined as “the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health” and, had acknowledged the process as a critical component of effective public health.  Health Promotion, as a health profession, has been recognised and given a place within the structure of the Ministry of Health, since the early 1950s.  Under the current set-up of the health sector, Health Promotion is a department under the Family Health Division within the Ghana Service (GHS), which has the responsibility to oversee health promotion activities, in the country. Nevertheless, even though both the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ghana Health Service particularly the public health-oriented divisions of the health sector in Ghana had acknowledged the need for health promotion professionals, not much had been done to improve the numerical strength required to enable the Health Promotion Department effectively address the health promotion needs at the district, the level at which programmes are planned and implemented. This is in spite of the fact that the National Health Promotion Policy (June, 2005) stated categorically, that “There shall be at least one graduate professionally trained Health Promoter in each District”.  This new training programme is thus fulfilling the mandate provided by that Policy.

As indicated above, the need for qualified health promotion professionals, at the District Regional and National level, has been identified by both the MOH and the GHS.  The increasing trend in the prevalence of both communicable and non-communicable diseases as well as in maternal and childhood morbidity and mortality in the country, demand a more holistic approach to these problem areas.  Moreover, Ghana is still struggling to meet its targets under the Millennium Development Goals, particularly Goals 3, 4, 5 and 6.  Thus the district, being the unit of health services planning, needs a full complement of trained health professionals, to address the identified health and related problems at this level. Thus, the addition of a middle-level health personnel trained in health communication and health promotion to the district health team will not only generally broaden the focus of the team but will also specifically ensure effective coordination of health communication and health promotion activities, for a sustained health promotion and behaviour change outcomes at the district and sub-district levels.

The Ghana Health Service through the Health Promotion Department identified the proposed University College of Health and Well-being, Kintampo formerly Kintampo Rural Health Training School (KRHTS) now College of Health, Kintampo as the appropriate institution for the training of this cadre of health professional in health promotion. KRHTS was established by the MOH, over forty (40) years ago and, has been training middle-level health personnel since then, for both the GHS and the MOH. Meanwhile, KRHTS has been rebranded College of Health, to be affiliated to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Until the College of Health attains a University status, KNUST will play an oversight role over academic and related matters and award degrees on behalf of the College. It is noted, that in addition to some advanced diploma and certificate programmes, the College has been running diploma programmes in Community Medicine and Health, Health Information, Community Oral Health, Medical Laboratory Technology and Community Health with options in Nutrition and Disease Control.

RATIONAL

The Ghana health service has gone through health policy changes from curative (medical) to preventive and currently ensuring that the population remain healthy and productive by a combination of the above with emphasis on health promotion. Besides a few health promotion officers located in the Regional capitals, the country, lack well trained and competent health promotion officers who will take responsibility for realisation of the national health policy objectives. Vacancies abound for graduate health promotion officers from national to the district and in the formal and non-formal sectors including special health projects and health activities of the non-governmental organizations. It is in the light of the above and quest for a healthy population for increased productivity, wealth creation and poverty reduction that this programme is found relevant and timely to meet the health and socio-cultural and economic development needs of the country.

The new programme being proposed seeks to provide a Professional Health Promotion Officer who would:

1. exhibit a high degree of analytic skill, critical thinking, innovation and creativity in the identification of health problems and needs as a basis for appropriate health promotion intervention.
2. develop skills in research, especially operational and participatory research thereby increasing the potential for studies and contributes to appropriate healthy policy development and effective health programme planning and implementation.
3. utilize the knowledge and skills acquired to contribute to a healthy and productive population, wealth creation, reduction of poverty and health burden in our hospitals and clinics.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The programme is to produce BSc. Health Promotion graduates who will be able to plan, implement, coordinate, monitor and evaluate health promotion programmes and policies in a professionally competent manner at all levels as well as document best practices in health promotion.

PHILOSOPHY

Graduates from this course should be able to analyze the multiple determinants of health, taking into consideration psycho-social, spiritual, political and policy influences on health. The course will be practical based hands-on training. For this reason, groups of students will be assigned to work in a community at the beginning of the course. The students will be required to start the process of community entry, community needs assessment, prioritizing community needs, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation with the active participation of the community members; hopefully to complete the planning cycle before they complete the three-year course.

REGULATORY BODY

The regulatory body for the professional practice of the graduates of the programme shall be the Allied Health Professions Council.

PRACTICAL TRAINING CONTENT AND WHERE IT WILL BE DONE

 The practical training content shall be organized to assist students acquire practical skills as per contents of the logbook listed below.

1. Assessment of health problems and needs of individuals and communities
2. Plan health promotion programmes
3. Developing an action plan
4. Initiate and coordinate social/community mobilization activities for implementation.
5. Monitor and evaluate health promotion Actions
6. Health Education activities
7. Behaviour change communication
8. School Health Promotion
9. Youth and fitness activities
10. Planning
11. Implementation
12. Healthy Public Policies for Communities
13. Celebrate National/ International health Events
14. Counselling
15. Patient Education and follow –up health promotion activities at the community level
16. Healthy Life help desk at the hospital.
17. Educational and Scientific Sessions
18. Promotion of healthy lifestyle in the community to ensure good health and prevent the above
19. Dietary counselling of diet related conditions
20. Diet management of persons with certain
21. Promotion of growth of children under five
22. Growth monitoring and promotion
23. Health Services Management
24. Ante-Natal Care/FANC
25. Correct Positioning and Attachment
26. Promotion of Immunization Services

Practical training sites include Communities, Districts Health Directorate, Regional Health Directorates, Hospitals, Schools.

ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS

End of semester examinations of at least 2 hours duration is required for all courses. The end of semester examination is weighted 70% of the total marks and continuous assessment is weighted 30%. The examinations and continuous assessments may take the form of written examinations, viva, essays, practicals, seminar presentations, and project work.

GRADING SYSTEM

Assessment/Examination in all courses shall be credited by marks and graded as follows:

LETTER GRADE	SCORE RANGE (%)	GRADE POINT	DESCRIPTION
A	80-100	4.00	DISTINCTION
B	70-79.99	3.00	CREDIT
C	60-69.99	2.50	AVERAGE
D	50-59.99	1.50	PASS
F	<50	0.00	FAIL
I	0.00	0.00	INCOMPLETE (ABSENT WITH REASON)
X	0.00	0.00	ABSENT
Z	0.00	0.00	DISQUALIFIED

 

DESIGNATION	FCGPA RANGE
DISTINCTION	3.60 – 4.00
CREDIT	3.00 – 3.59
AVERAGE	2.50 – 2.99
PASS	1.50 – 2.49
FAIL	<1.50

PASS MARK

A student is expected to get 50% or more of the cumulative computed continuous assessment and end of Semester Examination to be considered as having passed

REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATION

For the award of the B.Sc. Health Promotion Degree, the candidate must pass all prescribed courses and obtain a minimum of 130 credits.

EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS

Graduates of this programme will have the technical competence to work in diverse settings from the national, regional to district to community levels where health can be promoted among community members, hospitals, health centres, organisations, schools). They will be well equipped to develop and implement health promotion/health education interventions to meet the specific needs of various population groups at particular settings. Other potential areas of employment include District, Municipal, Regional Directorates, health-oriented Non-governmental and International Organisations and for specific health projects such as HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Other sectors of employment include the Education Service, District Assemblies and Community Development.

JOB DESCRIPTION OF GRADUATES

The Health Promotion (HP) programme is expected to produce graduates who are adequately equipped to undertake the following duties at the various levels of operation of the Health Sector.

1. Develop HP component of district health profile.
2. Plan and organize activities that promote healthy lifestyles and practices at the community, health facility (Hospitals), district levels and other levels of care
3. Design and carry out operational and participatory research at the community and workplace to identify problems and needs for appropriate health promotion intervention
4. Plan, coordinate, mobilize resources to implement, monitor and evaluate health promotion components of programmes and interventions.
5. Review, mobilize and or develop health promotion materials and monitor distribution and its effective use
6. Initiate and coordinate social and community mobilization/participation for health activities
7. Facilitate the strengthening /establishment of community based structures to support health promotion activities
8. Provide training/capacity building in health promotion to health staff and appropriate MDAs, training institutions and other stakeholders in health
9. Participate and facilitate the development of healthy policies that promote the health of communities, workers at the workplace, schools and health facilities (Hospitals/ clinics)
10. Collaborate with communities, relevant MDAs and stake holders to implement, monitor and evaluate health promotion policies and programmes.
11. Coordinate observance of all national and international health events at district levels
12. Provide support and/or supervise staff in health promotion in the district and other level.
13. Conduct health screening programmes in collaboration with other health professionals.
14. Provide communication support for health programmes/ campaigns.
15. Collaborate with District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) to establish healthy life centers at health facilities (hospitals/clinics) for patient and family health promotion
16. Conduct operational research to enhance service delivery
17. Collate, analyze and disseminate report on health promotion activities and programmes