There is a need for culturally informed community health leaders, professionals, educators, and entrepreneurs with expertise in culture and community health education. In typical times, we depend on Community Health Workers (CHWs) to bring education, training, skills, and expertise to a wide range of groups and communities, especially those public health entities traditionally have struggled to reach. The Covid pandemic has highlighted the importance of culturally informed community health strategies and CHWs. CHWs are trained public health workers who serve as a bridge between communities, health care systems, and state health departments. This certificate program is designed for people who would like to better understand diverse community health needs and who desire to improve the health and well-being of communities. The program includes three modules, i.e., Foundations of Community Health, Exploring Culture and Health, and Critical Health Topics and Other Issues. Each module covers an aspect of the certificate program to provide students with an overview of the field of community health education, an opportunity to develop skills in needs assessment and program planning, all through diverse lenses of culture and its impacts on community health.

By completing three mini courses, you will:

• Understand and appreciate the diverse socioeconomic, behavioral, sociocultural, biological, and historical factors that influence health and human movements.
• Comprehend and acknowledge socioeconomic and sociocultural correlates of community health.
• Assess the interactions and interdependence of psychological, cultural, social and systems factors affecting health in minoritized, refugee, and immigrant communities.

Dr. Daphne Curges, Ph.D., is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Culturally Informed Community Health Certificate Program at Crown College.  She is a Christian, an author, and a public health leader in Pittsburgh, PA.  Dr Curges has held many positions of increasing responsibilities in the field of public health.