Health studies faculty develop free, accessible textbook for future health professionals

Students enrolled in this year's HLTH 110: Health Science and Public Health course will now have access to a textbook designed specifically with them in mind. Another perk of this new resource? It comes at no cost to Boise State students and is fully accessible online thanks to the Boise State Pressbooks website.

School of Public and Population Health Professor and Associate Director for Student Engagement and Impact Jaime Sand and Associate Teaching Professor Tom Turco created the "Introduction to Health Science and Public Health" pressbook, an open educational resource that brings together carefully selected open-source materials into one comprehensive, accessible textbook.

After noticing that previous textbooks didn't quite benefit health students as well as they could, Turco initiated this project and joined Sand in authoring the new pressbook.

"Previous textbooks weren't written at quite the right level for incoming freshmen and were missing some key topics we wanted to cover," Sand said. "We are also fans of a free book for students!"

Unlike other introductory texts that often focus primarily on one area of health, this pressbook brings together several interconnected topics. Students are introduced to the connection between healthcare systems, public health, social policy, health disparities and social determinants of health - the many factors that influence health and well-being.

"In the past, we had to jump all over the purchased textbook to be able to meet our specific course design," Turco said. "With our own textbook we can appropriately scaffold the class by placing the chapters in line with our course modules."

Sand and Turco also intentionally designed the resource for students early in their academic careers. This updated content is meant to be digestible and accessible, while still encouraging students to think critically about complex health issues.

The textbook uses examples, Sand said, that help students apply concepts to real-world situations and addresses topics particularly relevant to college-age students, including sexually transmitted infections and mental health. Throughout the book, these concepts are regularly connected to help students develop a more holistic understanding of health and the systems that shape it.

"We hope it gives them a well-rounded view of all that impacts our health," Sand said.

Sand implemented the pressbook in her HLTH 110 courses during the previous academic year and will continue to utilize the material in the same courses this year. Alongside five SPPH student learning assistants in the class of nearly 100 students, students will work in smaller groups to more deeply discuss the course material throughout the semester ahead.

"It's really fun to see what we've put together be so well received so far," Sand said. "The reward is in the student learning and seeing students accurately apply the concepts in their coursework."

Learn more about the School of Public and Population Health's courses and learning opportunities here.

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