In the age of social media and artificial intelligence (AI), Canadians have an abundance of health and well-being information at their fingertips. This spring, two Brock University Health Sciences courses aim to help students effectively engage with health information and explore range of fundamental topics related to well-being.

HLSC 1F90 Introduction to Health Sciences and HLSC 1F25 Health: A Canadian Perspective will examine a wide range of topics, including mental health, diet and weight management, relationships and sexual health, addiction, cancer, and violence and abuse prevention as well as a range medical and public health professions.

Professor of Health Sciences Brent Faught says that HLSC 1F25 emphasizes practical strategies students can apply in their daily lives. Intended for non-Health Sciences students, the course will be offered asynchronously online during the Spring Term.

“Students say, ‘I would have never taken a course like this because it’s not part of my degree, but I actually had an interest in cancer and heart disease because I’ve had family members who have suffered or died from it,’” he says.

Based on student feedback, Faught says the topics covered in HLSC 1F90 resonate with them on a personal level, with some sharing how they are making healthier choices about food or stress management, for example.

“Everybody is responsible for their own health and well-being,” he says. “Practical, data-informed health strategies are helpful for anyone interested in taking on a proactive approach to their own health.”

Learning how to identify and understand reliable health information is a key part of HLSC 1F90. The course will be offered in person during the Spring Term.

“Students learn to evaluate different sources of health evidence. We link that to being able to tell what accurate information and false information is,” says Assistant Professor of Health Sciences Kelly Pilato.

As tools like AI and social media reshape the ways people encounter health information, Pilato says these skills are becoming more important than ever.

“We talk a lot about how, as future health professionals, it will be their job to help other people make informed choices about their health,” she says.

Students in HLSC 1F90 will have the opportunity to learn about a variety of health topics and careers available medicine and public health, such as social determinants of health and the inequities that shape health outcomes.

“I help students not only understand what the inequities are, but how it will be their job, as future health professionals, to work toward mitigating those inequities,” Pilato said.

Throughout the course, guest speakers will share their career trajectories and expert insights into topics such as Indigenous Peoples’ experiences in Canada’s health-care system, mental health careers and community-oriented health initiatives.

Students will reflect on these presentations through assignments designed to connect what they learn from speakers to their own academic, career and health goals.

For more information on Brock’s Spring/Summer courses or to register, visit brocku.ca/springsummer