CBH/PUBHLTH -426-eburduli-2025-10-30-01-43-25
Below is a syllabus template that includes WSU's required syllabus elements. Please complete all items highlighted in yellow.
Title of Course [Foundations of Public Health Approaches to Understanding, Preventing and Treating Substance Use]
Prefix and Number
CBH/PUBHLTH 426
Semester and Year [Fall 2026]
Number of Credit Hours [3]
Prerequisites [None]
Course Details
Day and Time: [tbd]
Meeting Location: [tbd]
Instructor Contact Information
Instructor Name: [John Roll]
Instructor Contact Information: [office location, phone, email] [johnroll@wsu.edu]
Instructor Office Hours: [click here for best practices] [tbd]
TA Name: [tbd]
TA Contact Information: [office location, phone, email]: [tbd]
TA Office Hours: [click here for best practices] [tbd]
Course Description
This advanced course begins by exploring the current state of knowledge regarding reasons individuals use and misuse psychoactive substances Following this we will embark on an exploration of the best available evidence for substance use prevention efforts. This will include discussion about which interventions may be most effective for certain populations and in certain settings. We will spend the majority of the semester discussing interventions to treat substance use disorders and their implementation. Discussions of treatment will be informed not only by efficacy but also by economic and social factors that may influence implementation. Throughout the course we will explore the impact of substance use on other public health concerns such as being unhoused, co-occurring mental and physical health conditions, criminal justice involvement, and child and maternal health. Each day’s activities will be infused with discussions of specific relevance to public health. The course is suitable for upper-division undergraduates and graduate students interested in careers in public health, medicine, nursing or other allied health sciences.
Course Materials
Books:
- The ASAM Essentials of Addiction Medicine
- Additional journal articles and case studies will be provided through Canvas.
Other Materials: [None]
Fees: [None]
|
Course Learning Outcomes (students will be able to:) |
Activities Supporting the Learning Outcomes | Assessment of the Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| Describe the current best understanding of why individuals use and misuse psychoactive compounds. | Weeks 1-16 | Exams, online quizzes, final paper, class discussions |
|
Demonstrate an understanding of the best available substance misuse prevention strategies and under what conditions to attempt their implementation. |
Weeks 1-16 | Exams, online quizzes, final paper, class discussions |
| Describe the key components of evidence -based substance use treatment interventions. |
Weeks 1-16 |
Exams, online quizzes, final paper, class discussions |
| Demonstrate knowledge of the key factors influencing successful implementation of these strategies. |
Weeks 1-16 |
Exams, online quizzes, final paper, class discussions |
| Describe measures for ensuring an intervention is being accurately deployed and how to continually assess and modify an intervention over time. |
Weeks 1-16 |
Exams, online quizzes, final paper, class discussions |
|
Demonstrate knowledge of the impacts of substance use disorder on other public health foci. |
Weeks 1-16 |
Exams, online quizzes, final paper, class discussions |
|
Week |
Topic |
Chapter Reading |
Assignments |
|
1 |
Course expectations discussion /Introduction to Addiction Science |
ASAM Chapter 1 |
Download and Read Syllabus Pre-course evaluation Introduction to Discussion Board |
|
2 |
Introduction to Addiction Science (continued) |
Article by Roll |
|
|
3 |
Preventing Addiction: a Public Health Framework |
ASAM Chapter 21 and 98 |
Complete Online Quiz #1
|
|
4 |
Preventing Addiction
|
Article by Weybright |
|
|
5 |
Treating Addiction: An Introduction
|
Lecture only
|
Complete Online Quiz #2 |
|
6 |
Pharmacotherapy |
ASAM 46 and 48 |
|
|
7 |
In Class Review |
No reading |
Preparation for Midterm |
|
8 |
MID-SEMESTER EXAMINATION
|
|
Complete Mid-Semester Examination
|
|
9
|
Psychosocial Interventions |
ASAM 54, 55 and 56
|
Complete Online Quiz #3 |
|
10 |
Behavioral Interventions |
ASAM 57
|
|
|
11 |
Maternal and Child Interventions |
ASAM 34 and Article by Burduli
|
Complete Online Quiz #4 |
|
12 |
Adolescent Interventions |
ASAM 104 |
|
|
13 |
Pain and Addiction |
ASAM 92 |
Complete Online Quiz #5
|
|
14 |
Interventions with those who have co-occurring mental and/or physical health concerns
|
Lecture only |
|
|
15 |
Harm Reduction |
ASAM 30 |
|
|
16 |
In Class review |
- |
|
|
17 |
FINAL EXAMINATION & REVIEW |
- |
- |
Expectations for Student Effort
For every hour of in-class instruction, or equivalent online instruction, students should expect at least 2-3 hours of outside class course preparation in the form of reading, course assignments, and review of previous materials.
Grading [add more lines if necessary]
| Type of Assignment (tests, papers, etc) | Points | Percent of Overall Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Examinations | 100 | 33 |
| Online quizzes | 50 | 17 |
| Final Paper | 100 | 33 |
| Live class participation | 50 | 17 |
| Grade | Percent | Grade | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| A |
≥ 90% |
C | 70% – 79% |
| A- | C- | ||
| B+ | D+ | ||
| B | 80% – 89% | D | 60% – 69% |
| B- | F | < 60% | |
| C+ |
Standard rounding procedures will be applied to the percentages in order to calculate grades
Attendance and Make-Up Policy
Attendance and engaged participation will be considered in the final grade.
Late assignments will NOT be accepted unless approved by the course instructor prior to the due date. In emergencies, where prior notice of absence is given to the instructor, make-up assignments and/or exams may be given. There is no guarantee, nor should students expect, that a make-up assignment or exam would be granted, nor is it equivalent to a scheduled exam in terms of difficulty. Extreme emergency situations that result in no prior notice of absence will be dealt with at the instructor’s discretion.
Academic Integrity Statement
You are responsible for reading WSU's Academic Integrity Policy, which is based on Washington State law. If you cheat in your work in this class you will:
Academic integrity is a serious matter, and any deviations from appropriate behavior will be dealt with strongly. At the discretion of the professor, situations may be dealt with as a scholastic or disciplinary matter.
As a scholastic matter, the professor has the discretion to determine appropriate penalties for the student’s workload or grade, but the situation may be resolved without involving many individuals. An alternative is to treat the situation as a disciplinary matter, which can result in suspension from the University, or have lesser penalties. Be aware that I view this as a very serious matter and will have little tolerance of or sympathy for questionable practices. A student who attempts to obtain credit for work that is not their own (whether that be on a paper, quiz, homework assignment, exam, etc.) will likely receive a failing grade for that item of work, and at the professor’s discretion, may also receive a failing grade in the course.
Plagiarism includes (a) copying and pasting information from a web site or another source, and then revising it so it sounds like your original idea, (b) doing an assignment/essay/take home test with a friend and then handing in separate assignments that contain the same ideas, language, phrases, etc., (c) Quoting a passage without quotation marks or citations, so it looks like your own, (d) paraphrasing a passage without citing it, so it looks like your own, and (e) hiring another person to do your work for you, or purchasing a paper through any of the on- or off-line sources. Plagiarism also includes self-plagiarism, which means the repeated submission of all or part of work that you have previously submitted elsewhere.
You are responsible for reading WSU’s Academic Integrity Policy, which is based on Washington State law. If you cheat, in your work in this class, you will:
- Be reported to the Center for Community Standards
- Have the right to appeal my decision
- Not be able to drop the course of withdraw from the course until the appeals process is finished
If you want to ask for a change in my decision about academic integrity, use the form at the Center for Community Standards website. You must submit this request within 21 days of the decision.
-Be reported to the Center for Community Standards
-Have the right to appeal my decision
-Not be able to drop the course of withdraw from the course until the appeals process is finished
If you have any questions about what you can and cannot do in this course, ask me.
If you want to ask for a change in my decision about academic integrity, use the form at the Center for Community Standards website. You must submit this request within 21 calendar days of the decision.