Health & Human Services Degrees Overview
A degree in Human Services with an emphasis on Nutrition encompasses variety of professional skills pertaining to a rewarding career in assisting and helping professions. A Human Services degree gives graduates the skill set to identify, assess, locate resources and assist people with various needs. A Health and Human Services degree with an emphasis on Nutrition Science will give graduates the skills to utilize the latest research and resources to use nutrition, healthy eating habits and preventative nutrition and wellness to address those in need. Popular areas of service including child and family welfare, gerontology, community service facilities and human services administration.
Professional Skills
A popular and quite necessary area of training has been in the study of Child and Family Welfare. Although always a concern, nutrition as it pertains to children and families in need has become increasingly important. Those with the training and knowledge to address problems such as proper pre-natal care, child obesity, diabetes and other ailments affecting families will become more prevalent as more money and effort by government and local communities are provided for these issues. A Health and Human Services degree in Child and Family Welfare will focus on the evaluation and assessment of present social structures, including adoption, foster care, child protection and family reunification, affecting families today, with the intent of eviating many of the problems faced by these families.
Another area of study is Gerontology. Focusing on the physical, mental and psychosocial aspects of the aging process, a Human Services degree in Gerontology with a focus on Nutrition will train graduates to work directly with our growing aging population, expected to outnumber the rest of the US population significantly by the end of the decade, as advocates for a better and healthier lifestyle. Graduates will be prepared to work with the elderly, to assist and address many of the changes and needs in their lives, as well as how they interact and affect the rest of society. In particular, better nutrition and healthy living habits have been shown to reduce Medicare and Medical costs to the government significantly.
Those interested in administrative roles are encouraged to explore a degree in Human Services Administration. Skills involve not only the knowledge of basic human services, but also administrative aspects including fund raising, public policy, government contracting, staff supervision and patient advocacy.
In degree programs, students are given the skill set to complete the necessary duties for their given position, while at the same time using innovative, critical thinking to continue to evolve this skill set and learn new ways to solve the problems faced by those in need.
