COURSE UNIT TITLE

: LIFE CYCLE IN WOMEN'S HEALTH

DEGREE PROGRAMMES

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
KDN 6033 LIFE CYCLE IN WOMEN'S HEALTH ELECTIVE 3 0 0 7

Offered By

Women's and Family Studies

Level of Course Unit

Third Cycle Programmes (Doctorate Degree)

Course Coordinator

PROFESSOR DOCTOR VILDAN MEVSIM

Offered to

Women's and Family Studies

Course Objective

Women s lives consist of distinct yet interrelated periods from biological, physiological, and psychosocial perspectives. Each stage such as adolescence, reproductive years, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, and old age carries unique needs and risks for women s health. Neglecting the health issues specific to these periods can lead to serious problems at both the individual and societal levels.

Therefore, the aim of the course Life Cycle in Women s Health is to provide students with the competence to address women s fundamental health needs throughout their lives, and to approach preventive, monitoring, and supportive health services with a lifestyle-based perspective.

Within this course, students are expected to assimilate up-to-date scientific knowledge on women s health, relate this knowledge to lifestyle practices, and develop approaches that contribute to healthy aging processes in women. In addition, through a small-scale project conducted on a topic of their choice, students will be encouraged to enhance their skills in critical thinking, analysis, and practice-oriented creativity.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   Can holistically analyze the stages of a woman s life (adolescence, reproductive years, pregnancy, menopause, old age) from a health perspective.
2   Can identify the physiological, reproductive, and lifestyle-based health needs specific to each stage of life.
3   Can explain preventive and monitoring services for common health problems in women s health.
4   Can evaluate the impact of lifestyle factors such as healthy nutrition, physical activity, stress management, and sleep on women s health.
5   Can interpret current scientific literature on women s health and critically assess it.
6   Can conduct a small-scale project on a chosen topic and develop solution proposals for the health field.
7   Can develop practical recommendations tailored to age and life stage that contribute to the strengthening of women s health.

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Introduction: What is the Life Cycle Approach A holistic view of the stages of women s health, scope, and importance of the course.
2 Women s Health in Adolescence Menstrual cycle, hormonal changes during adolescence, sexual health, and hygiene.
3 Adolescence: Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Body Image Eating disorders, body perception, and healthy lifestyle habits in young women.
4 Reproductive Health: Menstruation, Ovulation, and Fertility Physiology of the female reproductive system, regular monitoring, and health check-ups.
5 Family Planning and Contraceptive Methods Effectiveness, side effects, women s right to choose, and health counseling.
6 Preconception Preparation and Health Monitoring During Pregnancy . Planned pregnancy, screening tests, lifestyle modifications, and birth preparation
7 Nutrition, Exercise, and Common Health Problems in Pregnancy Approaches to conditions such as iron deficiency, hypertension, and diabetes.
8 Health Management in Childbirth and the Postpartum Period Delivery methods, breastfeeding, postpartum depression, and pelvic floor health.
9 Menopause in Women: Hormonal Changes and Interventions Definition, symptoms, and hormone replacement therapy.
10 Lifestyle and Preventive Health in Menopause Nutrition, physical activity, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular health management.
11 Common Chronic Diseases in Women Hypertension, diabetes, obesity, thyroid disorders, and women-centered management.
12 Mental Health in Women: A Life Cycle Perspective Depression, anxiety, postpartum depression, and support mechanisms.
13 Preventive Services and Screening Programs in Women s Health Pap smear, breast examination, vitamin D level, bone density, and other age-specific screenings.
14 General Evaluation and Healthy Aging Sustainable healthy living goals across all stages of women s lives.
15 Practical Session
16 Final Exam

Recomended or Required Reading

1. WHO. (2013). Life course approach to women's health.
2. Kuh, D., & Ben-Shlomo, Y. (2004). A life course approach to chronic disease epidemiology.
3. World Health Organization (WHO). (2015). The global strategy for womens, childrens and adolescents health (2016 2030). Every Woman Every Child. Retrieved from
4. World Health Organization (2022). Women's Health and Well-being in Europe: Beyond the Mortality Advantage.
5. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Sağlık Bakanlığı (2022). Kadın Sağlığı Rehberi. Halk Sağlığı Genel Müdürlüğü Yayınları.
6. Egger, G., Binns, A., & Rossner, S. (2019). Lifestyle Medicine: Managing Diseases of Lifestyle in the 21st Century (3rd ed.). Academic Press.
7. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (2021). State of World Population: My Body is My Own.
8. UN Women. Gender and Health Publications.
9. Martin, E. (2001). The Woman in the Body: A Cultural Analysis of Reproduction. Beacon Press.
10. Fausto-Sterling, A. (2000). Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality. Basic Books.
11. Özvarış, Ş. B. (2009). Toplumsal Cinsiyet ve Sağlık. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Yayınları.
12. Riley, N., & Houghton, F. (2022). A life-course approach to women's health: Lessons from global and public health perspectives. Journal of Global Health Reports, 6,
13. Koblinsky, M. et al. (2016).Quality maternity care for every woman, everywhere: A call to action. The Lancet, 388(10056), 2307 2320.
14. Langer, A. et al. (2015).Women and Health: The key for sustainable development.
The Lancet, 386(9999), 1165 1210.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Interactive Lectures: Structured presentations that convey key concepts while encouraging student participation.

Case-Based Learning: Analysis and discussion of health conditions related to different stages of a woman s life.

Seminar Presentations: Individual or group presentations prepared and shared by students on selected topics.

Article Reading and Discussion: Integration of current literature into the course for critical evaluation.

Project Development and Presentation: Preparation and presentation of a small-scale project by students on a chosen topic.

Lifestyle Journal: Individual monitoring of lifestyle components related to women s health, shared and discussed in class.

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MTE MIDTERM EXAM
2 STT TERM WORK (SEMESTER)
3 FIN FINAL EXAM
4 FCG FINAL COURSE GRADE MTE * 0.30 + STT * 0.30 + FIN* 0.40
5 RST RESIT
6 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE (RESIT) MTE * 0.30 + STT * 0.30 + RST* 0.40


Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria

Student assessment is carried out through projects, assignments, and final examinations in line with the learning outcomes

Language of Instruction

Turkish

Course Policies and Rules

Attendance is mandatory for 70% of the classes

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

vildan.mevsim@deu.edu.tr

Office Hours

Friday, 12:00 13:3

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 14 3 42
Project Preparation 2 12 24
Preparing presentations 2 10 20
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 14 4 56
Preparation for midterm exam 1 10 10
Preparation for final exam 1 10 10
Final Assignment 1 2 2
Midterm 1 1 1
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 165

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6PO.7PO.8
LO.15
LO.25
LO.35
LO.45
LO.55
LO.65
LO.75

CONTACT INFORMATION
Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Cumhuriyet Bulvarı No: 144 35210 Alsancak / İZMİR
Phone: +90(232) 412 12 12 - Fax: +90 (232) 464 81 35

Copyright 2015 DEÜ. BİD

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