Public health and health inequalities (P02294)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : HEA-P-PHHI

Public health practice stresses the central importance of overall population health improvement and, crucially, the reduction of health inequalities. Marked inequalities in health persist both within and between countries: inequalities can be seen across various axes including gender, race/ethnicity, and access to material resources, so, for example, deprived people have substantially poorer health than affluent people. This course provides a brief overview of the development of the public health movement and the key principles and values underpinning contemporary public health practice. It demonstrates the extent of inequalities in health within and between high (HICs) and low and middle income countries (LMICs) and critically examines current theories explaining how inequalities arise, focusing on behavioural/cultural, psychosocial, life course and structural/material explanations.

Entry Requirements

none

Subject Areas

Home subject area

International Public Health Policy, (School of Health in Social Science, Schedule D)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Block 1 only

? Contact Teaching Time : 3 hour(s) per week for 5 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
25/09/2008	14:00	14:50	Sydney Smith Room, Medical School, Teviot	Med+Vet

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Thursday	14:00	14:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course students are expected to:
-Demonstrate a critical understanding of the development of the public health movement and the central importance of reducing health inequalities in public health practice
-Articulate different concepts of health and critically analyse them
-Demonstrate a critical understanding of the range of factors that influence individual and population health
-Identify and critically interpret information on inequalities in health
-Critically analyse social policy responses to health and social inequalities
-Demonstrate an understanding of the extent of inequalities in health within and between countries
-Critically examine contemporary debates regarding the causes of inequalities in health