Postgraduate Course: Public Health and Health Policy (Distance Learning) (PGSP11339)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course examines concepts and debates relating to public health, health inequalities and health policy in a global context. It enables students to understand the policy making process, to analyse the roles of key health policy actors, and to consider the relationship between evidence and policy in relation to health.
Public health emphasises the dual objectives of population health improvement and the reduction of health inequalities; yet there is a lack of consensus over the principal determinants of health, appropriate policy approaches for achieving these goals, and effective strategies for engaging in the making of public policy. This course will introduce students to key concepts and principles in public health and policy analysis, exploring the role of public policy in meeting population health objectives. It offers a problem-focused and multi-disciplinary approach that draws on public health medicine, epidemiology, political science, public administration, sociology and political theory, with a normative focus on health equity a central theme throughout the course. Students will be provided with a conceptual framework within which to analyse the making of health policy, focusing on the varying distribution of power among different actors and stakeholders. Key theories of the state will be introduced, including its various functions in relation to population health, and we will explore changes in health policy associated with the ¿hollowing out¿ of the state via the increased role of markets, civil society, and international agencies. The course offers different approaches to understanding the policy process, looking at why some health issues obtain a privileged position within the policy agenda and why others are denied access to it, and emphasising the importance of understanding obstacles to effective implementation.
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| Course description |
Week
Topic
1 Understanding health ( including health, public health, global health)
2 Understanding health policy (including definitions, policy processes)
3 The state and public health. (Including roles, functions and stewardship.)
4 Agenda-setting and civil society
5 Policy networks and the commercial sector
6 The state in global health (including state capacity, policy transfer.)
7 Social determinants of health and health inequalities
8 Health systems and primary health care
9 Measuring health and health inequalities
10 Evidence and policy in health
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2014/15, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 20 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
| Course Start Date |
15/09/2014 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Learning and Teaching Activities |
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Assessment Methods
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assessment will be based on two components:
1) Input to blogs and discussion fora. Students to submit a portfolio of 6 contributions to course discussions, including at least 2 initiated contributions and at least 2 responses to other class members (30%)
2) Written essay of 3,000 words (70%).
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
- Critically analyse the concept of health and its determinants at a population level, and consider the relevance of these for contemporary public policy
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the range of factors that influence population health and the causes of health inequalities
- Critically apply a conceptual framework for analysis of the health policy process
- Critically assess theories of the state and their implications for the state¿s role in relation to health
- Consider the increasing role of market actors within the policy process
- Assess the varying roles of civil society organisations within the policy process
- Examine different theoretical approaches to understanding which health issues are situated on the policy agenda and to effective implementation of heath policy
- Evaluate the role of the health system in promoting health and reducing health inequalities at a population level
- Understand conceptual and methodological issues in measuring and monitoring health and health inequalities, and be able to interpret and critically appraise information on health and health inequalities
- Consider the role of scientific evidence in policy-making and examine competing models of the relationship between research and policy
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Reading List
Key Texts
- Buse K, Mays N and Walt G (2005). Making Health Policy. (London; Open University Press)
- Blank R and Buray V. (2010) Comparative Health Policy 3rd edition. (Basingstoke: Palgrave)
- Crinson I (2009) Health Policy: A Critical Perspective (London: Sage).
- Graham H (2007). Unequal Lives: Health and socioeconomic inequalities. Maidenhead; Open University Press.
- Pomerleau J and McKee M (eds) (2005). Issues in public health. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2005.
- Beaglehole R, Bonita R (2004). Public health at the crossroads (2nd ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sarah Hill
Tel:
Email: s.e.hill@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Jade Birkin
Tel: (0131 6)51 1659
Email: Jade.Birkin@ed.ac.uk |
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