External summary

The University of Edinburgh has led the world in health innovation for over 4 centuries.  This new programme builds on Edinburgh’s expertise to provide an introduction to a range of major health challenges, and the policies, and practices that  are shaping health in the 21st century across low, middle and high income countries.  It will explore ways in which health, illness and health care are changing as the world changes, and look at how multiple and increasingly diverse factors determine health and wellness.  

In our globalised and interconnected world, none of the problems affecting the health and well-being of the world’s population and its environment are simple.  The complexity of the problems require complex and interconnected approaches.  They also require an acceptance that answers to many of the world’s problems are actually in the world already, they are just not in places where we have traditionally looked for solutions.  Often the solutions are to be found in unlikely places, known for generations by local communities who have adapted and adopted nature to meet their local needs in the most innovative and extraordinary ways.

Global experts (Staff  and partners from across the world) will explore some of   the more agile and in-depth ways to access new and old  streams of thinking across different and inter-related disciplines in order  to bring new ideas to the table.   The Course will  seek to understand what constitutes a healthy nation, a healthy community, a healthy environment,  a healthy individual and why health has become so vulnerable.   It will look at the drivers that are negatively affecting health and well-being factors and will explore the interconnections between these different drivers that are creating what has become known as a “perfect storm” with the potential to destroy many of the health gains, especially those in low income countries.    Using a range of case studies from different continents the certificate  embeds theories and policies into practical examples.  The certificate  also begins to look at some of the solutions that have been proposed by different players to tackle the global health challenges, and it will seek to explore ways in which local communities across the globe have sought to manage changes and turn around problems.

Educational aims of programme

The Certificate in Global Health, delivered through online distance learning, will equip students with the knowledge and analytical tools to make a contribution to a future shaped by issues that cut across the traditions of medicine, science, and the social sciences.   The Certificate will draw upon a range of disciplines, approaches and perspectives to deliver a programme that is flexible, challenging and cutting edge in context, delivery and scope.

• Development of an understanding of the processes and procedures by which the global health agenda is shaped
• Develop analytical and conceptual skills to critically evaluate the nature of the global health issues and to understand the interconnectedness of health with social, environmental, psychological and economic determinants.
• In-depth knowledge of the global issues, and the global players who  have shaped health outcomes.
• Understanding of the main strategies and organizations of global health including the Millennium development goals and the World Health Organization. 
• Knowledge and skills needed for pursuing career in global health agencies, political institutions or academia:,

The programme provides a useful  qualification for students seeking careers in research, development consultancy, non-governmental organizations working in health and development, the public sector or in international development organisations. In addition, the programme provides a good basis for professionals wishing to re-train or improve their knowledge or analytical skills for work in international placements.

Programme outcomes: Knowledge and understanding

Knowledge and understanding

• Global health  issues
• Theories  underpinning the health agenda, including tools for measuring disease burden and impact of health interventions.
• Knowledge of maternal and child health issues in a global sphere  
• Global health  in comparative perspectives
• Inequities in health including access, treatment and care, prevention of disease and health promotion.  
• Organisations and actors involved in global health

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in research and enquiry

Intellectual skills

• Critical analysis of theories and practice of health in development
• Contextualise health and development  issues in appropriate spheres of influence and analyse influence and determinants of health
• Ability to analyse key international and local health  policies from different perspectives
• Develop an insight into the interactions of knowledge that led to particular health agendas gaining priority at different stages.

Professional/subject-specific/practical skills

• Ability to critically evaluate the factors shaping particular health investment processes and their outcomes
• Ability to appropriately apply theories and insights from scholarly research to practical issues and problems of health policy and practice
• Ability and capacity to choose and apply the most appropriate research methods to a particular health policy problem or case

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal and intellectual autonomy

Transferable skills

• Appropriate qualitative, quantitative and participatory methods
• Training in analysing policy documents and reports
• Critical evaluation of development policy
• Preparation and presentations of reports and other communication skills
• Training to undertake advanced independent research
• Time management, resource allocation and interpersonal skills

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

Communication skills

• Write in a variety of idioms and styles (essay, technical report, policy document)
• Engage in depart through fora (blogs, chat rooms, video chat)
• Develop and deliver complex arguments through a range of media 

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal effectiveness

Effectiveness:

• Organise time and sequence activities
• Ability to work alone or as part of a group
• Work to deadline and under pressure
• Professionally produce and edit written material
• Time management, resource allocation and interpersonal skills

Programme outcomes: Technical/practical skills

Practical skills:

• Policy analysis
• Ability to deal with complex datasets
• Ability to evaluate complex problems
• Effective writing and communication through a variety of modalities

Programme structure and features

SQCF credit points and levels   

All courses are offered at Level 11.  Courses carry either 20 credits or 10 Credits    A total of 60 credit points must be achieved. The current stipulated courses for the Certificate are compulsory.

Degree Criteria:

Student must complete all three of the prescribed credit courses to complete the 60-credit Certificate. Generally the programme will be completed ‘part-time’ over  consecutive teaching blocks (although there will be flexibility for students to complete the programme over a longer period of time (24 months, or two academic cycles of the programme, for example).

Teaching and learning methods and strategies

Teaching and Learning strategies employed at the University of Edinburgh consist of a variety of different methods appropriate to the programme aims. The graduate attributes listed above are met through a teaching and learning framework.  Each course will use a combination of teaching methods that allows knowledge and skills to be conveyed in the most accessible form.   

Core Course 1 : Global Health  Challenges   An Introduction  (Online Distance Learning)

Semester 1  September-December                                         

Course code:     GMED11101                     

This course is divided into three sections, the first section looks at the factors that destroy health – these well-identified health challenges such as a)  the shifting global  burdens of diseases with non communicable diseases creating double and triple burdens on top of infectious diseases  such as HIV, and neglected tropical diseases b) drought and famine where the essentials of life are removed,  and c) humanitarian emergencies including war and natural disasters.    The course will use a series of expert talking heads to draw attention to the fact that health is more than the absence of disease,  good health requires an environment where well-being flourishes, where hope for the future is based in a just, secure and safe environment, where families, communities and individuals can develop to their full potential.  This second section looks at the nature of the double edge swords in health such as extraordinary population growth in many countries, the shifting global food industry, industrialisation and multiple capacity for movement. These swords  contain the potential to improve health or to destroy health depending on how they are managed. Rapid, and unplanned urbanisation, the cycles and traps  of poverty, the lack of food security, the scarcity of water, the unpredictable changes in weather, and the lack of secure sources of energy all can  and are changing the health of the world. This section will encourage students to critically appraise case studies and journal articles and Authorized reports.

Key to the course is an exploration of the effects of these challenges on different communities and the ways in which communities are tackling problems, and developing solutions and new approaches.  Themes include innovations through technology, through community development approaches including faith approaches, energy, food, water, consumption, population and growth — and the relationships between them.   Students will be encouraged in this section to learn through media involvement, through interview and through practical case work and case note gathering.

Participants will gain an understanding of the big global health challenges such as disease, poverty, war, emergencies, famine and drought,  and the factors that drive these challenges.  But alongside understanding these factors participants will start to understand the complexities of health, and of the drivers that can improve and destroy health and the innovations that are being developed, and those that are being re-discovered which will change the shape of health for the better.   

This course will introduce some of the key global health challenges of the 21st century. It will explore their drivers,  and their impact and traditional and innovative ways of tackling health problems.  The course will introduce key concepts, tools and approaches to understanding the complexity of the challenges and their impacts and will utilise an array of case studies to explore pertinent issues.   The Course will link closely with other courses and other experts in the field throughout the University. .

On completion of this course  participants will be able to :

• Understand the major global challenges affecting the health of the world's population
• Be cognisant of the principles and practice of global health and understand the reasons for, consequences of and strategies to tackle the global disease burden.
• Understand how health is affected, impacted, and determined by non health phenomena
• Have a critical awareness of current global health policy and practice issues, and the systems and structures that determine how and why decisions are made

Course 2 & 3   Maternal Health    &   New Born and Child Health    (Online Distance Learning)

Semester 2  January – March                                                  

Course codes: GMED11103  EMND11028

A special  series on  Maternal and New Born and Child Health -  case studies of health challenges of the 21st century.    The course is divided into two parts, the first part focussing on maternal health and the second on child health   

As a special case study  course  it aims to familiarise students with the main causes and underlying determinants of maternal  and child morbidity and mortality, exploring the different physical, economic, environmental, social, and cultural barriers and risks to good maternal and child health.    The birth of a child constantly connects the past with the future, yet this most essential, inspirational  and fundamental activity is also one of the most dangerous.  Of all the global health challenges it is the challenge of reducing maternal and child mortality and improving health for mothers  that is proving most stubborn to tackle. It represents an unparalleled global injustice and inequity

Course 2a   Maternal health    Worldwide, on average, approximately 1500 women die daily from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. This amounts to more than half a million deaths annually, with the majority occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This course aims to familiarise students with the main causes and underlying determinants of maternal morbidity and mortality. The key interventions to address these problems, approaches to implementation, and barriers to success will be examined.  

Course 2b    New Born and Child health    The purpose of this course is to promote an appreciation of the risk factors and diseases resulting in high childhood mortality. More than 70 per cent of almost 11 million child deaths every year are attributable to six causes: diarrhoea, malaria, neonatal infection, pneumonia, preterm delivery, or lack of oxygen at birth; under-nutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide. This course aims to familiarise students with these causes and their underlying determinants, and provide a good understanding of how these problems could be and are being addressed.

These two courses will explore a fundamental theme in global health:  the worrying knowledge that the world knows what to do to prevent maternal and child deaths,  and it knows that what to do is neither  costly or complicated, yet women and children still die. 

The courses will also explore the key interventions that have been developed at international, national and local level to address this unacceptable burden of death and the different approaches to implementation of programmes to improve maternal and child health.    Participants will gain and understanding of the causes,  and the drivers of mortality recognising that mortality is not about just about disease but connected to  almost every area of life such as  transport, environment, economics, human rights abuse.  Participants will leave having come face to face with the question of how the world allows such injustice to continue, and how every level practitioner regardless of their discipline can  be part of the global battle to make a difference to mothers and children.  

On completion of both of these courses you should be able:

• To understand the main causes of maternal deaths during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum, and what interventions and approaches exist to tackle these
• To be familiar with the methods and challenges of maternal mortality measurement and the inequalities between and within countries
• To understand approaches and frameworks for monitoring and evaluating interventions from the preconception through to the postpartum period
• To understand the social determinants of maternal health and the importance of strong integrated health systems to improve maternal health
• To be familiar with the global health agenda for maternal and women and child health and targets (e.g. MDGs), strategies, policies and investments to drive progress
• To understand: 
• the main causes of death in infants and children under 5, what preventative and treatment interventions exist to tackle these, and barriers to effective implementation
• nutritional and environmental factors, and the social determinants influencing infant and child health outcomes
• the inequalities in child health outcomes and the countries and groups of people within countries that are most severely affected
• the process and impact of natural and artificial acquired immunity in relation to childhood diseases and their severity
• newborn and child health measurement concepts and methods, and monitoring and evaluation frameworks

Core Course 3  Health inequities and the social determinants of health (Online Distance Learning)

Semester 2 January –  March                  

Course code: PGSP11329

Inequalities or disparities in the health of different population groups are seen both within and between countries. The term  $health inequities denotes differences in the health status of groups occupying unequal positions in society; such inequities can be seen across multiple axes including gender, ethnicity/race, area and socioeconomic position. This course aims to demonstrate the extent of inequalities in health, to explore the underlying determinants of health and health inequalities, and to consider policy responses to health inequities. It expands on theories explaining how health inequities arise, including behavioural/cultural, psychosocial, material and lifecourse approaches, and investigates the role of government and the potential impact of economic, social and health policy in creating or reducing health inequities. Different explanatory paradigms and their implications for policy intervention will be discussed in relation to the health status of various population subgroups.  Teaching across the 10 weeks will involve online lectures, journal clubs and critique of published papers. 

Themes covered throughout the ten weeks include

Health inequities and the social determinants of health: introduction and overview

Social inequalities in health: structural and life-course perspectives

Reducing inequalities in health  $ú what are the fundamental policy problems?

The welfare system as a determinant of health

Gender and health

Ethnicity/race and health

Place and health

Evidence and policy in relation to health inequalities and the social determinants of health

The policy experience: strategies for reducing health inequalities, and why they have  not worked

Policy development and the health inequalities agenda in a global context

At the completion of this course participants will be able  to

• Analyse the range of factors that influence health
• Critically interpret information on inequalities in health
• Examine contemporary debates regarding the causes of inequalities in health, and distinguish conceptually between health inequalities and health inequities
• Explore the extent of health inequities within and between countries
• Engage with theories accounting for the relationship between health inequities and broader inequalities in society
• Critically examine policy approaches to economic and social policy and the implications for the distribution of health resources within society
• Critically examine the impact that aspects of public policy have on the extent of health inequities in society

Assessment methods and strategies

Courses can be assessed by a diverse range of methods and often takes the form of formative work which provides the student with on-going feedback as well as summative assessment which is submitted for credit.   Assessments are fairly  governed by the University’s regulations.  Each of the Courses in the Certificate will be subject to a Course Assessment as outlined below.

Core Course 1  

Assessment will be based on two pieces of work one contributing 40% towards the Course and one 60% as outlined

 1) Contributions to online discussion forums and reflections (relating to the readings, videos, online lectures and the personal reflections that the students write) (40%);

2) Final synthetic written work (60%,  essay, 2500 words).

Core Course 2 & 3 :

For each of these courses assessment will be based on two pieces of work one contributing 40% towards the Course and one 60% as outlined:

1) Contributions to online discussion forums and reflections (relating to the readings, videos, online lectures and the personal reflections that the students write) (40%);

2) Final synthetic written work (60%, policy essay, 2500 words).

Core course 4

Assessment will be based on two components whch are assessed differently to the courses above. :

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%).

Career opportunities

It is anticipated that those who graduate with  this certificate, or who go on to complete the full MSc  will be in a position to apply for health and development careers with international and national organisations especially working in Global health in low and middle income countries.   The university of Edinburgh has excellent careers advisory services and staff at the service will be available to provide additional information and guidance on opportunities.

Other items

Note that this Certificate will form part of a package of three e-certificates (in Global Development; Global Health, and Global Environment) that can be combined to lead to either a Diploma (120 credits) or MSc in Global Challenges (180 credits). These programmes will pass before a future Board of Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Science .

MSc in Global Challenges

The MSc in Global Challenges is an innovative, interdisciplinary programme that is delivered completely through online distance learning. The programme is modular; allowing students to acquire the necessary credits over an extended period of time.  Students wishing to do the MSc programme will register for the MSc through AHSS.   

The MSc will be built around the delivery of the courses within each of the three discrete, 60-credit e-certificates in Global Environment, Global Health and Global Development). These certificates will be conceptually linked through three core courses in ‘Global Challenges’ which have been developed and tailored in relation to the other programmes. The courses will share an opening theoretical framework  lecture.  Each of the core courses within the three certificates will introduce key themes and tools, and at strategic points within the course draw on common case study material that gives insight to all three issues.  Students, once registered for the MSc  can choose to do the following two certificates ( after Health ) in any order. ( eg Health followed by Development followed by Environment) depending on their interests. In the third and final year of the MSc programme students once they have completed 160 credits worth of courses (which will include two full sets of courses from two certificates and 2 x 20 credit courses from the 3rd Certificate) will complete the MSc programme by undertaking a 20 credit synthetic and analytical reflection course ( delivered by AHSS) on a key global challenge raised by the three different subject areas.