Public Policy, Health and Health Inequalities

CPD courses are delivered at the Queen's Campus, Stockton through short 4-5 day intensive classroom teaching blocks.

Module Description:

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To extend students’ understanding of the social determinants of health, the social gradient in health and the role of public policy and practice in tackling health inequalities in the UK and beyond.

Content

• 1. Introduction – inequality and the social gradient in health (includes measuring health inequality)
• 2. Theoretical approaches to understanding health inequality
• 3. Social determinants of health and health inequalities (part 1)
• 4. Social determinants of health and health inequalities (part 2)
• 5. Evidence base for tackling inequalities in health (lifestyle and social determinants)
• 6. Public policy and health inequality (history and current approaches)
• 7. From evidence into practice: implementation issues
• 8. Partnership working for addressing health inequalities
• 9. Performance managing health inequalities
• 10. Case study: Employment, unemployment and health

Learning OutcomesSubject-specific Knowledge:

• A critical understanding of:
• The theoretical and conceptual background to health inequalities
• The influence of social, environmental and economic factors on inequalities in population health
• The evidence base on tackling health inequalities
• Relationships between public policies, health and health inequalities
• Policy implementation and performance managing health inequalities
• The role of partnerships in improving health and reducing health inequalities

Subject-specific Skills:

• Literature searching – students should be able to conduct literature searches, evaluate and critically appraise evidence from a range of sources.
• Team working - they should be able to work in uniprofessional and interprofessional teams
• Presentation - they should be able to select, synthesise and present complex material
• Communication – they should be able to effectively communicate complex material

Key Skills:

• The ability to think critically and creatively and to argue coherently;
• The capacity for sustained interprofessional learning and work at an advanced level and the ability to learn through reflection on practice and experience
• The ability to think independently, including problem-solving ability and the ability to discriminate and use judgement;
• The ability to communicate effectively across specialised subject and professional areas;
• The ability to work effectively in inter-professional and inter agency contexts and to critically assess the relevance and validity of others’ views, contributions to care planning and service delivery.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lecturing - Describes the social gradient in health - Explains theoretical approaches to health inequalities - Examines the social determinants of health - Summarises the evidence base around interventions to reduce inequalities in health - Outlines public policy responses to health inequalities - Examines practice and implementation issues
• Tutorials and seminars - Allow students to work through concepts in more detail, providing both teacher and peer led input, promoting discussion and developing communication and group working skills
• Structured reading - Allows students to pursue topics in greater detail enabling both familiarity with key texts and a deeper understanding of the subject knowledge generally
• Independent study, research and analysis - Focuses student knowledge more deeply by pursuing aspects of the module that are of special interest to themselves and exploring specific applications in their field of study.
• Library research - Promotes independent lifelong learning skills as well as promoting learning from a variety of sources
• Essay assessment will test students’ critical knowledge and understanding of key concepts, their ability to argue coherently and communicate effectively in writing, and to reflectively assess their proficiency in thinking through how social determinants of health, the social gradient in health can be addressed via both public policy professional practice

Lecture - 10 weekly @ 1 hr = 10hrs

Tutorial/seminar - 10 weekly@ 1 hr = 10hrs

Structured Reading - 10 sets weekly @ 3 hrs = 30hrs

Library researching/Independent study - Student initiated / Student determined = 100hrs

Total Hours = 150

Summative Assignment: 3000 words = 100%

Formative Assessment: A 1500 word will provide formative assessment and will indicate to students the depth of their understanding and the relative strength/weakness of their analysis.