SHN6502 - Contemporary Issues in Public Health and Individual Wellbeing

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate critical awareness of the key debates in contemporary public health.

Engage with the practical, moral and ethical issues that drive public health in a contemporary context that is dynamic and impacted by issues such as funding and liberty.

Evaluate the application of various approaches to securing positive public health outcomes relative to issues of age, race, class, education and geographical location.

Demonstrate high levels of communication skills, using a variety of media to deliver and secure positive public health outcomes.

Content:

Subject content will systematically work through the key issues in national and international contemporary public health and will pick up on challenges of collaborative and partnership work in addressing issues including:

Population demographics:

Childhood and Public health
- Immunisation
- Social setting of parenting and education
- Inequality and social deprivation

Youth/adolescence
- Education, behaviour, public health and impacts of established behaviour patterns
- Youth unemployment as an impact factor upon public health

Ageing workforce
- Impact of changes to retirement age and the workforce
- Policies and practices for public health within the ageing workforce

Post-retired population
- Increases in the number of retired citizens, taxation, resources and demands upon public health budgets and roles
- Issues of demand upon services, Quality Life Added Years and the role of public health
- Family and social pressures resulting from an ageing population

Age of onset of chronic illness
- Impact upon quality of life and employment status
- 'reasonable' adjustments/fitness to work
- Life-style illnesses and freedom of choice
- Social responsibility, collective responsibility, employer responsibilities and self-efficacy

Population movements and impacts upon public health - Issues and impacts upon public health and social housing upon public health
- Educational impacts of population movements and public health
- Health economics, taxation and the state in the context of population movement
- Epidemiology of population movement; health and social impacts of illness and disease associated with poverty and deprivation
- Population movement and transmission of diseases and viruses; impacts upon public health

Life-style illnesses in the context of demand upon scarce resources
- Choice, persuasion, coercion, responsibility
- The state, manufacturers, advertising and choice

Impacts of technology upon public health
- Diagnosis and targeted responses
- Health impacts of 'wearable' technology
- Personalisation of public health via technological innovation and intervention
- Changes to patterns of work/employment driven by technology and how this may impact upon public health

Role of technology in public health communications.

Learning and Teaching Information:

There will be a mix of lead lectures, visiting speakers and workshop sessions to secure the learning outcomes and integrate with the assessment strategy. These will be supported by students being able to take individual tutorial support as and when it is needed.

Lead lectures, visiting speakers
Hours: 30
Intended Group Size: Whole cohort

Workshops
Hours: 10
Intended Group Size: 25-30

Tutorials
Hours: 1
Intended Group Size: 1

Guided independent study
Hours: 159

Further details relating to assessment
Having engaged with a range of issues within contemporary public health, students will negotiate developing a campaign resource that relates to an important issue that they are interested in. Within the rationale document, students will show that they have considered key documents and critical arguments that they are taking forward into a campaign and they will explain the delivery method for the campaign and how it would reach the key audience(s). They will also describe a 'success-path commentary' for their proposed campaign.

The poster will build from student engagement with campaigns that have taken place within Public Health in a variety of contexts. Students will design a poster that will engage with the key issues and which might have a realistic application if it was to be taken forward.

Throughout, students will adhere to academic convention and show evidence of reading and critical evaluation of sources and debates within contemporary public health.

Assessment:

001 Rationale; 2,000 words; end of semester 2 50%
002 Poster; 2,000 word-equivalent; end of semester 2 50%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Marco Bardus
Level - 6
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 6S2

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