SIW4100 International Health Policy Course description

The course gives a comprehensive introduction to global health problems, health studies, and international and national strategies to meet these problems.

None.

A student who has completed his or her qualification has the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• has advanced knowledge of global health problems and global health policy
• has thorough knowledge of theories, ethics discussions and empirical methods in the study of health care systems, illness and disease in populations
• can apply scholarly theories and methods to new areas in international health policy

Skills

The student can

• analyse and deal critically with various sources of information about the global health situation and main challenges to health and health care
• analyse and deal critically with the relationship between culture and illness
• evaluate research methods and strategies in investigations of population health
• apply relevant theories and arguments in debates on health inequalities
• apply relevant theories and evaluate national health care systems and their main dimensions
• apply relevant theories and evaluate the role of organisations in international health policies

General Competence

The student can

• apply his/her knowledge and skills in new areas in order to carry out advanced assignments and projects in international health policy
• communicate about academic issues, analyses and conclusions in international health policy, both with specialists and the general public
• contribute to new thinking and innovation processes in international health policy

The course is organised into a series of lectures and seminars. Students are expected to play an active role. Students will also be required to present papers, and discuss course themes during lectures and seminars.

Students must submit a coursework requirement of eight pages (+/- 10%), written preferably in groups (2-5 students). Students who wish to write individually (around 4-5 pages) must get permission from the course lecturer. The topic of the work requirement will reflect main areas of the course curriculum and lectures. Students whose papers are not approved after the first submission will be given the chance to resubmit.

Papers that are not approved after two submissions will disqualify students from sitting the final examination.

The student's learning outcome will be assessed on the basis of an individual three days written home exam of 5 pages (+ / - 10 %).

All referenced material is allowed.

Students are awarded grades on a descending scale from A to E for pass and F for fail.

The written examination is assessed by an internal and an external examiner. The external examiner grades a random sample consisting of 25 percent of the written exams. The grades given for this sample provide a basis for the internal examiner's assessment. The external examiner will also grade papers where there is doubt about giving a grade of pass.

Simon Innvær