IPH3030 International Public Health Course description

Public health work is society's organised effort to maintain, improve and promote the population's health, both locally and globally. Interventions are directed towards factors that contribute to better health and factors that might represent a health risk. Public health work is concerned with reducing health inequalities through work on equity, accessibility and quality of services. An increase in disease rates, long term conditions and lifestyle illnesses are expected in the future. This is a consequence of demographic changes and a result of people's health behaviour. Competence in interprofessional collaboration in both public and private sectors is crucial to meeting challenges. Regulation: Lov om universiteter og høyskoler and Forskrift om studier og eksamen ved Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus

No prerequisites

Part I - The Scope of Global Public Health

5 ECTS.

On successful completion of this part, the student will achieve the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The student is able to

• describe the challenges in welfare systems, relevant national legislation, and international agreements
• describe the past, and present developments and achievements of public health and discuss possible future challenges within the field
• describe social inequalities in health and their consequences nationally and globally
• describe epidemiology and different cost analyses, and discuss inter-professional, evidence-based interventions with target groups
• discuss the principles of universal design from a human rights and democratic perspective

Skills

The student is able to

• address challenges in public health and demonstrate how to intervene professionally in collaboration with others
• search for relevant research, analyse these and apply to the findings in their assignment

General competences

The student is able to

• apply the tools of innovation and entrepreneurship in public health issues and communicate the results to an audience

reflect upon ethical issues and discuss intercultural perspectives in public health

Part II - Environmental Conditions and Population Health

5 ECTS.

On successful completion of this part, the student will achieve the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The student is able to

• discuss the interactions between the environment and sustainable development, and their effect on health
• describe health care emergency interventions following different types of disasters, and discuss challenges encountered
• discuss interprofessional interventions focusing on communicable and non-communicable diseases, including mental conditions
• describe how interprofessional practice might contribute to improve and promote mental health
• describe the distribution of different types of injuries nationally and globally and how to prevent them
• discuss how to promote occupational health and to prevent occupational health hazards
• discuss theoretical models for behavioral change and their application

Skills

The student is able to

• reflect upon priorities in public health and the consequences for population health
• demonstrate communication skills to improve health literacy and social capital through social marketing and reflect on intervention strategies and their efficacy
• reflect upon a comprehensive view of humanity and human rights

General competences

The student is able to

• reflect upon diversity and how different ethnic, religious and cultural background may influence communication between people
• demonstrate how to disseminate public health knowledge collaboratively with target groups and stakeholders
• apply research methods in solving public health problems

Part III - Family Health

5 ECTS.

On successful completion of this part, the student will achieve the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The student is able to

• discuss theoretical models for behavioral change and their application
• reflect on the complexity of health determinants throughout the life cycle
• discuss the role of activities and social participation in health promotion (occupational science)
• describe national and global vaccination programs, and discuss their impact and challenges involved including ethical issues

Skills

The student is able to

• reflect upon communication and collaboration within an interprofessional team
• develop interactive and critical health education information to improve family health
• identify and describe different information channels to promote health education and knowledge sharing

General competences

The student is able to

• reflect upon ethical issues, conflicts in personal values, and interprofessional approaches in family health
• reflect upon the role of public-private partnership as an asset in public health
• describe social entrepreneurship and societal transformation as a tool for implementation of a public health activity

Part IV - Interprofessional Health Care in International Public Health

3 ECTS.

On successful completion of this part the student will achieve the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The student is able to

• describe the core elements of their own profession in health and social services in their own country, and discuss the contribution to interprofessional collaboration
• describe strategies and decision-making in health and social services, and discuss different approaches in health promotion

Skills

The student is able to

• reflect upon clinical reasoning in evidence based practice, from the perspective of client-centered theories
• reflect upon ethical dilemmas in their own profession
• apply health care processes and procedures to promote interventions for individuals and groups

General competences

The student is able to

• communicate intercultural awareness and reflect on ethical dilemmas

Part V - Fieldwork Assignment

12 ECTS.

On successful completion of this part the student will achieve the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The student is able to

• integrate knowledge from International Public Health and utilize a reflective and analytic perspective to explore a chosen topic

Skills

The student is able to

• plan, organise and implement a project based on scientific methods
• reflect upon existing activities and suggest changes that might be done within the actual setting to promote Public Health

General competences

The student is able to

• reflect upon ethical dilemmas
• reflect upon the role of one's own profession

The learning and teaching approach consists of group work supported by lectures, workshops, self-studies and field trips. Groups, consisting of approximately 5 students, focus on assignments facilitated by tutors. Every group member contributes to the creation and presentation of all assignments. Part I and part II include two assignments each while part III and part IV include one assignment. See the teaching plan for further details.

In part V -Fieldwork Assignment-, students work in groups of 2-4 students, preferably inter-professional. Through this fieldwork, the students will have an opportunity to choose a topic within Public Health, and use a reflective and analytic perspective on this topic. Each group of students will be appointed a supervisor. See the teaching plan for further details.

All parts of the course have focus on interactivity in promoting knowledge exchange and on inter-professional collaborative dialogue, enhancing self-awareness in the professional role. The students will gain practice in decision-making and problem-solving, relating to client-centered and evidence based practice.

In order to fulfill the learning outcomes, interaction between students and tutors as well as interaction among students is deemed necessary.

The following activities are compulsory:

• Group meetings with the tutor.
• Group assignments in English.
• Oral presentation of the assignments in English.

A minimum of 80 % attendance is required at group meetings.

All group assignments must be published on the course web site on Canvas. The assignments must be signed electronically by all members of the group.

The work requirements must be fulfilled before the student can take the exam:

• Individual oral exam, max 30 minutes.
• Written group report, 5000 words (+/- 10 %).

Examination content: Oral exam - learning outcomes of part I-IV, Group report - learning outcomes of part V.

The oral exam counts for 60 % and the group report 40 % of the final grade.

Students have the right to submit an appeal in regard to the grade given on the written group report. If an appeal is submitted, the report will be re-evaluated by two new examiners (one internal and the other external). It should be noted that when appealing, students also risk receiving a lower grade than the grade awarded for the initial examination.

No exam aids permitted.

ECTS grading A-F

The oral exam will be evaluated by an external and an internal examiner for all candidates. An external and an internal examiner will evaluate approximately 20 % of the group reports, while 80 % will be evaluated by one internal examiner. The external examiner's assessment shall benefit all students.