SYKP2200 Public Health Course description

The course focuses on evidence-based public health work, with particular emphasis on health promotion and preventive efforts in community health services. Central themes include understanding how health challenges are distributed in the population. Therefore, you will learn how factors such as education, employment, living conditions, and the environment influence disease, health, and quality of life in the population at individual, group, and societal levels. The environment in which children and young people grow up is also part of the course.

In community health services, nurses have a significant responsibility to offer care and guidance to various population groups, including healthy individuals, vulnerable populations, and marginalised groups. One topic of discussion is how the development of service offerings and the use of technology in healthcare impact social, ethical, and political issues.

In this course, you will gain insight into scientific methods and undertake a group project related to practical internship (3 weeks), during which you will plan and execute a project under supervision. This project work provides the group with the opportunity to explore a chosen area of concern and employ suitable methods for data collection and analysis. The results will be presented orally as well as in written form as a project assignment.

In this course, you study together with students who are on exchange to OsloMet and much of the teaching is arranged with English-speaking groups.

To start this course, you must have passed:

• Passed the first year of study.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can describe the purpose, organisation, and coordination of health and social services and be aware of relevant laws and regulations
• can describe the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their significance for public health
• can explain how patients' health literacy affects lifestyle changes and shared decision-making
• can explain the relationship between work, social participation, and health
• can discuss factors influencing the environment in which children and young people grow up, and explain how activity and well-being affect health, well-being, and disease prevention for all population groups
• can describe key issues related to women's health
• can describe key issues related to sexual health and sexually transmitted diseases
• can explain how migration, displacement, and legal status can impact an individual's health
• can reflect on health promotion and prevention work at individual, group, and societal levels, emphasising how digital solutions can support preventive strategies and health-promoting measures
• can describe fundamental concepts, mechanisms, and tools behind digitalisation and explain how digitalisation shapes public and private life
• can describe the impact of digitalisation, technology availability, and the importance of digital competence on people's lives, public health, and social health disparities
• can describe social inequality in health and be aware of national and global consequences of inequality
• can explain how research can contribute to knowledge development to understand public health and societal needs, such as technological advancement
• have knowledge of how different issues guide relevant research methods

Skills

The student

• can reflect on ethical aspects related to public health efforts aimed at behavior change
• can identify various health promotion and preventive strategies and measures and evaluate them considering the Sustainable Development Goals
• can reflect on the Sami people's status as indigenous people related to the design of health and social services
• can provide examples of how digital solutions can affect social determinants related to health and lifestyle
• can apply professional knowledge and scientific methods to plan and execute a project in health promotion and preventive work
• can reflect on quality concepts in qualitative versus quantitative methods such as validity, reliability, validity, and reliability
• can reflect on ethical dilemmas related to the collection and use of health data in various contexts
• can identify ethical challenges in the use of health technology in the health service
• can master general first aid

General competence

The student

• can discuss factors influencing disease, health, and quality of life in groups or the population as a whole
• can discuss how technology and digital strategies can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
• can reflect on health risks in individuals dealing with demanding caregiving tasks, family substance abuse problems, individuals who have experienced neglect and/or violence in close relationships
• can discuss how digital technologies can build and influence interprofessional collaboration in healthcare
• can reflect on how different methodological choices can yield different types of knowledge
• knows measures to preserve life and health in the event of major accidents and in crisis and disaster situations

Projects are presented to students during the first semester of the programme. Students’ own projects must be approved by the person responsible for the course during the first semester.

Academic supervisors are assigned in connection with the allocation of thesis topics. The supervision is intended to ensure satisfactory work progress and quality. The student and supervisor sign a supervision contract that regulates responsibilities and rights, time frames and availability.

Students meet for seminars during the period they are working on the master’s thesis. At the beginning of the second year of the programme, students and supervisors attend a start-up seminar. A few weeks later, another seminar is held to present and discuss the individual project plans. Several sessions dealing with relevant topics are held during the year. The process concludes in a seminar where students present their results.

Detailed guidelines for the master’s thesis will be published online.

The following must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:;

• a minimum attendance of 80% at seminars
• project outline with a progress schedule in accordance with specified criteria

Part 1 Project assignment in group.

• 4-6 student in group.
• Scope of 5,000 words (+/- 10 %).

The assignment can be given in English or Scandinavian language. The individual group must deliver in the same language.

Part 1 must be passed before part 2 oral presentation of the project assignment can be carried out.

Resit exam: A student who fails the ordinary exam, may nevertheless submit a reworked version as a resit.

Part 2 Presentation of project assignment

• In seminar.

The presentation can be given in English or Scandinavian language. The individual group must deliver in the same language.

Part 1 and part 2 must have obtained a pass grade on both parts in order to pass the course as a whole and earn the credits. Part 1 and part 2 appear on the diploma.

In situations where group cooperation does not work as it should, it may be necessary to adjust the group composition. This can be done, for example, by reorganising the groups or letting certain members work with other groups. If collaboration problems cannot be resolved, it may also be an alternative for the individual student to complete the exam alone.

An individual written master’s thesis and an individual oral exam including a presentation of the thesis, up to 1.5 hours. The master’s thesis can be written as a monograph of up to 100 pages or an article manuscript with a supplementary introductory chapter of up to 45 pages.

The written thesis must be awarded a grade of A-E (preliminary grade) in order for a student to take the oral exam. The final grade is set after the oral exam. The grade can be adjusted up or down by one grade based on the oral exam.

Theses are written in Norwegian or English. The oral exam can be taken in Norwegian or English, regardless of which language the thesis was written in.

Resit exam: If the master’s thesis is awarded the grade F (fail), the student will be given one (1) opportunity to submit a reworked version.

Students can appeal against the grade set for the written part of the exam. If the grade is changed after an appeal against the grade, and the oral exam has already been held, the oral exam must be retaken.

All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.

Part 1 and part 2:

All answers are assessed by two examiners.

An external examiner is used regularly, at a minimum of every third completion of the course. When selecting answers for external evaluation, a minimum of 10 percent of the answers shall be included, with no fewer than 5 answers. The external examiner’s assessment of the selected answers shall benefit all students

Grade scale A-F;