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

Lectures, teaching programs from the University Library, project-based practical training (five weeks) group work, first aid course, self-study, and participation with presentations at seminars.

The following must have been completed and approved in order for a student to take the exam:

Part 1

• Project-based practical training, 90 % attendance of timetabled activity marked as compulsory.

Part 2

• Course i first aid

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.

In this course, you will learn about nursing, particularly related to acute, critical, and chronic illnesses, mental health, and substance abuse with a person-centred approach. The course builds upon the foundation of nursing and scientific principles from the first year of study. Integrating of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) that forms the basis for nursing decision-making processes is central.

Key elements of the course also include an introduction to scientific theory and methodology as a basis for searching literature and knowledge related to the course's themes.

To start this course, you must have passed:

• SYKP/SYKP1010 Foundations of Nursing 1, 15 credits.
• SYKK/SYKP1110 Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, 15 credits.
• SYKK/SYKPPRA10 Foundations of Nursing 2, 15 credits.

or equivalent.*

* For year group 2023 at OsloMet, the equivalent is:

• Approved work requirements from SYKK/SYKP1300 Pharmacology and Drug Administration, 5 credits.

Passed course:

• SYKP/SYKP1000 Theoretical Foundations of Nursing/Foundations of Nursing 1, 13 credits.
• SYKK/SYKP1100 Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, 12 credits.
• SYKK/SYKP1200 Microbiology and Infection Control, 5 credits.
• SYKK/SYKPPRA10 Fundamentals of Nursing/Foundations of Nursing 2, 15 credits.

On successful completion of the course, the student has acquired the following learning outcomes classified as knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can explain person-centered nursing for children and adults
• can describe normal development from childhood to adulthood
• can describe depression, anxiety (possibly mental illness), and substance abuse problems as possible part of a patient's reaction to illness
• can describe the care perspective related to hope and coping
• can give an account of nursing care for acute, critical and chronic illness and the consequences for person-centred nursing care
• can define what Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is and understand the rationale behind EBP and shared decision-making
• have knowledge of scientific theory and research methodology.
• can describe various types of studies and characteristics of different issues and scientific articles, and explain how knowledge is placed in the knowledge pyramid
• can describe the terms informed consent and consent competence, and their importance in the health service

Skills

The student can

• apply knowledge of person-centered nursing to discussions about disease, mental health, and substance abuse issues
• prevent and resolve value conflicts/conflicts of interest in meetings with patients, relatives and other cooperating parties
• describe methods for collecting and analysing quantitative and qualitative data
• develop a relevant search strategy for a nursing professional/clinical question and conduct the search for summarised knowledge (from the top of the knowledge pyramid)
• critically evaluate health claims in the media and analyse and interpret the processes by which information and misinformation are distinguished, disseminated, and used in various contexts

General competence

The student can

• reflect on how person-centered nursing, as a working process, can contribute to caring for patients with disease, mental health, and substance abuse issues
• can describe research ethical aspects in all phases of research projects

The following must have been completed and approved in order for a student to take the exam:

• 80 % attendance of timetabled activity marked.
• Group assignment, 3-5 students, scope of 1,200 words (+/- 10 %) with a chosen problem that involves the design and implementation of a relevant literature search related to the course's theme, which is based on KBP.