VERB1050 Public Health and Health Management Course description

The language is English. For Norwegian students, the topic of health management is taught in Norwegian.

This common course is developed for all the bachelor’s degree programmes taught at the Faculty of Health Sciences that are covered by the National Curriculum Regulations for Norwegian Health and Welfare Education (RETHOS).

The course deals with public health and health management. In the Public Health Act, public health is defined as "the state and distribution of health in the population". The course deals with the distribution of health challenges in the population based on risk factors related to health. Education, work and living conditions and international guidelines are elements affecting disease, illness, health and quality of life in the population at individual, group and societal level. Several of the international sustainability goals direct attention to countering public health risk factors.

Health management emphasis a fundamental understanding of how the health service is organised, relevant legislation, strategies and goals for preventive and health promoting work in Norway.  For international students, the focus will be on the Nordic welfare model.

The student must have been admitted to the study programme.

The purpose of the course is to acquire basic knowledge of the health and welfare policy framework within which the social educator provides services. The students are also to acquire basic knowledge about health, impairments and disabilities and theories of support that have guided the practice of social educators. The student will be introduced to basic steps of evidence-based practice (EBP) and contributions from natural and social sciences to EBP. The course is taught over six weeks.

The student must have been admitted to the programme.

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

Knowledge

The student

• can describe the most common causes of intellectual development disorder as well as the most common diagnoses and syndromes of this domain
• can explain overriding explanatory models in psychology
• can explain normal biological, cognitive and psychological development in relation to abnormal development and deviation from normal development
• can explain different theories and explanations of health, impairment and disability
• can explain the living conditions for people with intellectual disabilities and other disabilities
• can explain past and present welfare policy guidelines and their consequences for the practice of social educators
• can explain key legislation of relevance to welfare services and legislation that regulates services provided to disabled people
• can describe the scientific theories that forms the basis for the subject areas covered by the social education programme
• can explain scientific theories and methods and their importance to the practice of social educators
• can describe the basic features of quantitative and qualitative research methodology
• can explain evidence-based practice and the steps of evidence-based practice

Skills

The student

• can demonstrate skills that promote cooperation in a group

General competence

The student

• can discuss political goals, policy instruments and welfare schemes that regulate services for disabled people
• can discuss strategies for including disabled people

The teaching and learning methods include lectures, self-study and project work. Students are divided into project groups where they use the syllabus and articles to shed light on a given case which is distributed at the start of the course. The project group's case work is discussed and supervised in seminars attended by several groups working on the same case. At the end of the course, the project groups present their project work to their fellow students.

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam:​

• project assignment in groups of six students
  • At least 80% participation in project group work
  • Participation in 3 of 4 seminars
  • 100% participation is required for digital presentation of the project to fellow students.

Individual written home examination over 48 hours, up to 2,000 words

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

Grade scale A-F