Unit information: Health Policy in a Global Context (iBSc Global Health) in 2022/23

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Unit name	Health Policy in a Global Context (iBSc Global Health)
Unit code	SPOL30076
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Professor. Nick Townsend
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	School for Policy Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

The unit critically explores factors influencing health in a global context with a focus on key issues involved in the global distribution of health. We will pay attention to differences between and within countries - with reference to some of the most pressing global health challenges of our time. The unit explores relationships between health and policy, focusing on health systems and the social, economic and political contexts of policy making in a globalised age. The unit introduces students to theoretical frameworks and policy models that help to explain the persistence of global health inequality, the role and relevance of actors in the health policy field, and the limitations of the concept of 'global health governance' itself.

Your learning on this unit

By the end of the unit, students will:

Investigate the meaning of global health policy and the various ways in which health services are delivered around the world.
Critically examine the notion of global health governance and the roles of various global organisations in shaping health experience.
Examine the relationship between changing patterns of health and illness and wider processes of global restructuring through the lens of specific global health issues.
Clarify the major determinants shaping health, access to health care, and access to medicines in different global contexts.
Apply different theoretical perspectives and policy analysis tools to the study of global health.

How you will learn

This unit will draw on a blended learning approach. Lectures will present and discuss ideas and offer students the opportunity to clarify their learning. Students will be tasked to complete activities in a mix of individual work and/or collaborative study groups in preparation for seminars. A weekly Office Hour will be complemented by periodic monitoring and responses to online discussion space for student reflections, summaries and Q&A.

How you will be assessed

Part 1: Annotated Bibliography (750 words or equivalent) 25% - assesses ILOs 1&2

Part 2: Essay (2250 words) 75% - assesses ILOs - 3-5

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. SPOL30076).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

Unit and programme catalogues

Academic year

Unit information: Health Policy in a Global Context (iBSc Global Health) in 2022/23