| Unit name | Economics & Policy of Health & Care: global health challenges |
|---|---|
| Unit code | BRMSM0050 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2D (weeks 19 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Capelas Barbosa |
| 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 | Bristol Medical School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
This unit is a mandatory unit for the MSc in Health Economics and Health Policy Analysis. It provides essential theory and knowledge in the area of health economics and policy analysis in a global context.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit will apply health economic and policy analytic thinking to global challenges associated with health and care. The focus taken will be a ‘one world’ perspective, but with particular emphasis on lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). As with its ‘sister’ unit which focuses on the UK (BRMSM0048), this unit will develop thinking through a number of case studies focusing on current key and complex health challenges in two broad areas: (i) health and care system design; and (ii) key complex health and care challenges.
Overview of content
The course will typically cover case studies such as infectious disease (Malaria, HIV, Covid, Antimicrobial resistance including One Health approaches), trade in health (ethical imperatives, infrastructure, pharmaceutical companies, patents, medical tourism), universal health and care coverage (health justice, primary care, ‘catastrophic’ payments), life-course issues (including child health, intimate partner violence and ageing), harmful substances (pesticides, tobacco), and disability and wellbeing (stigma, learning disability). The use of both qualitative and quantitative evidence to inform and explicate these areas will be considered. One particular focus of the unit will be the links between ethics, economics and policy, with policy developments and events being discussed and appraised in light of the breadth of theoretical and conceptual thinking within the discipline and exploring particular concepts of equity and efficiency. New theoretical approaches, expanding on the core concepts will be introduced. These will be directly related to the case studies, and will include concepts such as macroeconomics and trade policy, affordability from patient and system perspectives; intellectual property rights and patents; information needs for health care planning; examining justice and equity from a capability perspective. Detailed understanding and comparison across of a variety of international settings will be developed alongside understanding of how economic and policy within country settings has implications at a global level. A second focus will be the use of evidence in drawing conclusions, with structured techniques for obtaining, interpreting and synthesising evidence being covered within the unit.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Students will have acquired essential theory and knowledge in the application of health economic and health policy analysis in the Global context, which will assist in future study and employment.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit, students should be able to:
The course will be delivered as a mixture of:
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
There will be ongoing formative assessment throughout the three-day face-to-face teaching blocks through methods such as quizzes, group exercises and discussion, with both tutor and peer feedback (ILOs 1-3). There will also be formative assessments linked to tutorials which will involve activities such as group work around underlying ethical concepts (ILO 2) and use of empirical evidence (ILO1), seminar presentations of key ideas with tutor and peer feedback, critique of poster formats for presenting economic and policy ideas (ILO 1-4). These activities will prepare students for the summative assessment.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
There will be a single summative assessment with marks weighted for specific elements. The summative assessment will comprise a series of tasks that will be undertaken as an objective structured examination (ILOs 1-4) during the final examination period. Tasks will require students to review and critically evaluate relevant theory and empirical evidence, interpret findings, develop arguments for particular policy directions, critique approaches to presentation and reflect on their work. Each task will have an equal weighting in the final score.
When assessment does not go to plan
If you do not pass the unit, you will normally be given the opportunity to take a reassessment as per the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes. Decisions on the award of reassessment will normally be taken after all taught units of the year have been completed. Reassessment will normally be in a similar format to the original assessment that has been failed.
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. BRMSM0050).
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 University 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. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
