- Student Records
Programme & Unit Catalogues

Department for Health, Unit Catalogue 2011/12


HL50158: Health policy in an international context

Click here for further information Credits: 12
Click here for further information Level: Masters UG & PG (FHEQ level 7)
Click here for further information Period: Modular (no specific semester)
Click here for further information Assessment: ES100
Click here for further information Supplementary Assessment: Supplementary assessment information not currently available (this will be added shortly)
Click here for further information Requisites:
Click here for further information Description: Aims:
1. To enable students to critically understand the development of health policies in different international contexts.
2. To enable students to obtain a critical awareness of how their professional practice is influenced by health policy.
3. To equip students with the knowledge and skills required to evaluate critically a policy relating to professional health practice from a given list of topics.

Learning Outcomes:
On completion of the unit students should have shown evidence of being able to:
1. Evaluate critically health policy issues in an international context.
2. Analyse the literature on which such policy issues are based and critically appraise its significance in the development, and evolution, of policy in different national contexts.
3. Assess the impacts of policy on service development and delivery.
4. Identify and articulate revisions and/or amendments to policy in the light of their own experience in practice.

Skills:
1. Critical policy analysis (Intellectual skill: taught and assessed).
2. Literature review (Intellectual skill: facilitated and assessed).
3. Synthesis of policy related theory, research and practice from different international contexts, (Intellectual skill, professional skill, taught and assessed).
4. Applying results of analysis and research to professional practice: (Professional skill: taught and assessed).

Content:
1. Introduction to comparative health policy: Healthcare as public policy, classifications of healthcare systems. The politics of health. Problems in health policy.
2. Funding and governance: Comparing funding of health systems, resource allocation and rationing, health governance between centre and locality.
3. Reforming health systems: Reform and policy implementation, the market and managed competition, health and social justice.
4. Health professions: The state and professional regulation, professional power and the policy process, consumerism and the expert patient.
5. Public Health Policy: Social models of health and illness, challenging the bio-medical model, the regulation of lifestyle, a range of public health policy topics (this will change over time, but will initially cover health inequalities, smoking cessation and obesity).
Click here for further informationProgramme availability:

HL50158 is Optional on the following programmes:

Department for Health
  • THHL-ADM14 : MSc Research in Health Practice (Distance Learning)
  • THHL-ADL15 : PG Dip Research in Health Practice (Distance Learning)

NB. Programmes and units are subject to change at any time, in accordance with normal University procedures.