Accessibility statement

Global Public Health - HEA00157M

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  • Department: Health Sciences
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
    • See module specification for other years: 2023-24

Module summary

This module will provide the student with an introduction to a range of contemporary global public health issues. Students will be exposed to a wide range of public health topics to explore the determinants of disease, conceptual and policy issues for strengthening health systems and proposing strategies to prevent and control communicable and non-communicable diseases and injury in a variety of settings and populations. Students will be able to reflect on the relevance for their own previous or future practice.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 2 2024-25

Module aims

This module will provide the student with an introduction to a range of contemporary global public health issues. Students will be exposed to a wide range of public health topics to explore the determinants of disease, conceptual and policy issues for strengthening health systems and proposing strategies to prevent and control communicable and non-communicable diseases and injury in a variety of settings and populations. Students will be able to reflect on the relevance for their own previous or future practice.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students will be able to:

  1. Articulate a critical awareness of a range of contemporary global public health issues.

  2. Critically appraise the relationship between these health issues, their determinants and the context (e.g. physical, social, cultural) within which they occur.

  3. Drawing on in-depth knowledge of global public health, identify and justify approaches to addressing issues

  4. Develop a funding proposal which demonstrates critical consideration and understanding of the context

Module content

Indicative topic content will include:

  1. Introduction to the module and the global burden of disease
  2. Co-occurring epidemics
  3. Communicable diseases
  4. Non-communicable diseases
  5. Ethics of expert advising
  6. Neglected tropical diseases
  7. An introduction to health systems
  8. Air pollution and global public health
  9. The global burden of violence and Injury
  10. Conflict and global public health: Eastern Europe
  11. Module summary & revisiting assessment

*please note session order may change based on speaker availability: please check your timetable for latest information

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Module feedback

Written feedback for the summative assessment is provided on the standard proforma, within the timescale specified in the programme handbook.

Indicative reading

Reading materials will be provided throughout the course and will be available on the virtual learning environment. There are many books available depending on student's particular interests. The following books take a critical view of global public health and may be of interest:

Books

  • Biehl, J and Petryna, A (2013) When people come first. Critical studies in global health. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978 0 691 157399
  • Pisani, E. (2008) The wisdom of whores: Bureaucrats, brothels and the business of AIDS. Granta. ISBN 978 1 84708.
  • Keshavjee, S (2014) Blind Spot. How neoliberalism infiltrated Global Health. University of California Press. ISBN 978 0 520-28284

There are a number of journals and websites available also:

Journals

  • The bulletin of the World Health Organization
  • Global Public Health
  • The Lancet global health
  • Globalisation and Health
  • International Journal of Epidemiology
  • Journal of International Union against TB and Lung Diseases

Websites/electronic resources

Other useful resources


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.