Social and Psychological Approaches to Understanding Sexual Health

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• be familiar with some theoretical and methodological issues concerning research on sexual health

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• be able to communicate ideas clearly and succinctly and without bias
• be able to consider the relevance of social and psychological approaches to policy formulation
• be able critically to evaluate published and unpublished material

Summary of syllabus content

In the case of sexual conduct, there is concern over the threat of HIV/AIDS and other STIs globally, as well as the high UK rates of teenage conceptions. Much research has been carried out in this field over the past few years, some of it in this department. In this course, emphasis is given to lessons learned from the research and how these may be applied in intervention programmes and policy development of various kinds.

Topics covered include:

• Methods in sexual health research
• Theoretical approaches to understanding sexual risk
• Early sexual conduct and contraception use
• Teenage conception and abortion
• Emerging forms of and communication and sexual relationships
• Problems and pleasure
• STIs and HIV/AIDS in richer and poorer countries
• Sex and relationships education in and out of school
• Pornography/COVID-19 and sexual health

Teaching and learning methods

Sessions involve a combination of small-group student presentations and tutor-guided discussion; sessions are held with groups to help prepare the presentation material. Other linked small groups produce some follow up work based on the topic of the week's session; these may include a health promotion booklet, leaflet, video, etc. and need to be justified on theoretical and/or empirical grounds.

Students are enouraged throughout to enhance the reading list provided with their own searches and reading additional material, as well as paying close attention to media coverage of some of the issues covered.

Resources & Reading list

General Resources

Other. There is no set text for this course. Books, reports and journal articles are indicated on weekly reading

Textbooks

Burtney, E. & Duffy, M. (Eds.) (2004). Young people and sexual health: individual, social and policy contexts.. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Wellings, K., Mitchell, K., & Collumbien, M. (Eds.) (2012). Sexual health: A public health perspective. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

Assessment strategy

Assessment will be by a piece of coursework (either the presentation or the follow up work, depending on the group students are assigned to). The coursework accounts for 20% of the seminar marks, while the final assessment accounts for the remaining 79% of the mark. Details of the coursework will be given at the start of the course. Research participation counts for 1%.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External