Development and Implementation of Public Health Policies and Strategies

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

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

• The major public health policies relevant to your own area of work and how to articulate the organisations responsible for them.
• The complexity of the policy context and be able to explain how policy is made and public health issues are identified.
• The terminology and be able to explain how policies and strategies affect public health.
• The theories and models of programme/project management and their application.
• The systematic rationale for an evidence-based approach to identifying and solving public health problems at the local, national, regional and international level.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Critically examine the constraints to effective implementation of public health programmes in the community.
• Critically evaluate contemporary theories in policy and programme development.
• Assess and provide information or feedback on how policies and programmes have helped or hindered people’s health and wellbeing.
• Contribute to the development of specific policies and programmes within public health.
• Critically assess and apply the appropriate steps in planning public health programmes/projects.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Develop, plan and evaluate programmes/ projects related to public health.
• Use relevant programme/project management tools such as log frames and Gannt charts.

• Current key health and wellbeing policies in own area of work at UK and international levels
• Role of Agencies: International (UN) and national, NGOs, charities etc
• Policy and programme development
• Programme/project planning, management and risk assessment
• Integrated public health programmes at different critical stages in life cycle—pregnancy, lactation, infancy, early childhood, school-age, adults and elderly
• Policy and programme evaluation

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching and learning strategies will include formal lectures, peer teaching, workshops, case studies and active participation learning. The emphasis will be on student centred learning in which you will be supported by a wide range of resources often delivered electronically. Staff, tutors and colleagues will support your professional learning. Most teaching will be face-to-face and a few lectures may be delivered online, with some maybe precorded

Resources & Reading list

General Resources

Learning Resources. Up to date resources covering domestic and international aspects, where appropriate, will be provided for individual sessions on Blackboard. Students are not expected to read all texts

Internet Resources

Essential Public Health: Theory and Practice..

Noncommunicable diseases and mental health.

Handbook of Life Course Health Development.

World Cancer Research Fund.

Textbooks

Aceijas C. (2011). Assessing evidence to improve population health and wellbeing.. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd.

Guest C et al. (2013). Oxford Handbook of Public Health Practice. Oxford: Oxford Medical Handbooks.

Assessment strategy

There will be three formative and one summative assessments. The formative assessments are i) a policy appraisal, ii) seminars on interventions and iii) a workshop on log frames. The summative assessments is an individual written plan for an intervention with a log frame and Gantt chart for the intervention. The pass mark for the module is 50%. If you have failed the module, the Board of Examiners may offer you the opportunity to submit work at the next referral (re-sit) opportunity. On passing your referrals, your final module mark will be capped at 50%.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

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