This unit explores the ways public health strategy is executed. You'll evaluate international public health strategies and interventions. Through evaluation you'll begin to create strategies and solutions to public health issues.

Indicative Content

• Critique of the political and strategic development of public health, health promotion theory and practice
• Current knowledge and principles of leadership and collaborative and innovative public health work
• Involvement of residents/consumers in public health work and assessment of the quality of health and social care
• Consideration of the potential of collaborative public health practice and its limitations
• Empowerment and advocacy
• Health needs assessment and health improvement planning. Testing evaluation to the limits, how to evaluate complex public health initiatives. How to involve residents/consumers in evaluation
• Community development and capacity building
• Team leadership and the management of change in multi-agency public health practice.
• Innovative strategies for combating inequalities in health, reflecting on current policy and collaborative practice
• The scope of strategies and policies related to the environment and maintenance and promotion of health.
• The evidence base for environmental interventions 
• Assessing risks to the population's health and well being
• Applied epidemiology (focused on current policy initiatives)
• International political public health strategies, e.g. relating to food diet and health, alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Disaster management, infectious disease
• Commissioning and marketing services

Learning And Teaching Methods

In this unit students will typically participate in:

• Lectures, in order to gain expert insights into the context and scope of public health, seminars to enable the independent acquisition and appraisal of knowledge, discussions to encourage the critique of theory and practice and presentations to develop dissemination skills
• Independent reading and study, to develop library skills and to acquire and appraise knowledge

This unit is one of the core units for the MSc Public Health

This course requires 100% attendance.

Learning outcomes

Having completed this unit the student is expected to: 

• Demonstrate critical examination of the political and strategic origins of public health interventions designed to meet health needs 
• Demonstrate synthesis and critique of current knowledge regarding collaborative and innovative public health management strategies and the impact on contemporary policy making and practice 
• Demonstrate formulation of innovative strategies for the improvement of health 
• Demonstrate critical evaluation of current strategies and solutions related to the environment, health, inequity and inequality and the synthesis of alternative approaches to unresolved issues.

Assessment

Learning outcomes will be assessed by coursework – 100% (3000 word equivalent).