Advancing perspectives in public health

This course provides new perspectives and a broader interdisciplinary approach to contemporary and future public health work. Integrating knowledge from sociology, economics, ethics, and global health, the course offers students a comprehensive understanding of public health practice and the pressing challenges faced worldwide.

A key focus is placed on understanding public health within a global framework and considering sustainability as an overarching theme. The life course perspective is also central to the course, helping students to grasp how health evolves across different life stages, from birth to old age.

Knowledge:

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

• Identify and analyse key global health challenges, including disease burdens, interventions, and initiatives like the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, as well as their societal and environmental implications.
• Explain the life course perspective in public health, including the development of individual and population health across life stages and generations, with attention to regional and contextual differences.
• Describe and apply ethical concepts and frameworks in public health, such as justice, equity, freedom, paternalism, stigmatization, and resource prioritization.
• Analyse health behaviours and interventions through the lens of public health economics, including key methods of economic evaluation.
• Apply sociological theories to understand health behaviours and public health interventions.
• Describe sustainable development and its pillars (social, economic, and environmental), applying sustainability principles to global and national public health strategies.

Skills:

Students will be able to:

• Apply the life course approach to the design of public health interventions, considering contextual and regional factors.
• Evaluate and debate ethical dilemmas in global and national public health.
• Demonstrate interdisciplinary decision-making skills in public health through practical group activities/exercises.
• Analyse interactions among climate, nature, human health, and animal health within public/global health and sustainability frameworks.

General competence:

Students will be able to:

• Synthesise knowledge from sociology, economics, ethics, and sustainability to assess complex public health problems in diverse contexts.

This course uses a range of teaching methods, including:

• Individual preparation: Students complete preparatory activities provided by the lecturers via the learning platform, such as readings, videos, and worksheets. Preparation is expected in advance, with a guideline of one day of preparation for each teaching day.
• Teaching days: These sessions include lectures to introduce and clarify key concepts and theories. Students then participate in activities such as group work, discussions, and debates focused on case examples (or similar) to apply the theoretical knowledge gained in lectures.
• Field trip and interactive activities: The course also features a field trip to observe real-world public health practices and collaborative activities such as the "Health Resource Allocation Game" designed to help students integrate and apply their knowledge in engaging, problem-solving group settings.

Compulsory activities: None.