Registry

Module Specifications

Archived Version 2023 - 2024

Module Title
Module Code
School
Online Module Resources
NFQ level	9	Credit Rating	10
Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

Description

Policy is among the key determinants of health. It also plays a major role in shaping the financing, delivery and regulation of healthcare. This module introduces participants to key paradigms and concepts in the study of contemporary health policy with a particular focus on the social and commercial determinants of health; Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach; key pillars of health care systems and their major components: health care financing, delivery and regulation; pharmaceutical policy; mental health policy; sexual and reproductive health policy; the health policy responses to epidemics and pandemics and; the politics of health and health care. It takes a distinctively interdisciplinary approach to matters of health policy, foregrounding the benefits of bringing together healthcare practitioner, citizen/patient and policymaker perspectives in health policy analysis. Through exposing them to the global health policy debates and international case studies, the module aims to equip participants with the skills necessary to undertake policy analysis in relation to the current and emergent challenges in health. This module targets both social and health sciences students as it aims to enhance the transversal skills for both groups on its completion.

Learning Outcomes

1. Gain familiarity with key concepts and principles in public health and health care policy.
2. Identify the difference between public health and health care policy, and its importance.
3. Understand the organisation and functioning of health care systems, including their principles and types of financing health care they are built upon.
4. Learn different frameworks for analysing a range of health policy issues.
5. Compare health policies of different countries based on available comparative data and international benchmarks.
6. Identify, investigate and critique key health policy issues from the perspectives of citizens, policymakers, health practitioners, professional bodies and patients.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full-time hours per semester
Lecture	11	Weekly lectures.
Debate	11	Guided class discussions.
Directed learning	90	Preparatory readings for class and background readings for assessments.
Assignment Completion	90	Preparing and submitting two reflection papers and a research paper.
Assessment Feedback	9	Engaging with the individual feedback provided for each assignment.
Total Workload: 211

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

A brief history of public health policy

Social determinants of health

Public health policy case study: Tobacco control policies

Financing health care and access

Health care systems

Pharmaceutical policy and access to medicines

Mental health policy

Sexual and reproductive health policy

Health policy response to epidemics and pandemics

The politics of health and health care

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	%	Examination Weight	%

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Course Work Breakdown

Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; 1 = A resit is available for all components of the module 2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module 3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
Unavailable

Indicative Reading List

Robert H. Blank, Viola Burau, Ellen Kuhlmann: 2017, Comparative Health Policy, 5th, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 978113754495
George Rosen: 2015, A History of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1421416018
Richard Wilkinson, Kate Pickett: 2010, The Spirit Level, Penguin UK, 0241954290

Other Resources

49420, World Health Organization, 2021, Tracking universal health coverage: 2021 global monitoring report, https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240040618,

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