2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

PHLT3125 Population Health: Principles and Practice

10 creditsClass Size: 12

Module manager: Professor Darren Shickle
Email: d.shickle@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2017/18

Pre-requisite qualifications

A minimum of grade C in A Level Biology or Chemistry or equivalent, and evidence of ability to study at level 1 and 2.

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills to assess and evaluate population health needs. It will explore the unequal distribution of good and poor health needs between and across populations and equip students with the skills to understand health inequalities and evaluate policies and interventions designed to combat inequalities.

Objectives

The objectives of this module are to provide students with a grounding in the key principles of population health and equip them with the skills to understand population health indicators and their implications for health care practice.

Learning outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
- Critically discuss definitions of health and their implications for health care services
- Demonstrate an awareness of the philosophical foundations underpinning population health approaches
- Evaluate key demographic and population health indicators
- Understand approaches to assessing health needs and health inequalities within a population
- Discuss critically the role of preventative medicine in the UK/developed health care system context.

Skills outcomes
- Ability to interpret key population health indicators
- Ability to assess health policy and its impact on health inequalities.

Syllabus

The module will cover the following:

Principles of population health
- What do we mean by health and what do we mean by populations?
- Determinants of health and implications at a population level
- Sick individuals vs sick society; the nature of causation and risk and the prevention paradox
- Individual autonomy vs public good, incorporating public health ethics
- Critical reflections on a public health programme case study; screening.

Population health indicators
- Population dynamics; introduction to demography - age/sex structure, fertility and mortality rates
- Measures of deprivation
- Measuring health and disease; prevalence and incidence rates
- An introduction to the concept of standardisation and its importance in assessing population health
- Surveillance and key population level data sources.

Assessing health needs and inequalities and evaluating interventions
- Experimental design for population health research
- Approaches and frameworks for health needs assessment
- Undertaking health equity audits and health impact assessments
- Key features of population health interventions and how they may be evaluated.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Group learning	3	1.50	4.50
Lecture	9	1.00	9.00
Seminar	5	1.50	7.50
Tutorial	2	1.50	3.00
Private study hours			76.00
Total Contact hours			24.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			100.00

Private study

Resources on the VLE will be available to guide independent and private study. This will include some pre-reading for specific taught sessions, powerpoint presentations online for students to work through prior to specified sessions, and guidance and suggestions for further reading to supplement the taught component and guide the student in preparing their assessment.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Student progress will be monitored by:
- Attendance at lectures and seminars via attendance register
- Participation in seminar discussions and group work sessions
- A mid module task and VLE discussion board reviewed by Module Leader with feedback given at a class level
- A recap/review session at the end of the module, students will be given a worksheet to work through with model answers posted on the VLEfor the students to self-assess
- Formative feedback on an outline for the assessed report by the module leader

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Report	Project report: 2,000 words	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 22/11/2017

Disclaimer

Browse Other Catalogues

• Undergraduate module catalogue
• Taught Postgraduate module catalogue
• Undergraduate programme catalogue
• Taught Postgraduate programme catalogue

Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team.PROD