SGLK15006U Global Partners, Policies and Health Care Systems

Volume 2022/2023
Education

MSc Programme in Global Health - compulsory course

Content

This course examines partnerships, policies and health care systems in a global health context with a focus on geopolitical, ideological, gender-related, equity-centred, rights-based and health system analysis. The course aims to stimulate interest in the challenge of building a global health architecture that enables and supports the possibility of health.

The course analyses partners on the global health stage, including multi- and bilateral organisations, non-governmental organizations active in development contexts. This focus underlines the importance of transnational and cooperative partnerships in the global health response. Relevant to this is the phenomenon of cross-border health care seeking, including medical tourism. Students will access and critically evaluate data from a number of local and global databases to analyse global health issues.

Theories and practices concerned with global health policies will be assessed, as will questions of how international policies affect global health. The course includes an introduction to the core values of global health, including equity in health and measures to address inequalities in health. The course introduces human rights, gender equity and social justice as fundamental to global public health. Different political ideologies, good governance, policy life cycles, problem identification and categorizations and agenda setting will be introduced as will their impact on the formation of different policies.

The course will include critical discussions of health care systems including financing and health information systems, organisation of health care systems along different lines such as central-decentral, public-private, specialisation, medical systems, governing methods used in health care systems. Effects on access, quality and scope and equity of different financings systems (taxes, private, charity etc.) and resource allocation methods (fee for service, budget etc.) will be addressed. Factors that may affect access to health care both on a policy, structural and individual level, including economic, social and cultural factors, will be discussed. Some aspects of health policy analysis will be included such as welfare states and the role of institutions and evidence. The use of E-health and M-health will be introduced and discussed based upon specific cases.

Attention is given to the mechanisms shaping the global health architecture, and implications for the implementation of global health responses, contextualised within wider controversies about the global nature of public health, e.g. the respective roles of local and global actors, and the potential for participation to alleviate the negative health impacts of social inequalities especially relating to gender and poverty.

Learning Outcome

Course structure / general information:

The course covers the following themes:

Global partners in health:

  • Global health architecture and governance
  • The roles and interplay of transnational, governmental and non-governmental organisations, drivers and consequences of cross border health care seeking and medical tourism

 

Global health policies:

  • Equity in health with focus on gedner, class, ethnicity
  • Gender equity and human rights
  • Political ideologies, welfare state systems and citizenship
  • Good governance, participation and democracy
  • Problem identification, categorisations
  • Agenda setting, rational choice and historical institutionalism

 

Health care systems in a global context:

  • Different structural approaches
  • Organisation of health care systems, including the governing means and the effects thereof
  • Access to care and determinants hereof
  • Health care financing and health information systems.

 

Knowledge:

On completion of the course, the students shall demonstrate knowledge on:

  • Exemplify knowledge of, and be able to discuss global health infrastructure and governance including the main international actors and global health policies of international organisations and political systems
  • Demonstrate knowledge of processes and power in global, regional, national health-related priority setting in global health
  • Exemplify knowledge of and discuss equity, including gender equity in health, health and human rights.
  • Discuss good governance and democracy as well as political ideologies, welfare state systems and citizenship.
  • Illustrate knowledge of and be able to discuss problems regarding the political process and agenda setting.
  • Describe and analyse health care systems’ characteristics and their effects on access, equity and quality of care
  • Describe and discuss the concepts of gender equity and human rights in relation to global health.

 


Skills

On completion of the course, the students shall demonstrate the ability to:

  • Describe, reflect on and discuss the above-mentioned acquired knowledge.
  • Use and analyse data from relevant international databases on health and health care related to global health problems.
  • Apply analytical approaches to global health topics included in the course as learned through case work.
  • Describe and analyse health care systems’ characteristics and their effects on access, equity and quality of care
  • Demonstrate analytical skills through the use of relevant international databases on health and health care.


Competencies

On completion of the course, the students shall demonstrate the ability to:

  • Describe and discuss the concepts of gender and health, equity, human rights and social justice in relation to global health.
  • Introduce and discuss main international actors and global health policies of international organisations and political systems
  • Describe and discuss good governance and democracy as well as political ideologies, welfare state systems and citizenship.
  • Introduce organisation analysis and problems in the political process and agenda setting.
  • Describe the functioning of health care systems
  • Use their analytical skills on relevant international databases on health and health care 

 

For credit transfer students:
If you are applying for the course as a credit transfer student, you must have passed courses in qualitative and quantitative research methodology, for 5 ECTS respectively. Documentation for corresponding competencies in the form of a course description and an exam result must be attached to your application.
The course will include a combination of lectures, student activating sessions and group work based on an assignment with supervision. The students will be introduced both to theories and empirical material on all of the course topics.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 36
  • Preparation
  • 156
  • Exercises
  • 13
  • Exam
  • 1
  • Total
  • 206
Oral
Collective
Continuous feedback during the course
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination, 30 minutes under invigilation
Type of assessment details
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Aid
All aids allowed

Except internet access.
 

 

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Exam period

See the exam schedule

Re-exam

See the exam schedule

Criteria for exam assesment

To achieve the maximum grade of 12, the student must be able to:         

Knowledge:

On completion of the course, the students shall demonstrate knowledge on:

  • Exemplify knowledge of, and be able to discuss global health infrastructure and governance including the main international actors and global health policies of international organisations and political systems
  • Demonstrate knowledge of processes and power in global, regional, national health-related priority setting in global health
  • Exemplify knowledge of and discuss equity, including gender equity in health, health and human rights.
  • Discuss good governance and democracy as well as political ideologies, welfare state systems and citizenship.
  • Illustrate knowledge of and be able to discuss problems regarding the political process and agenda setting.
  • Describe and analyse health care systems’ characteristics and their effects on access, equity and quality of care
  • Describe and discuss the concepts of gender equity and human rights in relation to global health.

 


Skills

On completion of the course, the students shall demonstrate the ability to:

  • Describe, reflect on and discuss the above-mentioned acquired knowledge.
  • Use and analyse data from relevant international databases on health and health care related to global health problems.
  • Apply analytical approaches to global health topics included in the course as learned through case work.
  • Describe and analyse health care systems’ characteristics and their effects on access, equity and quality of care
  • Demonstrate analytical skills through the use of relevant international databases on health and health care.


Competencies

On completion of the course, the students shall demonstrate the ability to:

  • Describe and discuss the concepts of gender and health, equity, human rights and social justice in relation to global health.
  • Introduce and discuss main international actors and global health policies of international organisations and political systems
  • Describe and discuss good governance and democracy as well as political ideologies, welfare state systems and citizenship.
  • Introduce organisation analysis and problems in the political process and agenda setting.
  • Describe the functioning of health care systems
  • Use their analytical skills on relevant international databases on health and health care