SINM12007U Health in Emergencies and Refugee Health

Volume 2015/2016
Education

Master of Disaster Management

Content

The course addresses the following aspects related to disaster- and conflict related emergencies

  • Context analysis, e.g. fragile settings, different types of emergencies, health resilience and risk reduction
  • Legal and ethical frameworks, e.g. human rights, international humanitarian law, refugee convention, guidelines on internally displaced persons, codes of conduct.
  • Operational aspects of humanitarian interventions, e.g. needs assessments, health systems, control of communicable diseases including outbreaks, mental health, reproductive health, violence and injuries, , approaches to non-communicable disease, environmental health/water and sanitation, nutrition
  • Coordination and roles in different stages of emergencies, e.g. ongoing humanitarian reform process, role of national governmental and non governmental actors

A focus on the humanitarian worker, e.g. health, media training

 

Learning Outcome

The course aims at providing participants with a broad state-of-the-art overview of the issues involved in providing health interventions in different emergency settings – the epidemiology of excess mortality and morbidity, the agreed guidelines and the role definitions (local, national and international actors). Emphasis will be placed both on ‘conventional wisdom’ as well as on divergent views, and on critical analysis.

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:

 

Knowledge

  • Demonstrate knowledge on health issues in different settings and accepted approaches/guidelines to deal with them;

 

Skills

  • Analyze and apply this knowledge to a variety of settings, adjusting to time and resources available;

 

Competences

  • Design and develop appropriate public health management strategies for humanitarian response, including planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation

 

The first seven weeks consist of part-time online learning, which can be undertaken from anywhere in the world as long as you have a computer with an internet connection. Moderated online discussions, online tests and short-recorded lectures are central parts of the online learning experience.

The last two weeks of the course take place in Copenhagen, and will include lectures, site visits and a final exam. The campus weeks of the course is based on interdisciplinary teaching and problem oriented learning and seeks to draw on students' own experience as a resource. Both lectures and group work are important components. Group work will mainly be used in relation to specific case studies. For each session, we consider the current state of research, as well as policy and practice and critically examine the underlying paradigms. Students are expected to actively participate in the learning process and prepare for the sessions by studying distributed and recommended reading materials.

Some information about online learning
During the online weeks students will only meet and interact with tutors and fellow students in the University of Copenhagen's online learning platform.

A typical E-module is composed of:
• An introduction to the topic
• An overview of the purpose, the subjects and the intended learning outcome
• A short study guide
• Learning resources (which can be text, audio and/or video files)
• Several exercises called E-lessons.

The E-lessons are online learning activities, which can be questionnaires, assignments or online discussions. The roles of the teachers are to assist student learning by serving as E-moderators for the various E-lessons.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Course Preparation
  • 10
  • E-Learning
  • 70
  • Exam
  • 4
  • Excursions
  • 4
  • Lectures
  • 35
  • Study Groups
  • 15
  • Total
  • 138
Credit
5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written examination, 4 hours under invigilation
Written exam using essay questions
Aid
Without aids
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Exam period

See Exam Plan

Criteria for exam assesment

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

Knowledge

  • Demonstrate knowledge on health issues in different settings and accepted approaches/guidelines to deal with them;

 

Skills

  • Analyze and apply this knowledge to a variety of settings, adjusting to time and resources available;

 

Competences

  • Design and develop appropriate public health management strategies for humanitarian response, including planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation