About the Course
The course takes its starting point in the belief that good health is intimately linked with personal happiness, productivity, the economic and social development of nations and the advancement of people.
Globalization processes influence the health of individuals, societies and the function of health systems in many ways and may present opportunities but may also pose a risk to vulnerable societies. Throughout this course presentations will transcend the perspectives of individual countries and will critically discuss how global mega-trends and different sectors of society influence the health of population. Transition in health and the drivers of such transition will be core elements of this course.
During the four first course weeks we will explore a range of themes, including: communicable and non-communicable diseases, environmental health, child health, reproductive health and rights, and health among refugees and displaced populations. We focus on the dual burden of communicable and non-communicable disease experienced by much of the world’s population today.
As the deadline for meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) nears, course participants will also reflect on the post-MDG agenda by exploring the future of global health and trends in technical innovation, global strategies and programs in the fight for better health. Through lectures, readings, and assignments, course participants will be asked to think critically about the health of the world’s population and to reflect on overcoming the challenges of achieving good health around the world.
Course Syllabus
The course consists of eight topical modules, which will be released in pairs - two modules each Tuesday - during the first four weeks of the course. Module 1: Global Health Governance and Health Systems Module 2: Epidemiological Transition and Global Burden of Diseases Module 3: Infectious Diseases Module 4: Environment, Sanitation and Climate Change Module 5: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Module 6: Mental Health and Injuries Module 7: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Module 8: Migration, Disasters and Emergency Health
The fifth (and last) course week is for catching up on assignments and finishing the peer grading process.
Recommended Background
No background is required; all are welcome! The course is on an introductory level, but for students who want to dig deeper or already have some prior knowledge from medicine, public health, politics or another related field we have compiled some additional readings, that will be presented each week.
Course Format
The class will consist of lecture videos, which will be between 5 and 25 minutes long. Each lecture video contains integrated quiz questions. Video lectures will be given by researchers, professionals and global health practitioners from around the world - providing students with multiple perspectives. A number of interviews with global health professionals and researchers will be presented as videos. There will also be homework that is not part of the videos, primarily in the form of reading short articles, quizzes and short writing/assessing tasks. For each topic a list of internet resources and key references will be listed for further self-study.
Instructors
Flemming Konradsen, Professor, Director
Copenhagen School of Global Health