Professional/Short course Introduction to Environmental and Public Health

Entry year
2024/25
Course code
UZVRT715M
Application
University
Level
Professional/Short Course
School
School of Health and Social Wellbeing
Campus
Frenchay
Delivery
In-person
Course Director
John-Paul Bove

15 credit level 7 module

Page last updated 12 October 2023

Introduction

Accreditations and partnerships:

On successful completion of this 15 credit Introduction to Environmental and Public Health module, you will be able to access, synthesise, critically analyse and apply knowledge and understanding of:

  • Theoretical, philosophical and conceptual foundations of environmental and public health, derived from the natural, social, human and environmental sciences.
  • Determinants of health and illness, particularly in relation to social, environmental and political contexts.
  • Political values and ethical frameworks in environmental and public health.
  • Historical and geographical trends in the development of environmental and public health.
  • Health and social inequalities as determinants and consequences of health status and experience.
  • Health risk and surveillance from epidemiological and social science perspectives.
  • Environmental and public health ethics, rights and accountabilities.
  • Contributions of different sectors, institutions and professions to environmental and public health.

Careers / Further study

This module can contribute towards:

PG Cert/PG Dip/MSc Environmental Health/Environmental Health Studies.

Structure

Content

This level 7 (Masters level) module syllabus typically includes:

  • Philosophical and theoretical perspectives on health, illness, public health and environmental health, including epistemological and ontological arguments and social theories of subjectivity/objectivity, induction/deduction, structure, agency, human nature and modernity.
  • Philosophical perspectives on community and society: community organisation; group and organisational theory; political ideology (individualism, collectivism, communitarianism, market capitalism, etc).
  • Political and ethical values in environmental and public health: e.g. beneficence, equity, social justice, altruism, interdependence, social responsibility, harm principle, freedom, risk, etc.
  • Contributions of primary academic disciplines to environmental and public health, specifically sociology, ecology, psychology, education, political science, economics and biomedicine.
  • Historical and geographic trends and developments: evolution of the environmental and public health field; rise and prominence of biomedicine and scientific rationality; national and international political developments (including WHO and UN); global environmental and public health trends.
  • Determinants of health and illness: national and international trends; cultural, social, environmental and political contexts; key health drivers.
  • Inequalities in health, healthcare, opportunity and social status: social justice; rights and freedoms; local, national and international classification and social stratification (occupation, income, ethnicity, race, culture, religion, generation, age, gender, sexuality, opportunity and ability); political and ethical debates on inequality.

Learning and Teaching


Teaching is delivered in-person on Frenchay Campus in the form of lectures and seminars. Many sessions are collaborative and interactive in nature.

Essential, indicative and supplementary online learning materials and resources are also provided via Blackboard, with links to online library resources.

Study time

In addition to in-person teaching of approximately 30 hours of directed study, there is an expectation for students to commit to a significant amount of self-directed study using supplementary materials provided as well as independent research and reading. Details of directed learning is provided for each module, more detail of which is provided in the online Module Handbook and on the module Blackboard site.

Features

Study facilities

The College of Health, Science and Society has an excellent reputation for the quality of its teaching and the facilities it provides.

Get a feel for the Health Professions facilities we have on offer here from wherever you are.

Prices and dates

Supplementary fee information

Please visit full fee information to see the price brackets for our modules.

Funding may be available to support your learning. Please contact your Trust Education Lead. If you work in the Private, Independent and Voluntary Sector, please contact your employer who will advise you.

Dates

Please click on the Apply Now button to view dates.

How to apply

How to apply

Please click on the Apply Now button to apply for your CPD module, which you can take as a stand-alone course or as part of an undergraduate or postgraduate (Masters level) programme.

Extra information

If the course you are applying for is fully online or blended learning, please note that you are expected to provide your own headsets/microphones.

For further information