Public Health BSc (Hons)

Semester 1

The aim of the module is to enable students to develop knowledge, skills and understanding of the health promotion approaches that are used to achieve behaviour change in individuals and groups. The module will explore current theories and models of behaviour change and effective approaches to increase client knowledge, change attitudes and positively engage individuals, groups and communities in changing health behaviours. Opportunities to apply these skills and select appropriate health promotion interventions, for example, facilitate smoking cessation sessions or become a wellbeing champion, will be identified in discussion with the students.    

Students will be encouraged to bring their own experiences and knowledge of these issues to enrich the learning of the group and make the module an enjoyable and interactive experience. Key content:

• Theories, models and approaches to health promotion.
• Reflective practice.
• Making Every Contact Count. 
• Health Champions.
• Smoking Cessation.
• Mental Health Awareness.
• One student training option from E-learning for Health

Semester 1

The aim of this module is to help students to understand the role of community needs assessment, community profiling and surveillance and monitoring in public health policy and practice. Students will also learn to identify, interpret and analyse population level demographic and epidemiological indicators (health outcomes and health determinant indicators) to develop summary community health profiles that inform community health needs assessment. They will also explore how population health theories  help to explain patterns of health and disease in the past, present and future.  Key content:

• Community health needs assessment, community profiling and community health surveillance and monitoring.
• Introduction to epidemiology: causation and association; hazard and risk; incidence and prevalence. 
• Health indicators and their strengths and weaknesses.
• Identifying, interpreting and prioritising health indicators.
• Theories of health deficits, needs and assets.
• Theories of population health transition and change.

Semester 1

The aim of this module is to enable students to understand and apply the principles and practices of health protection, emergency preparedness and healthcare public health to typical protection, emergency and healthcare scenarios that are experienced in the UK. Students will develop knowledge about environmental hazards and emergencies, such as natural hazards (geophysical, hydrological, climatological, meteorological, biological) and technological or human-made hazards. Students will learn how to develop appropriate responses for prevention, surveillance and management of environmental hazards and emergencies. Students will also examine the governance, structures, and roles within health protection, healthcare and social care systems and the role of public health in evaluating the quality (affordability, accessibility, availability) and cost-effectiveness of these services. Key content:

• Health protection principles and practices.
• Emergency preparedness principles and practices.
• Healthcare public health principles and practices.
• Categories and types of environmental hazards and emergencies.
• Prevention, surveillance and management of environmental hazards and emergencies.
• Risk communication and community and stakeholder involvement in management.
• Planning, monitoring and evaluating the quality and cost-effectiveness of health protection, healthcare and social care systems.
• Key legislation and policies e.g. civil contingencies, heatwave plan.
• Understand the organisations and networks that deal with health protection and emergency preparedness and response e.g. resilience forums, local health resilience partnerships, health and wellbeing boards.
• Ethics of health protection, emergency preparedness and response and healthcare public health.

Semester 2

The aim of this module is to enable students to understand how mass media can be used to promote the health and with individuals, groups and communities. The module builds on learning in Semester 1 about theories and concepts of delivering health promotion interventions and explores the influence of media on perceptions of health and wellbeing. The module introduces concepts of multimedia exploring sociological, psychological and cultural theories. Key content:

• Media, culture and communication in health promotion.
• Strengths and limitations of multi-media and developing understanding of media.
• Media theories and health promotion theories: applying the theory to practice.
• Audio media: radio broadcasting, podcasting.
• Visual media: using films, memes, vlogging and story-boarding.
• Augmented reality, virtual reality and internet of things use in health and wellbeing and gamification of health behaviour change.
• The use of social media for health and wellbeing.
• Persuasive communication and theories of social marketing.
• Behaviour change and application to media communication.
• Using mass media in health promotion, creating opportunities, and reviewing effective campaigns.
• Print media and health literacy.
• Marketing health and wellbeing and the ethics of marketing.
• How to use media appropriately as a public health professional.

Semester 2

The aim of this module is to provide students with the opportunity to explore and reflect on the concept of mental health and wellbeing, how it is measured and the factors that promote good mental health and wellbeing. Students will assess national policies and consider how they inform local policy and action. They will also learn about the types of interventions that can be undertaken to support mental health and wellbeing and how these can be designed, delivered, monitored and evaluated.

Key content:

• Definitions of mental health and wellbeing.
• Perspectives (theories, models and frameworks) on mental health and wellbeing.
• National mental health and wellbeing policy context for England.
• Determinants (risk and protective factors) of mental health and wellbeing
• Mental health and wellbeing and children and young people, adults (women and men) and older people.
• Mental health and wellbeing in workplaces, prisons and universities.
• Psychoactive substances and mental health and wellbeing (alcohol, cannabis, opioid medication).
• Key mental health and wellbeing interventions.
• Engaging communities in improving health and wellbeing through asset-based community development and community development activities.
• The role of collaborations with other professionals and agencies at local level in helping to deliver mental health promotion and wellbeing interventions.

Semester 2

The aim of this module is to further develop students’ knowledge and skill in the use of  evidence-informed public health practice by exploring qualitative and quantitative methodologies and study designs, and the methods of data collection and analysis used within them. Students will also further develop their literature search skills and critical appraisal skills. They will learn how to identify the strengths and weaknesses of research studies and the impact of the findings of these studies on public health policy and practice. Key content:

• Evidence-informed public health and the types, and sources, of evidence in public health.
• Research methodologies, study designs and methods
• Ethical aspects of research, literature searches and literature reviews.
• Developing a literature review question, undertaking a systematic literature search and identifying high quality research literature.
• Critical appraisal of studies and synthesis of findings.
• The rigour and trustworthiness of different types of research evidence.
• Analyse the relevance and significance of appraised evidence for public health policy and practice.

Semester 1

The aim of this module is to enable students to understand the importance of public policy and the policy and decision-making process and how it influences population health both through what are termed health policies (public, health, health and social care) and non-health policies (housing, transport, education, crime and safety). Students will be able to develop the ability to analyse policies from a public health perspective and appreciate the importance of advocating for a ‘health in all policies’ approach to ensure that both health and non-health policies maximise individual, group, and community health and wellbeing. Key content:

• Contemporary policy issues that relate to public health at a global, national and local,  level.
• Concepts and theories of policy-making, the policy making process (policy cycle).
• The key actors (individuals, groups, organisations, institutions) involved in the policy process.
• The role of politics, the media, business, non-governmental organisations, key groups and communities in the development of public health-related policies.
• Approaches to evaluating policies and the policy making process.
• The concept of ‘health in all policies’ and its strengths and weaknesses.

Semester 1 

The aim of this module is to introduce students to the process of developing public health interventions. To enable them to understand, analyse and critique the business case, design, delivery, monitoring (quality assurance) and evaluation of new and existing public health interventions whether they are stand-alone projects, continuous services or programmes of activity. It explores the role and value of team-working, partnerships and collaborations, and engaging and involving communities in order to make interventions successful and cost-effective. Key content:

• The intervention development process.
• Planning models and theories.
• Approaches to monitoring and evaluation.
• Principles of, and approaches to, team working.
• Principles of, and approaches to, partnership working and collaboration.
• Key elements of good project management.
• Business case development.
• Economic analyses, cost-effectiveness, return on investment and value for money.
• Commissioning.
• Ethical issues in developing public health interventions.

Semester 2 

The aim of this module is to enable students to develop their knowledge and critical understanding of the role of leadership and organisational change at all levels of health promotion practice at all levels of public health practice. It focuses on the subjects of leadership in teams, in organisations and in the community. Good leadership skills are needed because it is likely to make interventions, project, programmes and services more effective. It is therefore an essential quality and every public health professional from the most junior public health practitioner to the Chief Executive of Public Health England needs to develop and enhance their leadership skills and competencies. Key content:

• Concepts of leadership, management, change and change leadership.
• Key leadership models and frameworks: NHS Healthcare Leadership Model, Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework.
• Key change models: Lewin, Kotter and the NHS Change models.
• How leadership can influence teams and projects to  protect and improve community health and wellbeing.
• Leadership across systems and sectors.
• Reflecting on leadership strengths and weaknesses, and addressing key weaknesses.
• Ethical public health leadership and management.

Semester 2 

The aim of the module is to enable students to bring together the learning from the whole course and consolidate it into a practical assignment to create an outline business plan as they might do as an early career public health professional. Key contents:

• Undertake search strategies, identifying appropriate studies and undertaking a rapid literature review.
• Content of, and steps, in developing a business case.
• Health promotion theories, models and approaches.
• Designing, delivering, monitoring and evaluating public health interventions.
• Stakeholder and community engagement.
• Assessing population deficits (needs), assets, aspirations and inequalities.
• Developing an outline resource list and budget.
• Creating intervention logic models.
• Critical, reading, thinking and writing.
• Writing clearly, simply and directly using an appropriate tone.

On this module you will need to identify your own (public health) relevant work experience, for a semester, doing a minimum of 40 hours of work, as well as attending taught sessions. 

The aim of this module is to encourage you to utilise knowledge and skills acquired through the first two years of the course through application and consolidation. You will be asked to critically reflect on these experiences and consider how your own learning informs your role in the wider public health workforce.

Content for this module will be indicative of the experiences of students in a variety of public health roles and settings, such as voluntary and community sector, local authority, NHS and private sector.