Global Perspectives on Health and Human Development DUMF2079

  • Academic Session: 2025-26
  • School: School of Social and Environmental Sustainability
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 2 (SCQF level 8)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 1
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

This course examines the causes of the stark inequalities in health which are seen globally, paying special attention to the interaction of health, education and economic resources in human development. The course provides a grounding in the key conceptual and theoretical resources in global health; the foundations of social epidemiology; and the principal institutions and models of health system governance around the world.

Timetable

30 minutes of online asynchronous teaching and 150 minutes of timetabled on-campus teaching (1.5 hours of lecture and 1 hour of practical workshop/seminar), weekly.

One field trip of approximately 5 hours duration (week 4 or 5; no on-campus teaching that week).

Requirements of Entry

Students must have achieved a D or better in any Level 1 Global Sustainable Development course to be admitted to this class.

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

1) Case study report, 1,500 words, 40% (ILOs 1 and 2)

2) Policy analysis, 2,000 words, 60% (ILOs 1, 3 and 4)

Course Aims

The aims of this course are to:

1. Demonstrate the importance of health in human development, in interaction with education and economic resources, and introduce students to key conceptual and theoretical resources in the field of global health.

2. Enable students to apply foundational principles of social epidemiology to geographically diverse case studies, covering communicable and non-communicable diseases, and mental health and wellbeing.

3. Identify and analyse the primary mechanisms of global health governance within global health institutions, and introduce students to methods of policy analysis.

4. Delineate the different models of health system existing globally, and foster an awareness of the implications of different systems for health equity.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Apply conceptual and theoretical knowledge from the social sciences to global health challenges.

2. Identify global health challenges and analyse them using foundational principles of social epidemiology.

3. Conduct an analysis of a relevant policy developed in the context of global health governance.

4. Provide examples of different models of health system when analysing policy problems.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.