SH6001 - Urban Health (2017/18)
Module specification | Module approved to run in 2017/18 | ||||||||||||
Module status | DELETED (This module is no longer running) | ||||||||||||
Module title | Urban Health | ||||||||||||
Module level | Honours (06) | ||||||||||||
Credit rating for module | 30 | ||||||||||||
School | School of Social Professions | ||||||||||||
Total study hours | 300 | ||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
Assessment components |
|
||||||||||||
Running in 2017/18(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
|
Module summary
This module introduces students to the determinants of health, health and healthcare in urban settings: itis underpinned by the notion of urban health crisis and the controversy of health and healthcare in cities. It uses a public health approach to examine how the wider determinants of health (especially the social, economic and physical conditions) impact on health and access to healthcare in urban settings. As this impact is most significant in global cities, therefore, the module examines health and healthcare in cities like London.Thus, the module gives students an opportunity to consider health trends in relation to distinctive features of urban populations and explore persistent challenges to the organisation and delivery of health services in urban settings, against the backdrop of globalisation. The impact of recent local, national and international policy initiatives on the emerging and long-standing problems of health and healthcare in London and other selected cities will also be examined.
Module aims
The module aims are:
• To introduce the notion of urban health crisis and the controversy of health and healthcare in urban settings
• To identify key trends in the patterns of health and healthcare in urban settings
• To consider the impact of urban conditions (wider determinants of health) on the health of Londoners and other urban dwellers elsewhere
• To examine key challenges to the organisation and delivery of healthcare services in London and other global cities in the backdrop of globalisation
• To understand relevant policy developments in relation to health and healthcare in London and other urban settings
Syllabus
The module programme will concentrate on the following five main themes:
1. theory, concepts, controversy and principles of health in urban settings
2. context and wider determinants of health in urban settings and global cities
3. resources for health and healthcare services in urban settings and global cities
4. local, national and international policy initiatives for health and healthcare in global and other urban settings
5. promoting the health of various population groups in urban settings
Topics covered in the module include:
• Theory and concepts of health in urban settings
• The notion of urban health crisis
• The Sick City hypothesis and controversy of health and healthcare in urban settings
• Frameworks for measuring and analysing health in urban settings
• Urbanisation, urban populations and health
• Key trends in the patterns of health in urban settings
• Wider determinants of health in urban settings
• Access to healthcare in global cities and other urban settings
• Key health problems of twenty-first century urban settings
• Key trends in the patterns of healthcare services in urban settings
• Organisation and delivery of health services in global cities and other urban settings
• Urban governance and urban health
• Globalisation and urban health
• Strategies and interventions to promote health in urban settings
• Researching health and healthcare in urban settings
Learning and teaching
Delivery of this module will be based on a programme of:
• Lectures
• Seminars
• Interactive workshops and group activities
• Practicum on data gathering and resource inventory for health
• WebLearn activities; online, video and audio content
The lecture and workshop programme is designed to enable students to examine key issues with regard to health and healthcare in urban settings, making links between social theory, health policy and practice. London provides a superb example of a global city in which the interface of determinants of health, health and healthcare is quite distinctive. Therefore, the module lectures and seminars will use London as the main reference and important source of material for background concepts and discussions on key trends in relation to patterns of health and healthcare in urban settings. The module uses a sociological public health approach grounded in the impact of urban socio-economic conditions on health. Hence, students will examine health challenges experienced in London and other world cities by their residents, patients, communities, health workers, service providers and local authorities against a background of globalization.
The emphasis throughout the programme will be on student participation in interactive sessions, workshops and group activities, supplemented by presentations of work in progress and online (WebLearn) interactions. Students will also have an opportunity to develop practical skills in relation to gathering data and building a resource inventory for health: some field trips may be undertaken depending on the nature of the urban health profiles to be constructed.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
1. Seek, handle and interpret literature and materials on health and healthcare in global cities like London
2. Discussthe links between the determinants of health and population health in urban settings
3. Discuss factors pertaining to the organisation and delivery of health services in cities
4. Analyse healthcare services for a population group in line with London Health Commission principles or strategies used in other cities
5. Analyse urban health using appropriate theory and policy materials regarding to health promotion
6. Design a comprehensive urban health profile
Assessment strategy
Assessment in Urban Health is designed to prepare, engage and test a range of skills (theoretical, practical, analytical and academic) in order to assess achievement of the module learning outcomes. Thus, assessment tools include formal and informal individual and group activities to develop knowledge and skills to undertake the summative assessments. They include the preparation and of an urban health profile (LO1, 2 and 4) of 1,500 words (35%), and a Final Report of 3,500 words (LO1,2 and 3)(65%) to provide an analysis of an urban health issue in relation to a sub-population group, using both urban health and public health analytical approaches. The first assessment requires students to construct an urban health profile on an urban health issue of a local urban area drawing on a range of data and the issues arising from the local area being studied. This is designed to help students identify a suitable urban health issue that they wish to explore on the Module. The final report will test students’ ability to draw together conceptual and theoretical aspects as well as policy and practice developments in relation to health in cities. Students are recommended to establish a link between the first and second assessments by studying the same urban health issue in both assessments. The final report will also require students to critique services / interventions that relate to the health issue they choose to study.
Bibliography
Books / Reports
Galea S and Vlahov D (eds) (2005) Handbook of Urban Health: Populations, Methods and Practice. New York: Springer
Libman K, Freudenberg N, O’Keefe E. (2010) A Tale of Two ObesCities: Comparing responses to childhood obesity in London and New York City. New York and London: City University of New York and London Metropolitan University Childhood Obesity Collaborative.
London Health Commission (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006/7) Health in London reports (published in London by the Greater London Authority; examine different aspects of health in the capital).
Mckintosh M (2005) London – the World in One City: An Analysis of 2001 Census Results. London: Greater London Authority.
UN Habitat (2003) Water and Sanitation in the World’s Cities: Local Action for Global Goals. Geneva: UN Human Settlements Programme/Earth Scan.
WHO (2010) WHO Age-Friendly Environments Programme. Geneva: World Health Organization.
EBooks and Reports:
ACT (2010) ACT Strategic Plan for Positive Ageing 2010- 2014: Towards an Age-Friendly City. Canberra (Australia): ACT Government.
Corburn J (2009) Toward the healthy city: people, places, and the politics of urban planning. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Federation of Canadian Municipalities; Metropolis Project (2004) Our diverse cities. Ottawa: Metropolis Project, Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Freudenberg N, Klitzman S and Saegert S (2009) Urban health and society: interdisciplinary approaches to research and practice. San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons.
Gibbons M C, Bali R K and Wickramasinghe N (2010) Urban health knowledge management. New York; London: Springer.
Kjellstrom T (2007) Our cities, our health, our future: Acting on social determinants for health equity in urban settings. Kobe, Japan: WHO Centre for Health Development
Piggott G (ed), Greater London Authority and Data Management and Analysis Group (2009) Focus on London 2009. London: GLA and TSO
Whitman S, Shah A M and Benjamins, M (2011) Urban health: combating disparities with local data. New York: Oxford University Press.
On-line resources
London Health Programmes at http://www.londonhp.nhs.uk/
The London Health Observatory athttp://www.lho.org.uk
The London Health Commission at http://www.london.gov.uk/lhc/
The King’s Fund at www.kingsfund.org.uk
Greater London Authority’ s publications of Focus on London athttp://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/publications/facts-figures/fol.jsp
The Health Protection Agency at http://www.hpa.org.uk
UN-HABITAT’s Global Urban Observatory athttp://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=9
WHO http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-do/health-topics/environment-and-health/urban-health
e-journals
Big Cities Health Inventory; Chicago: City of Chicago, Dept. of Health, 1994-
Journal of Urban Health by New York Academy of Medicine; New York : Springer
Journal of Urban Health by Gale Group; Cary, N.C.: Oxford University Press, 1998-
Journal of Public Health Policy
Urban Health and Development Bulletin; Tygerberg: National Urbanisation and Health Research Programme of the Medical Research Council
Women's Health & Urban Life - an international and interdisciplinary journal; Toronto : Dept. of Sociology, University of Toronto, 2002-