module specification

The short headline definition of Healthcare Public Health provided by the Faculty of Public Health is:

Healthcare public health is one of the three core domains of specialist public health practice, alongside health improvement and health protection. Healthcare Public Health is concerned with maximising the population benefits of healthcare while meeting the needs of individuals and groups, by prioritizing available resources, by preventing diseases and by improving health-related outcomes through design, access, utilisation and evaluation of effective and efficient healthcare interventions and pathways of care.

This module will discuss the application of public health sciences to healthcare services, planning, commissioning, and provision. It will describe some of the core skills and tasks required to produce evidence upon which to make evidence-based decisions in regards to these aforementioned areas. The approaches covered in this module, are also applicable to Health Improvement, and Health Protection, but in this module, they are covered in regards to Healthcare Public Health, grounding students in this discipline, while providing transferable skills to the other domains of Public Health.

The module aims to: -

Develop knowledge and application of a Health Needs Assessment
Enhance evidence-base practice skills, in the area of evidence-based healthcare
Provide a grounding in planning, development, and design of services based on health needs, prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of illness, quality, efficiency, value, variation, and equality, on a population scale
Develop knowledge and application of service evaluation and Health Impact Assessment
Provide learning opportunities in literature searching including review and critical analysis

This module covers the following areas: -

Assessment of the health needs of a population LO1, LO2, LO3
Evidence-informed, and value-based decision making in healthcare LO1, LO2, LO3
Healthcare systems LO3
Service design, planning, and procurement LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Monitoring and evaluation of health services LO1, LO3

On completion of the module students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a critical understanding and application of the principles and practices of Public Health and their application to healthcare
2. Complete a Health Needs Assessment, interpret, and evaluate the results, demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems
3. Apply an evidence-based approach to the design, planning, commissioning, and evaluation of healthcare systems and healthcare services, demonstrating a systematic and creative approach to dealing with complex issues
4. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the commissioning / procurement process

There is one summative assessments on this module, a 5,000 word report including a Health Needs Assessment, recommendations for service design, planning and evaluation. Students will have an opportunity to submit the outline of the Health Needs Assessment as a formative assessment in week 9 of the module

Core Text:
Cavenagh, S., Chadwick, K. (2005) Health needs assessment. London: NICE

Cromwell, T. (2016). Healthcare Evaluation. London: McGraw Hill

Gray, M. (2009) Evidence-based healthcare and public health, 3rd edition. Croydon: Elsevier

Additional:
Wenzel, L. (2017) What is commissioning and how has it change? London: The King’s Fund

Naylor, C. (2015) Transforming our healthcare system. London: The King’s Fund

Robertson, R. (2016) Clinical commissioning: GPs in charge? London: The King’s Fund

Biard, B. (2018) Commissioner perspectives on working with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. London: The King’s Fund

NHS England. (2017) Patient and public consultation in commissioning health and care: Statutory guidance for clinical commissioning groups and NHS England. London: NHS England

Websites:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/
http://www.health.org.uk/theme/commissioning

Journals:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/evaluation-and-program-planning