Type of course

Admission requirements

Admission criteria: HEL-3043 Introduction to Global Health eller HEL-3030 International and Environmental Health.

Other: The same as for the Master's programme in Public Health. See the programme page.

Application Code: 9371 (Nordic applicants).

Obligatory prerequisites

Course content

The themes to be covered:

- The epidemiology of global health and health status of vulnerable and marginalized groups such as refugees, migrants, and adolescents.

- Advanced topics in global health including injuries and mental health.

- The governance, financing, and politics of health at global and national levels.

- Application of the determinants of global health including the factors underlying inequity, the economy and commercialization.

- The effect of climate change on health in low resource settings.

- Global health security and pandemics.

- Health systems applications from a national perspective especially those in low resource settings.

Objectives of the course

Building on basic knowledge of global health, the candidate will be given an understanding of health care systems and strategies, global health status and underlying factors (e.g. political, economic, cultural), and the burden of disease and health inequities involving vulnerable populations. Candidates will learn to apply global health metrics and research evidence, to analyze complex health problems in systems context, to compare country and/or population situations, and to understand the implementation and evaluation of intervention strategies for specific problems. Critical global issues such as global health security and migration will also be addressed.

Knowledge and understanding

• The students will have an overview of global health governance and international actors (UN, World Bank and other major agencies), and the interplay of politics, economics, and evolving global health needs and programs.
• The students will have advanced knowledge about global health status and health care systems, health intervention strategies and approaches to monitoring and evaluating effects.

Skills and competencies

• Students will be able to describe existing theories, methods and interventions in the field.
• Students will be able to analyse global health problems and develop proposals for effective and adequate response.
• Students will be introduced to international work in global health for emergencies and sustainable health development.

General Proficiency

• Students will be able to identify and evaluate global health problems and the conditions that create disease and inequalities in health between different population groups, nations and regions.
• Students will be able to explain the various determinants and their relative importance.
• Students will be able to apply the methods currently used to describe global health epidemiology.
• Students will be able to communicate about academic issues, analyses and conclusions in the field, both with specialists and with the public.

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods

Information to incoming exchange students

This course is open for inbound exchange student who meets the admission requirements, including prerequisites. Please see the Admission requirements" and the "Prerequisite" sections for more information.

Do you have questions about this course? Please check the following website to contact the course coordinator for exchange students at the faculty: https://en.uit.no/education/art?p_document_id=510412