Course Outline:
Aim
To develop understanding of issues around health and international development.
Skillshare International is a charity based in Leicester, which recruits development workers with transferable skills, to work in Africa and India. It also delivers development education to people in all age groups in the United Kingdom. This module has been designed in collaboration with the organisation. Skillshare International staff, returned development workers, and faculty from Leicester Medical School and the wider University, will deliver the teaching.
The module will be of particular interest to students considering undertaking their elective in the developing world as it aims to introduce participants to the key determinants of ill health and requires them to consider their personal responsibilities in this area. However, no prior experience or knowledge of health and international development issues is necessary to gain full benefit from the course.
Objectives
By the end of the module you should be able to:
• Describe the principal factors which result in premature death and excess mortality in developing countries
• Discuss the role of governments, international agencies, NGOs and community based organisations in health provision in developing countries
• Explain concepts of access and control in relation to healthcare in developing countries
• Discuss concepts of participation and empowerment in relation to community level health provision
• Reflect on your own attitudes and the potential impact of development workers from the UK upon communities in the developing world
Teaching and Learning Activities
The course will be delivered over 12 weeks in Semester Five in two sessions per week. The first session will be taught using a variety of techniques, including:
1. Presentations, predominantly using material from returned development workers
2. Facilitated small group discussion
3. Case study analysis
The second session will be available for group and private study, and the preparation of presentations.
Content
The issues that will be addressed during the course are grouped into three themes:
1. Disease control
This theme considers how some of the major diseases of developing countries can be controlled by medical means, by environmental change and by education of individuals and communities.
2. Access to health care
This theme looks at how different countries provide health care for their citizens, how access can be influenced by factors such as gender and the role of international and national NGOs in supporting health care provision
3. Approaches to Skills for Work
The sessions studying this theme will examine participatory approaches to health care improvement, how empowerment projects can address HIV/AIDS and the effect of health workers trained in one care system working in another.
Entry Requirements:
Available to: third year medical students at University of Leicester Medical School
Course Modules:
A detailed provisional timetable is available on application by email from the module convener. A Course Book containing full information will be supplied to all participants before the start of the course.
Assessment
The final mark of excellent, satisfactory or unsatisfactory will be determined by performance in two components:
• Essay (2000 words). This is an individual piece of work and will account for 50% of the total for each student.
• Group presentation(s). The mark for each presentation will be awarded to the group. A proportion will then be allocated to each member to account for 50% of the total mark.
URL:
www.skillshare.org/pages/news.html#SSM
Contact:
Dr Adrian Hastings
Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care
Tel: 4622
Email: amh5@le.ac.uk
