Global Health and Wellbeing - MSc

Snapshot

Overview

This is a distance learning course, enabling participation by both national and international students drawn from a range of health related disciplines. The course will be delivered in a part-time (three years) mode. This part-time distance learning approach to the programme design allows students to study in their home country whilst engaged in practice, allowing them opportunities to directly apply the programme content to impact on their sphere of professional practice.

Students undertaking this programme will be engaged in promoting global health in some capacity, whether this is at a strategic national level, for example contributing to the development of global health policy; at a strategic local level, for example being responsible for plans to strengthen a local system of health care; or working at the interface of delivering a health initiative to a community, for example as a project worker, or health professional.

Regardless of the level at which the practitioner is working along this continuum, as change agents, they need to be able to critically analyse and evaluate all those factors influencing a situation (whether these are political, historical, economical, cultural etc.), be able to apply evidence-based knowledge and to reconstruct the situation in a realistic and workable way. The MSc Global Health and Wellbeing develops these skills by adopting a model of inquiry design.

Aims of the programme

This programme aims at having a positive influence on global health by producing practitioners capable of acting as change agents in strengthening fragile health systems and reducing health inequalities in low/medium income countries.

The programme is aimed at enabling students to "think globally, act locally", by facilitating the development of critical thinking using inquiry based approaches and reflection, empowering participants to develop effective practice within their individual context.

Programme Content

Students are required to complete three core modules each attracting 30 credits:

• Critical Appraisal Skills for Practitioners - provides students with the skills required for critical inquiry, problem-solving and evidence-based practice by developing their skills of information gathering and critical appraisal of evidence
• Global Health - enables students to engage with concepts and subject areas that directly affect health systems and generate health inequalities, including the relationship between the natural and social environment, public health and epidemiology
• Health Systems and Project Management - encourages students to develop a systems thinking and analysis approach to developing effective ways of strengthening local health systems.

Students are also required to complete two option modules each attracting 15 credits:

• Global Communicable Disease (1): Addressing the Burden
• Global Communicable Disease (2): Epidemiology and Control of Priority Diseases
• Global Non Communicable Diseases (1): Chronicity and Trends
• Global Non Communicable Diseases (2)
• Maternal and Infant Health
• Palliative Care: My Perspective

The opportunity to undertake two option modules allows students to focus on areas of particular relevance to their area of professional practice. For some students this may be exploring ways of managing current problems and challenges such as communicable disease outbreaks, infant and maternal inequalities. Other students may wish to focus on anticipating future health trends such as the increase in chronic diseases, the need for palliative care and ways to provide appropriate health systems to deal with these issues.

Alternatively, students may wish to undertake the Practice Development: Independent Study (30 credits), rather than two of the options modules listed above. This module allows students the opportunity to explore an area of specific or specialist interest in depth.

Students are also required to complete a double-weighted Dissertation attracting 60 credits. The Dissertation provides students with the opportunity to develop and demonstrate, under supervision, their academic, organisational and technical skills in the formulation, execution and writing-up of a research project investigating a topic pertaining to global health, or a critical review of an aspect of global health care or policy.

Teaching and Assessment

The programme is intended to be interactive and supportive, allowing students opportunities to share ideas, knowledge and experience and to discuss and debate issues. The aim is to promote professional dialogue across geographical and cultural boundaries. Students will engage in discussions and debate on pre-set topics and exercises provided by the module team, including access to journal articles that will be available as part of the resource provided for each module. Learning resource support such as Adobe Connect, Podcasts, Blogs and Wikis will be used to promote interaction and one to one support will be provided as necessary.

All module materials will normally be delivered via MyDundee, the University's virtual learning environment (VLE). Students will be assigned e-activities and discussion will be monitored via discussion boards by module team members, ensuring extended availability to allow for different time zones. The programme can also be delivered in an alternative format with additional telecommunication tutorial support in countries which do not yet have the necessary IT infrastructure to support a VLE delivery.

Each student will be allocated an academic advisor at the start of their studies who will help plan the student’s journey through the programme and provide support as the student progresses.

A range of summative assessments will be utilised including critical essays, health improvement strategies, project development plans, prevention or control strategies and literature reviews. A number of the modules also allow the student the opportunity to negotiate the focus and content of their assignment, thus enabling them to explore areas of particular individual interest.

Entry Requirements

Both UK and international postgraduate students from a range of disciplines who have completed an undergraduate degree in a relevant subject will be eligible to undertake the programme.

English Language Requirement: IELTS of 6.5, with minimum of 6.0 in any component (or equivalent), if your first language is not English. Please check our Language Requirements page for details of equivalent grades from other test providers, and information about the University of Dundee English Language courses.

Career Opportunities

This new programme is designed for healthcare professionals (clinical professions, allied health professionals, policy planners, general managers etc) working in an international healthcare setting for example with an international charity, aid agency or Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), especially in low/medium income countries.

The qualification will enable candidates to gain a wider understanding of delivering and managing healthcare projects in emerging economies and operate more effectively in international health or humanitarian organisations in developing countries.

The qualification may also be of relevance for applicants considering a career in international health.

From current vacancy listings in NGOs promotion for promoted posts almost always requires a combination of work experience and a relevant Masters level degree.

Contact

Programme Leads

Pauline Horton, Karen Lee and Susan Redman School of Nursing and Midwifery City Campus 11 Airlie Place Dundee DD1 4HJ Telephone: 01382 388 534 (from the UK) Telephone: +44 1382 388 534 (from outside the UK) Fax: 01382 385 500 (from the UK) Fax: +44 1382 385 500 (from outside the UK) Email: nm-GlobalHealth@dundee.ac.uk