AC7028 - Public health intelligence and epidemiology: informing policy and strategy

A variety of teaching and learning approaches are used including lectures, seminars, electronic learning support and directed study.
There will be structured seminars where there will be opportunities to apply your knowledge to contemporary examples and activities that will enhance your learning. You will learn about surveillance and assessment of the population's health and wellbeing information, data retrieval essential for the preparation of population need assessments and health protection .You will be given the opportunity to scrutinise this data through group work. There will be sessions delivered by public health specialists who are experts in their field and who can help you to develop contacts and networks for the future.
You will be able to access a resource link for the module on the e-learning portal where direct links to electronic books, chapters, videos, webcasts, research articles and websites can be found. In addition, there is a website link to extensive global health organisations.
An online self-learning and assessment on epidemiology will be available for those unfamiliar with this topic and will help to assist you with Masters level epidemiology theory learning. Directed learning activities will enable collegiate learning, where you will be expected to engage in discussion with your peers with formative feedback given by tutors. These group discussions together with opportunities to present in small groups, will feed forward towards your summative assessment.

The module team have a wide variety of knowledge and specialist expertise and they will support your learning throughout the module, through discussions in lectures, seminars and tutorials. You will be allocated a named tutor who will provide you with assignment guidance and support throughout the module. Contact details for all academic and administrative team members are available in the module handbook on the e-learning portal.

You will be encouraged to work with your peers throughout the module both within the timetabled sessions and outside the scheduled time. This will help you to work collaboratively in a team and learn from your peers.
The Academic language skills module is available for international students to support them with their academic writing, and all students cab access the study skills resources via the library website.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
By the end of the module you will have:

1. Demonstrated a critical understanding of public health intelligence and epidemiological knowledge transfer within the public health policy arena.

2. Demonstrated a systematic understanding of the political, ethical, quality and governance implications of data derived from public health investigation / surveillance.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
By the end of the module you will have:

3. Demonstrated a comprehensive understanding and critical evaluation of methodologies and techniques used in investigating trends and patterns in population health.

4. Evaluated methods of analysing and translating epidemiological research findings (social and medical) into public health policy, sustainable health development strategies and public health service improvement.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
By the end of the module you will have:

5. Develop a critical awareness of a range of global population health statistics and other evidence for public health intelligence and epidemiology.

The summative assessment will be a production of a 3,000 word assignment.
You will be expected to produce a critical analysis of a chosen (from two) published research study, which will include a discussion of epidemiological issues and political influences on policy response. The objective of the assessment is to enhance your ability to make sound epidemiologic judgements related to a public health issue. (MLOs 1-5)

Formative feedback will be given following completion of a small group presentation about your understanding of the requirements of the final module assignment. You will also be asked to complete and submit a 500 word outline of your final summative assignment. Feedback from your peers and tutor about the presentation and from your tutor with regards to your written work can be fed forward into your final summative assessment.

(MLOs 1-5)

None

None

This module aims to conceptualise and critically appraise the relationships between public health policy drivers (including epidemiological evidence and other public health intelligence information) and the political, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental dimensions of resultant health policy responses. These dimensions will be considered with reference to both global and local public health contexts.
More particularly, you will be expected to critically engage with and appraise public health paradigms, specific public health issues, theoretical and technical aspects underpinning epidemiological evidence, and the effectiveness of subsequent public health policy responses, for example the process of commissioning for health inequalities. The research tutored learning on this module will enable you to engage in critically reviewing the research outcomes of others and to provide analyses of your findings, which is a key asset for public health employers.