Foundations of Global Health I

Full course description

Foundations of Global Health 1 provides students with essential tools for critically assessing problems in global health policy from an intersectional global, and national/local perspective. Traditional approaches to policy analysis often focus on the effectiveness of policy solutions. In the more critical approach we use in Foundations 1, we will focus instead on the preceding phase in the policy cycle: namely, how the ‘problem’ leading to the policy is defined, how the policy came about (actors and political processes), and how the policy deals with complex and interactive social inequalities.  We will use the WPR (What is the problem represented to be) and IBPA (Intersectionality Based Policy Analysis Framework) which is intended for evaluating differential effects of policy on different groups and to tackle health inequalities when making health-related decisions at the level of policy and programming. 

Students participate in the course together with students from McMaster University (Canada), Thamassat University (Thailand), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (India), Rosario University (Colombia), Afhad University for Women (Sudan), University of South- Eastern Norway,  and Niigata University (Japan). The course is online and students work in groups of 6 with participants of at least two universities. The objectives of the course will be achieved through self-directed group work supported by lectures, readings, and feedback from the tutor. The marking scheme for the course will be based on group work with each group completing two assignments pertaining to the critical analysis of different policies. In addition, each individual student is required to submit a reflection précis, on the evolution of your own professional skills and abilities within the context of group processes.