Public Health Policy Making
Full course description
Particularly since the early 19th century state interventions in the field of public health have significantly increased. Examples of state expansion in public health are health laws, health standards on food products, mass vaccination programs, the regulation of the provision and financing of health care and interventions to control the spread of infectious diseases. At the same time, private organizations representing the interests of the food industry, the tobacco industry, the pharmaceutical sector and big tech giants, to mention a few examples, seek to influence and penetrate into the public health field. These developments have contributed to the transformation of public health systems into what they are today: complex systems directed at the protection and promotion of public health with multiple interests that may coincide but also conflict with each other. The general trend points to a continuous extension of control in public health which evokes pertinent questions about the role of science, morality, politics and power in public health policymaking
Course objectives
- To give students insight into the dynamics of public health policymaking. Key concepts are: policymakers; agenda building; the political construction of health problems; policy beliefs; policy narratives; strategies and impact of interest organizations
- To give students insight into the governance structure of health systems: Key concepts are: governance rules; the problem of collective action; governance gap; anarchy, hierarchy, network; multi-level governance; centralization and decentralization; global governance.
- To give students insight into the moral, rational, conflictual and institutional dimension of public health policymaking. Key concepts: moral dilemmas, the science-policy relationship; uncertainty reduction strategies; power balance; policy as rational choice and negotiated agreement; conflict resolution strategies; institutional continuity and change.
Prerequisites
Recommendations
- VSC1201 Introduction to Public Health
Recommended reading
- An e-reader with original articles will be available at the start of the course.
- H. Maarse – Health Policy Analysis (e-book)