Teaching plan for the course unit

 

 

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General information

 

Course unit name: Global Health

Course unit code: 570436

Academic year: 2019-2020

Coordinator: Nuria Casamitjana Badia

Department: Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Medicinal Chemistry

Credits: 5

Single program: S

 

 

Estimated learning time

Total number of hours 125

 

Face-to-face and/or online activities

42

 

-  Lecture with practical component

Face-to-face

 

42

Supervised project

40

Independent learning

43

 

 

Recommendations

 

The subject is taught in English.
Proficiency in English is required.

 

 

Competences to be gained during study

 

— Understanding of the main problems and challenges of global health.

 

— Understanding of the architecture and main actors of global health.

 

— Understanding of legal regulations and financial mechanisms of health at a global scale.

 

— Understanding of social determinants of health.

 

— Understanding of the economic dimension of global health.

 

— Understanding of how climate change affects health.

 

— Understanding of the mechanisms that determine access to legal drugs.

 

— Understanding, critical analysis and discussion of cases in the field of global health with an interdisciplinary perspective.

 

 

 

 

Learning objectives

 

Referring to knowledge

— Describe the main problems and challenges of global health.

 

— Understand the architecture and identify the main actors of global health.

 

— Understand the legal regulations and financial mechanisms of global health.

 

— Understand the social determinants affecting health.

 

— Understand the influence of climate change in health.

 

— Understand the mechanisms of drug access at a global scale.

 

Referring to abilities, skills

— Acquire skills for understanding, critical analysis and case debate in the field of global health with an interdisciplinary approach.

 

 

Teaching blocks

 

1. Introduction to global health

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— What is global health?
— Indicators of the health state of world population
— Global charge of disease and mortality: demographic transition and epidemiological transition
— Global inequalities in health
— Health in sustainable development goals (SDG)

2. Social determinants of health

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— Socioeconomic, ethnic, cultural and gender implications in health intervention in low-income countries
— Socioecologic theoretical framework: brief explanation of the social determinants of health
— Specific examples of socioeconomic, ethnic, cultural and gender implications in health intervention in low-income countries (identifying good practice and learnt lessons)
— Introduction to a case study (part 1): increase of mortality in Russia at the beginning of the 90s
— Introduction to a case study (part 2): increase of mortality in Russia at the beginning of the 90s
— Practical exercise of participation: determinants of the increase in male adult mortality in Russia at the beginning of the 90s

3. Climate change and global health

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— Relation between global warming and health
— Changes in global disease patterns

4. Economic dimension of global health

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— Economic assessment of health interventions
— Relation between healthcare priorities and economic priorities
— Who pays what: funding in global health
— Renationalisation of the expenditure in health in developing countries: advances and challenges
— Case study: funding of HIV prevention and treatment

5. Universal health coverage and access to essential medicines

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— Universal health coverage
— Health systems financing
— Access to essential medicines

6. Key players in global health and challenges in international cooperation in health

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— Governments, international and multilateral institutions (United Nations)
— Private sector
— Users and patients
— New philanthropy and new forms of partnership

7. Guided debate: Pertinence and efficacy of cooperation for development in times of global change

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— Debate based on an article on the topic

8. Legislation, governance and global health

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— International legal regulation and global health
— International financial mechanisms against large pandemics

9. Presentation of assessed assignments

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Assessment is based on the characterisation, critical analysis and recommendations on a health situation in a middle to low-income country as established by the World Bank. The following questions guide the identification and interpretation of data:

— Demographic and epidemiological profile and prospective evolution
— Main social and environmental factors determinant of health
— Access to and funding of health services
— Role of international players in relation to health
— Policies recommended by the student to face challenges in health

The assignments are presented and discussed in class.

 

 

Teaching methods and general organization

 

The subject combines theory and practical sessions with sessions for discussion and debate and study of cases. Students must complete their reading for each topic. Also, they must participate actively in class discussions.

Students must complete a group assignment on a case study proposed by the lecturer. This assignment must be presented and discussed in class with the rest of the students and the lecturer. The objective is to promote student participation and support their interest in global health issues and challenges with a multidisciplinary perspective.

 

 

Official assessment of learning outcomes

 

Students are assessed on a continuous basis, on the following activities:

— Participation in class as defined by the lecturer for each session.
— Group assignment on a case study presented in class. Students must discuss the case and present it orally.

 

 

Reading and study resources

Consulteu la disponibilitat a CERCABIB

Electronic text

Sarukhan, A. The Epidemiological Transition (or What We Died, Die and Will Die From).

https://www.isglobal.org/en/healthisglobal/-/custom-blog-portlet/la-transicion-epidemiologica-o-de-que-moriamos-morimos-y-moriremos-/3098670/0

GRIMM, S. et al (2009). European Development Co-operation to 2020. Working paper. Challenges by New Actors in International Development.

http://www.edc2020.eu/fileadmin/Textdateien/EDC2020_WP4_Webversion.pdf

JULIE WALZ, VIJAYA RAMACHANDRAN (2011). “Brave New World: A Literature Review of Emerging Donors and the Changing Nature of Foreign Assistance” CGD Working Paper 273.

http://www.cgdev.org/files/1425691_file_Walz_Ramachandran_Brave_New_World_FINAL.pdf

Global Health Strategies Initiative – GHSi (2012). Shifting Paradigm. How the BRICS Are Reshaping Global Health and Development.

http://www.ghsinitiatives.org/downloads/ghsi_brics_report.pdf

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (2017). Financing Global Health 2017

http://www.healthmetricsandevaluation.org/publications/

 

WHO: Technical brief for policy makers. General budget support in developing countries: ensuring the health sector’s interest. http://www.who.int/health_financing/documents/pb_e_08_2-budget_support.pdf

Glassman, A. Global Health and the New Bottom Billion. Center for Global Development, 2011.

 

  https://www.cgdev.org/publication/global-health-and-new-bottom-billion-what-do-shifts-global-poverty-and-global-disease

MSF. The Right Shot: Bringing Down Barriers to Affordable and Adapted Vaccines (2nd Edition). 2015.

https://msfaccess.org/right-shot-bringing-down-barriers-affordable-and-adapted-vaccines-2nd-ed-2015

WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Closing the gap in a generation. Health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Geneva: WHO, 2008. Available at http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/ (Essential reading: Executive summary).

Solar, O. and Irwin, A. (2007) A Conceptual Framework for Action on the Social Determinants of Health. Paper 2 (Policy and practice). WHO. Available at www.who.int/social_determinants/resources/csdh_framework_action_05_07.pdf. Minimum reading: executive summary, introduction and choose two determinants from sections 5.5.1, 5.5.2, 5.5.3, 5.5.4, 5.5.5, 5.5.6, 5.6.2, 5.6.3 or 5.6.4 and read it to be able to present/discuss at the class debate.

  • Ruger, J. P. (2008). Normative Foundations of Global Health Law. The Georgetown Law Journal96(2), 423–443.
  • Lawrence O. Gostin, Allyn L. Taylor; Global Health Law: A Definition and Grand Challenges, Public Health Ethics, Volume 1, Issue 1, 1 April 2008, Pages 53–63 

  • Woodward et al. (2014). Climate change and health: on the latest IPCC report. The Lancet. 383(9924):1185-9.
  • WHO/WMO. (2016) Climate Services for Health: Improving public health decision-making in a new climate. https://public.wmo.int/en/resources/library/climate-services-health-case-studies
  • Whitmee et al. (2015) Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: report of The Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health. The Lancet. 386(10007):1973-2028.
  • Watts et al (2018). The 2018 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: shaping the health of nations for centuries to come