Health Policy Analysis (P02288)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : HEA-P-HPA

Effective engagement in the making of public policy is key to the achievement of health objectives, and an understanding of the policy process is a precondition for such engagement. This course will introduce students to policy analysis, offering a problem-focused and multi-disciplinary approach that draws on political science, public administration, sociology and political theory. It offers a conceptual framework within which to analyse the making of health policy, focusing on the varying distribution of power among different actors and stakeholders. It outlines key theories of the state and examines changes in health policy associated with the “hollowing out” of the state via the increased role of markets, civil society, agencies and Europeanization. It explores different approaches to understanding how the process operates, looking at why some health issues obtain a privileged position within the policy agenda and why others are denied access to it and emphasising the importance of understanding obstacles to effective implementation.

Entry Requirements

none

Subject Areas

Home subject area

International Public Health Policy, (School of Health in Social Science, Schedule D)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Block 1 only

? Contact Teaching Time : 3 hour(s) per week for 5 weeks

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Friday	15:00	15:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

This course will:
- Introduce a conceptual framework for analysis of the health policy process
- Examine competing conceptions of power and its distribution in society
- Critique the dominance of pluralist accounts of the policy process and assess other theories of the state
- Outline the public health powers and responsibilities of governments
- Consider the increasing role of market actors within the policy process
- Assess the divergent roles of civil society organisations within policy communities and issue networks
- Examine different theoretical approaches to understanding which health issues are situated on the policy agenda and to effective implementation of heath policy
- Consider the role of scientific evidence in policy-making and examine competing models of the relationship between research and policy
- Provide key case studies examining the capacity of diverse actors to influence health policy and outcomes.