Undergraduate Course: Health Systems Analysis (SCPL10034)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course aims to provide students with the ability to evaluate health systems in any country or region. A core goal is to provide students with an understanding of economic principles and how these can be applied by health policy-makers in policy design, and by other analysts of health system performance. The course currently exists at SCQF Level 11 and has, since its introduction in 2013-14, been taken at that level by BMedSci Honours students doing an intercalated year within the Global Health Policy Unit. This is a challenging course and students undertaking it should either be studying on a BMedSci or have completed at least two years of undergraduate study in the Social Sciences |
| Course description |
The course aims to provide a critical understanding of how different models of financing and delivering health products and services can lead to different outcomes in terms of important policy goals such as equity and efficiency. Students will develop an ability to compare and evaluate various models of health system governance, with a particular focus on the evaluation of market vs. planned approaches. They will learn about the organisation and delivery of health systems, with a focus on human/ pharmaceutical resources and use of information, and be required to identify and evaluate methods by which resources are allocated or channelled to individual and institutional providers of health services. In disciplinary terms, students will develop competencies in applying economic principles to look critically at factors- including micro- and macro-economic factors- that have an influence on health systems policies.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This is a challenging course and students undertaking this course should either be studying on a BMedSci or have completed at least two years of undergraduate study in the School of Social and Political Science. All other students interested in the course should contact the course organiser before enrolling. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Social Policy or closely related courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. Please contact the course organiser for permission to enrol on the course. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 18,
Online Activities 4,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
164 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1) Input to online discussion fora. Students to submit a portfolio of contributions to course discussions, comprising two short written reflections on readings and two examples of engagement in online discussions, with a total word count of 2,000 words (30%)
2) Written essay of 2,500 words (70%).
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| Feedback |
Student cohort will be given formative essay and feedback information (across all GHPU courses) in week 2/3 of semester 1.
Continuous feedback during face-to-face and online seminar sessions, alongside guidance and feedback hours.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand the role played by economic analysis in health policy.
- Understand how different models of revenue collection and pooling lead to different outcomes in terms of equity/efficiency.
- Evaluate various models of health system governance, with a particular focus on market versus planned approaches.
- Evaluate the organisation and delivery of health systems, with a focus on crucial human/ technological resources.
- Communicate important health systems concepts to a range of audiences with different levels of knowledge/expertise.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Health systems,health economics,markets,pharmaceuticals,health workers |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Mark Hellowell
Tel: (0131 6)51 1330
Email: |
Course secretary | |
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