Master of Public Health

Public Health has a pivotal role in promoting and protecting the health and wellbeing of the public. It aims to prevent poor health, eradicate disease and increase longevity through population based interventions and activities. Through an exploration of public health concepts, approaches to protect and promote health and examination of the broader influences on health and healthcare provision, you’ll be encouraged to think strategically, whilst developing a broad understanding of public health.

This module provides the opportunity to learn about the definition, scope and history of epidemiology and the fundamental strategies of epidemiological research. You’ll cover different types of epidemiological studies, and how to measure them. This will include approaches for assessing the validity of statistical associations and making judgements about causality; as well as exploring measures of disease frequency and association. You’ll study the strengths and limitations of different study types and the methods used to analyse them. You’ll also learn about the principles of screening and diagnostic testing and the analysis of survival data in the context of an epidemiological study.

Communicable diseases are a major threat to public health. This module provides the opportunity for you to develop an understanding of the principles of epidemiology, health surveillance, outbreak and incident management, common infectious diseases (global and local), the role of public health bodies and infection prevention and control teams in the prevention and management of communicable diseases. The module also explores the prevention of healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the context of public/patient safety.

This module provides the opportunity to critically explore the place of public health and leadership in a global context. You’ll address the ways in which the contemporary processes of globalisation impact upon public health policy. An exploration of key global health organisations (eg Government, Non-Government, World Health Organization, and United Nations) will be used to illustrate how health inequity, social justice and social determinants of health impact different populations at a global level. You’ll also reflect on and debate key global public health issues.

Health promotion aims to promote the health and wellbeing of individuals and groups within the community and the wider population. It includes a wide spectrum of social and environmental practices and interventions that are directed at protecting individual people’s health and improving their quality of life. Through an exploration of health promotion theories, concepts, models and approaches you will develop a critical understanding of leadership and management in health promotion within the wider public health sector. Whilst focusing on the efficacy of health promotion practice, you will be encouraged to critique contemporary health promotion interventions.

This module presents a theoretical framework for understanding the impact of natural and man-made disasters which may cause a humanitarian disaster. It draws on the history of humanitarian aid, disaster risk and management and real life scenarios to build a comprehensive picture of the skills and knowledge required for an effective humanitarian response.

This module provides you with the opportunity to carry out a small piece of independent research into a public health enterprise and entrepreneurship topic of your choice. You will research your topic in depth, allowing you to develop your own research interests, drawing on the discipline or disciplines you’ve chosen to study.

This module provides the opportunity to develop the theoretical knowledge of systematic searching, critical appraisal and synthesis of published research which you will apply to the final project on a public health topic of your choice. You’ll study topics in relation to search strategies, online sources of knowledge, critical analysis and appraisal, policy evaluation, publication planning as well as quantitative and qualitative data collection and synthesis methods. Your project will be either a literature review using a systematic approach, empirical study or practice/service audit or service evaluation. You’ll also critically review the literature and synthesise the work of different authors in order to draw new conclusions, taking into account your judgement of the strength of the evidence they produce.