Descriptive epidemiology
21 June 2021Health promotion
21 June 2021Population health and development 1
Welcome to your second module, “Population Health and Development: A Primary Health Care Approach I”.
The main purpose of this module is to introduce you to the Comprehensive Primary Health Care Approach: its origins, rationale, philosophy, theory, concepts and practices. It aims to equip you with a basic understanding of how a Comprehensive Primary Health Care Approach could be applied to the health system in your own country.
Most of you are likely to be working in the public health sector, be it as part of your country’s national department of public health, a non-governmental organization or a sector which has some linkage with public health. This means that you have valuable experience to bring to your studies as well as to the overall field or discipline of Public Health and the practice of Primary Health Care.
In this module we also help you to develop the academic learning skills required for studying more effectively at this level. These skills are developed alongside the Primary Health Care content. For instance, many activities and tasks which focus Primary Health Care content also help you develop the reading, writing, listening and other skills needed to cope with the demands of academic study.
As far as is possible, we plan to engage you in active learning, even though you are studying at a distance, and to this end you will be required to write two assignments, and to prepare a portfolio. The assignments must be submitted during the course of this module; the portfolio must be submitted by the end of your PG Diploma programme which may be at the end of Year 1 or 2 of study, depending on your chosen pace of study. You need to work consistently on the portfolio, as it is an important component of your learning, but will hopefully also provide you with a helpful addition to your curriculum vitae. There is more about the portfolio in this section.
By reading through this Module Introduction you will get a clearer picture of the topics that will be covered, the activities you will engage in, the assignments and
portfolio requirements of the module and the outcomes we hope you will achieve. It will therefore be of great benefit to you to read through it carefully. As a distance learner, this is our main way of orientating you: if you skip over it, you will probably be lost. In addition, acquaint yourself with the contents of the SOPH Programme Handbook straight away. In it you will find all the information you need regarding, contacting us, assessment, library usage, student support, and Summer and Winter Schools. We have prepared this for your support: the onus is on you to find out how we operate.
Having explored these resources, if you still have questions, please get in touch with us – we are there to help and we often find that it is the students who ask questions and make demands, who succeed best.
All the contact information that you may need is contained in this introduction. You will also find a Student Details Update Form in your SOPH Programme Handbook. If your contact details change, please inform the Student Administrators at the School of Public Health straight away as well as the UWC administration (details in Programme Handbook).
We hope that you will give us feedback on your experience of the study sessions in this module. An evaluation form will be sent to you on completion of your final assignment.