StudyQA — Master: Public Health — Oxford Brookes University (Page 8)

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Description Contents Requirements

This highly successful and innovative MSc in Public Health welcomes UK, EU and international applicants from a wide range of professions. The principles underlying this course are that the health of communities is the concern of a wide group of professionals, that health is related to a variety of factors, including individual biology and genetics, socio-economic factors, environmental factors and behavioural factors, and that good health is a right, not a privilege.

Society is made up of people of different races, nationalities, abilities, ages, sexual identities, religions, beliefs and lifestyles. Inequalities in health status within and between communities is unjust and different professions and agencies must and can work together to overcome this injustice.

We aim to:

* bring the theories and principles of public health to bear on your work
* increase your ability to work effectively across professional and agency boundaries to improve the health of populations.

On completion of this course, you will be in a strong position to undertake the UK Part I exam of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine and to work in the growing number of positions that require a good understanding and analysis of public health. You will also gain a greater appreciation of the importance of working collaboratively and the confidence to pursue inter-agency collaboration on health and social issues.

Why Brookes?
* Our strength and reputation is built on our student-centred approach, our teaching, our research excellence, our innovation and service to the community and professional organisations, and our educational philosophy, which seeks to embrace public health education in its widest sense.
* We have a large and dedicated building in Oxford (Marston Road) and a campus in Swindon (Ferndale), equipped with state-of-the-art classroom and clinical skills simulation suites and resources.
* We have our own osteopathic clinics: Mill Court in Headington, Oxford and at Ferndale Campus in Swindon, offering a full range of osteopathic treatments to students, staff, NHS staff and the general public.
* Our courses are open to a wide range of health and social care professionals providing highly-flexible continuing professional development (CPD) study opportunities with part-time, full-time and mixed-mode options (including opportunities for e-learning, blended and distance learning).
* We support multi and interprofessional learning and teaching, and many of our courses are either fully multiprofessional or offer excellent opportunities for shared learning.
* Our lecturers are experienced in their specialist practice areas and maintain excellent practice links with those areas locally or across the region.
* Many of our lecturers have reputations for excellence and have established links with colleagues, organisations and institutions at national and international levels.
* We have a strong research profile, with experienced researchers working in established areas of cancer care, children and families, drug and alcohol, physical rehabilitation and enablement, and interprofessional education and collaborative practice.
* Oxford Brookes is rated internationally excellent across a broad range of subjects in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). 70% of our research in Allied Health Professions and Studies was rated as being of international significance, of which 10% was rated as world-leading.
* Oxford Brookes is a student-centred institution that is fully committed to each individual achieving their potential. To support this, we offer a broad range of student support schemes to facilitate learning and development
* We have an excellent track record of high levels of student satisfaction, low student attrition rates and high employability.

Course length
Full-time: MSc: 12 months
Part-time: MSc: up to 3 years. For PGDip and PGCert, please contact the Programme Administrator

Our students are drawn from a variety of health and social care professions locally, from across the UK and internationally. These include those working in health care, social services, environmental health, local government and the voluntary sector.

This course is designed to prepare you to become a leader in public health and to provide you with flexible opportunities to enable you to pursue a coherent programme of study which meets your individual needs.

Plans are underway to develop the hugely successful public health course portfolio to extend the area of prevention science. This pathway will enable students to study a particular focus on theory, evidence and methods for prevention and behavioural health in a public health context.

The compulsory modules for the PGCert are as follows:

P44611 Foundations in Public Health 20 credits at M Level

Semester 1
Taught sessions on alternate Thursday afternoons, 14:00 to 17:30

This module examines historic and current trends in public health, with an emphasis on the key determinants of health. Environmental, behavioural, socioeconomic and disease factors will be explored. Inequalities across groups, populations and countries will be considered, as well as links between health inequalities and ethnicity, gender, employment status and class.

P44612 Epidemiology 20 credits at M Level

Semester 2
Taught sessions on Thursday mornings, 9:30 to 13:00
This module provides you with an introduction to the concepts and methods of epidemiology and its application in primary and community health. It includes an introduction to epidemiological research and critical appraisal of the research evidence.

P44614 Advanced Health Promotion 20 credits at M Level

Semester 2
Taught sessions on alternate Thursday afternoons, 14:00 to 17:30

This module explores practical aspects of health promotion, including how to develop strategic and action plans for health. You will be introduced to behavioural theory as it relates to changes in health behaviour and lifestyle, as well as looking at the larger social dimensions related to lifecycle. The module will also provide tools for assessing community health needs, planning health promotion activities, using participatory methodologies that engage communities in developing their own healthy lifestyles, while also examining the pitfalls of participatory processes.

Additional compulsory modules for the PGDip and MSc:

P44616 Statistics for Health and Social Care 20 credits at M Level

Semester 1
Taught sessions on Thursday mornings, 09:30 to 13:00

This module provides you with an introduction to the basic concepts and methods of statistics and its application in health and social care. It includes an introduction to different methods of statistical measurements used in health and social care. You will be introduced to and use SPSS software.

P49210 Advanced Research Design 20 credits at M Level

Semester 1 or 2, Taught or Distance Learning
Taught sessions on Wednesday afternoons,13.00-16.00
This module is designed to help you to develop greater independence in your ability to engage in your own investigative work. It aims to develop decision making skills related to research design. You will also explore the theoretical and philosophical context relevant to a study of research methodology and consider its implications for research design. A broad and eclectic approach is taken to the study and choice of research paradigms and designs and their use in the investigation of contemporary health care problems. Learning will take place from a wide range of perspectives.

The acceptable modules are:

P44615 Communicable Diseases and Public Health

20 credits at M Level

Semester 2
One week course, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:30

This practice-focused module will examine the history, causes and epidemiology of communicable diseases from a broad public health perspective. Associated morbidity and mortality, both nationally and globally, will be considered together with trends in established and emerging infections. Methods to prevent and control infection will be discussed, including surveillance, screening and vaccination strategies. Practitioners will have the opportunity to increase their knowledge and understanding of microbiology, immunology and the legal and ethical aspect of infection control to underpin this material.

P49213 Work Based Learning in Public Health

20 credits at M Level

Semester negotiable, no timetable hours. Students will be linked with a facilitator.

A single module designed to develop a range of work-based learning skills. It enables you to build on your professional knowledge and experience by studying in depth an aspect of health care pertinent to your own areas of practice. Assessment is by a portfolio of evidence of learning. You may carry out individual or group projects and must negotiate an overall plan that includes the evidence and method of assessment with an appointed supervisor. This option provides useful, practical public health work experience.

P49214 Independent Studyin Public Health

20 credits at M Level

Semester negotiable, no timetable hours. Students will be linked with a facilitator

This module allows you to undertake a negotiated individual study, focused on a public health topic that is pertinent to your area of practice. You are able to enhance your reflective and analytical abilities and build on existing knowledge and experience. An interdisciplinary/professional project would be particularly encouraged.

P45003 Substance Misuse

20 credits at M Level

Distance learning

This module will explore how substance misuse can be conceived and understood in an historical and societal context, including the extent of substance misuse. It will examine and critically assess evidence on what works in preventing and intervening with young people and families in the context of substance misuse.

P45004 Vulnerable Children and Young People

20 credits at M Level

Distance learning

Adopting a risk and resiliency framework, this module will seek to explore children and young people caught in situations of vulnerability and challenge for which they and/or parents and/or communities may have very little experience, or mechanisms for coping (i.e. children in conflicted families, children as carers, children in war zones, children in modern society, children in cultural crossfire, children with challenges, children who are exploited).

P45000 Risk and the Protection of Children

20 credits at M Level

Distance learning

This module will critically examine contemporary childhood from an international perspective including childrens rights, child welfare and wellbeing, and childrens experiences of harm in society. The module will examine current evidence on the signs and symptoms of child maltreatment, including incidence and prevalence rates and the risk factors associated with child abuse and neglect. Child protection interventions and responses to child maltreatment will be debated in relation to social and cultural contexts.

The additional compulsory modules for the MSc in Public Health:

P49215 Dissertation for Public Health

60 credits at M Level

Semester 1 or 2
10 hours of negotiated supervisor-student contact

This module provides you with the opportunity to engage in a piece of investigative research which allows you to demonstrate the development of your skills in scholarship and your ability to focus on a specific research question(s). In addition, it provides sufficient scope to display a wide appreciation of the context of your chosen topic within the public health field. The research questions posed by students are expected to vary considerably; however, you will be required to justify an appropriate methodology. Support will be given to you through the allocation of an academic supervisor for the duration of the dissertation. The investigation undertaken will encompass a systematic collection and analysis of data and reflect awareness of the implications of the research for practice, theory, education, management and future research within the public health field. The module is organised in such a way as to ensure that opportunities are available, at regular intervals, for you to communicate and discuss their work in progress with peers and other health/social care/support professionals.

Entry requirements include an undergraduate degree or equivalent professional experience, demonstrable work experience in public health (normally six months), plus fluent writing skills and evidence that you are numerate and have undertaken work/study involving basic statistics (eg you have measured information using standard deviation).English language requirementsIf your first language is not English you must demonstrate that your level of English is appropriate for study at postgraduate level.This means you must have an IELTS score of 6.5 or higher, or a qualification at an equivalent level. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 CAE score: (read more) Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) is part of the Cambridge English suite and is targeted at a high level (IETLS 6.5-8.0). It is an international English language exam set at the right level for academic and professional success. Developed by Cambridge English Language Assessment - part of the University of Cambridge - it helps you stand out from the crowd as a high achiever. 75 (Grade B) IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.