Tags
GPH
Admissions requirements
None.
Description
Maternal and Child Health (MCH) is the professional and academic field that focuses on the determinants, mechanisms and systems that promote and maintain the health, safety, well-being, and appropriate development of children and their families in communities and societies, in order to enhance the future health and welfare of society and subsequent generations. The purpose of this course is to develop critical thinking about the determinants of well-being of the MCH population.
Major themes: This course is organized upon several major themes, which reflect the following important principles from the field of MCH:
Population-based. The population base for MCH includes all women, infants, children, adolescents and their families, including fathers and children with special health care needs, both domestically and globally.
Levels of prevention. While focusing on primary prevention, public health and maternal and child health practice are necessarily attentive to the tradeoffs among the different levels of prevention.
Disparities. Within the context of this course, the primary focus will be on disparities among groups defined by race/ethnicity, age, gender, socioeconomic status, nationality, and geographic location.
Life course perspective. Growing body of literatures highlight both the longitudinal and cumulative effects of these exposures and health outcome
Family-centered. Family-centered care assures the health and well-being of children and their families through a respectful family-professional partnership. It honors the strengths, cultures, traditions and expertise that everyone brings to this relationship. Interdisciplinary. Engaging a range of disciplines in collaboration broadens the scope of investigation into complex public health problems and yields fresh and possibly unexpected insights.
Course objectives
Skills:
Analyzing the foundations of scientific inquiry including, but not limited to, epidemiology and the uses and limitations of conceptual frameworks;
Appraising the purpose, rationale, activities, and performance measures for existing major MCH programs in various countries
Identifying the philosophy, values, and social justice concepts associated with family centered, comprehensive, community-based, and culturally competent MCH and public health programs and services, including recognition of community assets;
Combining and applying public health principles and techniques across disciplines to solve multifaceted problems within the context of family centered, comprehensive, culturally competent, community-based MCH programs and systems
Appraise the efficacy of current public health strategies addressing reproductive, maternal and child health internationally, and identify an issue to research in depth, justifying why this is currently an issue of significance
Knowledge:
Describing determinants of health and illness including biological, behavioral, socioeconomic, demographic, cultural and health care systems influences;
Illustrating the historical development of MCH public policies and practices, including relevant legislation, in various country examples
Explaining the organization and financing of health services in various country case examples and the position of MCH within the system
Timetable
Once available, timetables will be published here.
Mode of instruction
Lecture s
Supplementary resources such as videos, podcasts
Debates
In depth topic exploration with case studies (student presentations)
Assessment
Individual assignment (15%)
Group assignment (30%)
Advocacy Assignment (20%)
In-class participation (10%)
written examination (25%)
Blackboard
There will be a Blackboard site available for this course. Students will be enrolled at least one week before the start of classes.
Reading list
TBC
Registration
This course is open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator. Interested non-LUC students should contact course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
m.j.cho@luc.leidenuniv.nl