BSc Public Health (on campus) / Course details

Year of entry: 2026

Course unit details:
Engagement and Participation in the Community Setting

Course unit fact file
Unit code POPH30052
Credit rating 10
Unit level Level 6
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Offered by Division of Population Health, Health Services Res
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

This unit will consolidate students’ knowledge and understanding of  public health and  healthcare systems, applying a holistic view of health and wellbeing  to complex problems and  critically explore how healthcare systems can be better designed to meet the needs of the whole person through engagement and partnership with communities themselves (is this the student?) to support the design and delivery. Through these methods, students will critically evaluate? the evidence for community engagement and its benefits in terms of community empowerment, equity and service enhancement as well as social prescribing and creative methods intervention approaches.  

Underpinning this exploration of effective  ways' to engage with and empower communities towards wellbeing will be a critical appraisal of what makes communities – the mechanisms that form of connection and identity in a community and their impact upon health and wellbeing, but also the dark side of community building if boundaries becomes walls to exclude others from those communities.  

Key community concepts explored include asset building, community cohesion, resilience/thrivability, bonding and bridging communities
 

Aims

The unit aims to: 
Develop student’s knowledge of community engagement and participation and its benefits: including individual and community health benefits as well as broader support for the design and delivery of public health interventions, healthcare services and research.   
 

Teaching and learning methods

Students will have the opportunity for synchronous and asynchronous learning on this unit.  Materials used during the in-person seminars will be supported by online resources on the VLE (Canvas).

The e-learning resources will include discussion areas and non-assessed self-tests. There will be x10 weekly 2-hour seminars over the course of the unit, and students will be able to develop discussion from these sessions via the online discussion areas. 
 

Knowledge and understanding

Students will be able to:

  • A1 Critically appraise the effectiveness of healthcare services in meeting population health needs and addressing health inequalities
  • A2 Identity and define a community and the role communities have on health outcomes and lay understanding of health and wellbeing.
  • A3 critically appraise the evidence for community engagement and participation in the design and delivery of healthcare services, including patient and public involvement.
  • A4 critically appraise the effectiveness of healthcare interventions such as social prescribing, make every contact count (MEC) and arts based interventions. 
  • A5 Critically discuss the broader socioeconomic, cultural and ethical factors affecting healthcare service design, delivery and use

 

 

Intellectual skills

Students will be able to:

  • B1 Locate and critically appraise the relevant health data and performance indicators to assess the effectiveness, equity and quality of healthcare services
     
  • B2 Identify and critically discuss the evidence used to identify health needs, assess service utilisation and measure health inequalities across diverse populations
     
  • B3 Demonstrate ethical reasoning and professional insight in addressing real-world challenges in healthcare delivery
     

Practical skills

Students will be able to:

  • C1 Design, plan and submit a summative assignment 

Transferable skills and personal qualities

Students will be able to:

  • D1 Communicate the principal community engagement within health system designs used within and across countries.

Assessment methods

Method Weight
Oral assessment/presentation 100%

Summative assignment: A group live presentation for 10-15 minutes (100%)

Feedback methods

Written feedback will provided for the group presentation. Students will also have the opportunity to receive written feedback via formative consolidation exercises on discussion boards.

Recommended reading

Chambers, N. (2023) ‘Research handbook on leadership in healthcare’, Northampton, Edward Elgar Publishing.

Duran, A., & Wright, S. (2020) ‘Understanding Hospitals in Changing Health Systems’, Cham, Switzerland, Macmillan.

Rich, C.R. et al (2018) ‘Sustainability for healthcare management: a leadership imperative’, New York, Routledge.

Matherson, J., Patterson, J. & Neilson, L. (2020) ‘Tackling Causes and Consequences of Health Inequalities: A Practical Guide’, Boca Raton: CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group

Minor, L.B., & Rees, M. (2020) ‘Discovering Precision Health: Predict, Prevent and Cure to Advance Health and Wellbeing’, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Sheringham, J. & Sowdon, S. (2023) ‘Inequalities in Health and Healthcare’, Basel: MDPI

Skochelak, S.E. (2020) ‘Health Systems Science’, (2nd edition), Amsterdam, Elsevier.

Vyas, S. et al. (2021) ‘Smart health systems: emerging trends’, Singapore, Springer Nature

Walshe, K. et al. (2016) ‘Healthcare management’, 3rd edition, London, New York, Open University Press

Watson, S.L. (2017) ‘Organizational Behavior and Theory in Healthcare: Leadership Perspectives and Management Applications’, Health Administration Press, ProQuest Ebook

91Ö±²¥ hours

Scheduled activity hours
Seminars 10
Tutorials 10
Independent study hours
Independent study 180

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Andrew Rogers Unit coordinator

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