| Unit name | Health Protection |
|---|---|
| Unit code | BRMSM0077 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Katharine Looker |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Bristol Medical School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
Risks to health from infectious diseases and through environmental and occupational exposures inflict a large burden of avoidable disease on society globally. However, determining the scale of the problem is often very challenging with many initial unknowns, while deciding on the most appropriate response is often extremely time critical.
This unit will equip you with knowledge of the relevant concepts and terms necessary for understanding the science behind population health protection. You will learn how surveillance and hazard and risk assessments are used to determine the nature of potential threats and co-ordinate responses. You will also gain hands-on practical experience of interpreting data and mathematical models to inform policy decisions.
Throughout the unit you will apply the theoretical knowledge and skills you have learnt to evaluating real-world infectious, environmental and occupational risks of public health importance internationally in both individual and team exercises. You will also consider how future challenges such as climate change and antimicrobial resistance might shape the landscape of emerging risks.
How this unit fits into your programme of study
This unit builds on the knowledge you will have acquired from “Introduction to Epidemiology and Statistics” and “Research Methods” to apply your skills to contexts encountered by scientists and public health professionals at UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and internationally. The unit also complements the other units on the course, and will prepare you for a dissertation project in this area.
An overview of content
This unit aims to equip you with an understanding of the fundamental concepts and principles in the epidemiology and control of health protection risks including infectious agents and from environmental and occupational sources. You will gain knowledge of specific infectious and non-infectious threats such as influenza and meningitis, through to air pollution, radiation, and natural disasters such as flooding. You will learn methods for the control of public health risks, and the framework of response to environmental and occupational disasters. This will include gaining an understanding of surveillance for health protection, conducting a risk assessment, assessing exposures, and the relevant national and international laws and regulations. The unit will teach you how to interpret relevant data in a health protection context, such as statistical measures of association and the results of regression analyses, and mathematical modelling to estimate the potential impact of control measures. Finally, you will learn about future challenges in this area, encompassing pandemic preparedness, horizon scanning, and cross-cutting themes across health protection. This will include the impact of antimicrobial resistance and climate change on population health and the international policies, organisations and frameworks to tackle these.
How students, personally, will be different as a result of the unit
Our overarching aim is that by the end of this unit you will be able to apply the appropriate technical skills and knowledge to a range of health protection risks, as well as gain further experience of working collaboratively and across disciplines in the area of health protection.
Your learning on this unit
Our aim is that by the end of this unit you will be able to:
How you will learn
The learning methods on this unit reflect our overarching aim of enabling you to apply relevant technical skills and knowledge to real-world public health contexts, and familiarising you with the collaborative, often global, nature of health protection responses. The unit therefore uses a mixture of lectures (in-person and online asynchronous) and in-person practical sessions/problem-based learning exercises. The latter will be carried out either individually or in groups depending on the session. Case studies will use UK, European, and international health examples. Lectures will be given by University of Bristol researchers, UKHSA scientists and public health experts, and other external experts, as relevant.
These ways of learning will prepare you for the summative assessment, which involves synthesising the information you have learnt in the unit and applying it to solve problems.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Formative assessment will be via peer feedback in practical sessions and student-marked sample questions. The use of sample questions will support students’ preparation for the summative exam by giving students an opportunity to practise their scientific writing and familiarise themselves with the exam format and expectations.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The summative assessment will comprise two tasks.
When assessment does not go to plan
If you do not pass the unit, you will normally be given the opportunity to take a reassessment as per the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes. Decisions on the award of reassessment will normally be taken after all taught units of the year have been completed. Reassessment will normally be in a similar format to the original assessment that has been failed.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. BRMSM0077).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
