Unit information: Global Child Health in 2028/29

Unit name	Global Child Health
Unit code	BRMS30023
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Sheahan
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	BRMS30024
School/department	Bristol Medical School
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Unit Information

Why is this unit important?

Children are important to society. Prioritising the health of children impacts lifelong health, well-being and productivity. Their health needs change as they grow and develop and they are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and conflict. This unit will aim to develop your’ interest in, as well as knowledge and understanding of:

- Global Child Health priorities throughout childhood - The global burden and causes of child morbidity and mortality and factors which influence health - Impact of interventions designed to reduce inequalities in child health

How does this unit fit into your programme of study

This unit will give you the opportunity to further explore topics and debates on global child health by building on the themes and topics introduced in earlier units. This will help consolidate your learning and embed cross-cutting themes. Focussing the outcomes of the unit on skills and professional values rather than specific content allows flexibility to discuss topics relevant to current issues (for example impact of natural disaster, conflict, pandemic or scientific breakthrough).  

Your learning on this unit

An overview of content

• Outcomes are based around skills and professional values rather than specific knowledge and so the content may change with each student cohort depending on current global issues and also the expertise within the department, but is likely to include discussion of topics such as climate change.  
• You will be introduced to the background of global child health and the key concepts.  
• You will critique programmes, frameworks and interventions designed to improve child health looking at research and evaluation around effectiveness and considering a human rights perspective. 
• We will use a life-course approach considering key-concepts and challenges within global child health at different life stages and ongoing impact. Stages include maternal and neonatal; early childhood; school-age children and adolescence.  
• There will be an emphasis on early childhood health and development, an area of emerging concern in global health that is shown to affect health and cognition at all other ages. 
• Nutrition, a topic that lends itself well to the life-course approach, will be viewed in terms of the global syndemic (under and over nutrition) alongside climate change.  

How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit

You will have developed a curiosity and insight into current global issues which impact child health. You will have a greater awareness of your professional and ethical responsibilities. You will be able to work collaboratively as well as independently to creatively address problems and issues related to global child health. You will be able to communicate your ideas and solutions effectively.

Learning outcomes

• Demonstrate understanding of children’s needs and rights and why global child health is important
• Discuss the factors contributing to child health across childhood through the perinatal period, the early years, school age and adolescence recognising changing priorities at different life-stages and how each stage impacts on the next.
• Critique and use data and evidence to identify and discuss significant factors that have contributed to global child mortality and morbidity over time and appraise the impact of child health programmes and strategies designed to improve child health considering the importance of children not just surviving but also thriving.
• Present evidenced based information about child health as part of a team in a clear way showing critical understanding and collaboration.

How you will learn

• You will learn by a number of different methods: 
  • Short on-line recorded videos, powerpoints or reports will be used to introduce new topics. These may include reading, and tasks that should be completed before the taught session to ensure that you are able to participate actively in the face-to-face workshops, seminars, and debates.  
  • The teaching is given by different lecturers and facilitators and so you are exposed to a range of ideas, perspectives, and teaching styles 
  • There is some content delivery particularly around introduction of new concepts and themes. All seminars include interactive aspects. In some sessions students deliver the content. 
  • You will work in small groups to research, and critique evidence on topics and then share findings through presentations.  
  • You will engage with presentations from other groups giving feedback and constructive criticism. 
  • Experiential learning using WHO video scenarios to gain better insight into the challenges in clinical working in resource poor settings
  • Opportunities to learn about other perspectives through medical humanities e.g. from film, books and art discussion and reflection, and also the use of real-life case studies 
•  

How you will be assessed

Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):

You will be given tasks throughout the course which will focus your self-directed learning and help you gain deeper insight into the topics discussed. There will be opportunities to practice presentation skills, and get feedback to inform improved approach for group presentation. Feedback from the group presentation will help with preparation for the final report.

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):

1. Group Presentation – 30% of the overall unit mark

1. Students follow up an aspect from group presentation with individual report – 70% of the overall unit mark

When assessment does not go to plan

As this is a final year unit, reassessment is not normally permitted. However, in light of self-certification of absences or certified exceptional circumstances, the Exam Board may award a further attempt at failed or missed assessment. The reassessment will normally be in the same format as the original assessment. See the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes for further details

Resources

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. BRMS30023).

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.