This course will provide you with an overview of the most important health challenges facing the world today. You will gain insight into how challenges have changed over time, we will discuss the likely determinants of such changes and examine future projections. Successful international strategies and programs promoting human health will be highlighted and global health governance structures will be mapped and the role of the key actors explored.
An Introduction to Global Health
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4.8
(842 reviews)
19 hours to complete
3 weeks at 6 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
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Assessments
12 assignments
Taught in English
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There are 7 modules in this course
Welcome to the first module of this global health course. In the first lesson we will introduce you to the overall concepts and definitions of global health and examine the question "What are the biggest global health challenges?". You'll get to hear some answers from fellow learners from around the world, and also have an opportunity to join the conversation here in the course discussion forums. We also have an interview with Professor Susan Whyte about the impact of health policy on a population's health. The second lesson deals with the central tools needed to measure global health burden. Together these two lessons will form the basis on which all the other topical modules are built. Enjoy!
What's included
8 videos3 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt
The second module of this course is focussed on infectious diseases. Lesson 3 will introduce you to the concept of infectious diseases and their relation to poverty and development, and lesson 4 will go through three prominent examples of infectious diseases that are still unfinished agendas in large parts of the world.
What's included
5 videos2 readings2 assignments
In the third module we'll have a closer look at non-communicable diseases, in short NCDs, and examine the forces that are behind the global epidemic rise of NCDs such as diabetes. The module also includes a lesson about mental health and injuries - two major global health challenges that are often ignored when dealing with NCDs.
What's included
7 videos2 readings3 assignments
This fourth module deals with maternal and child health. The first focus will be on the important, and at times controversial, topic of sexual and reproductive health and rights, often shortened to SRHR. This is followed by a short lesson focussed on child health.
What's included
6 videos3 readings1 assignment4 discussion prompts
In the fifth module we are looking at some great global crises that profoundly impact the health of populations, namely environment, climate change, and migration. We will examine the health acpect of these mega trends - how are they influencing and challenging policy, health systems, and the health of individuals in both low and high income countries?
What's included
6 videos2 readings1 assignment
Access to nutrituous food and clean water are fundamental to health and wellbeing. In the sixth module we are focussing on the role of nutrition and water, with some extra attention to the important role of sanitation and hygiene and their relation to human development.
What's included
4 videos2 readings2 assignments
In this final module of the course we will go full circle, with lessons about the role of health systems and the impact of policy. The last lesson of the course will focus on global health governance and the health aspects of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
What's included
7 videos5 readings2 assignments
Instructor
Instructor ratings
4.8 (171 ratings)
Offered by
Recommended if you're interested in Public Health
University of Geneva
The University of Tokyo
Yale University
Imperial College London
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Frequently asked questions
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