Theme Healthcare - Health Promotion and Global Health, 7.5 credits

To be eligible for the course, passed result is required in all courses in semester 1 up to 3, together with the courses Medical subjects 2 and Physical therapy 4.

The aim of the course is for the students to acquire knowledge of factors that influence the preconditions of health from a national as well as a global perspective and that the students should develop capacity to participate in health promotion interventions at group and community level in a multicultural environment

On completion of the course, the student should be able to

• reflect on the concept of sustainable development and identify possibilities and challenges in achieving the global goals for sustainable development within the profession of physiotherapy
• identify and summarise global health challenges including the importance of social determinants of health
• apply models and concepts from behavioural science to explain how external factors influence health-related behaviours of individuals and groups
• identify and describe psychological processes underlying prejudice and stereotyping
• discuss the significance of different types of constructive and destructive forces on interaction and conflicts within and between groups of individuals
• discuss personal experiences of group interactions, using concepts and models from group psychology and social psychology
• discuss the importance of cultural aspects for communication and relation between patient and therapist and be familiar with strategies to bridge cultural differences in the patient-therapist relationship
• create a plan for a health promoting project aimed at groups, organisations or populations
• communicate effectively and appropriately in English within the subject area

The course includes two components, Health promotion and Global health in a multicultural environment. The course components covers the following topics:

Public Health Sciences

• Risk factors and protection factors for physical and mental health
• Social determinants of health

Group and Organizational Psychology

• Group mechanisms
• Core design principles of functioning groups

Social Psychology

• Social cognition and Decision making
• Social influence

Health Promotion

• Innovation and entrepreneurship
• Health promotion interventions on group, organization and society leve

• Sustainable development and Agenda 2030
• Health challenges in Sweden and globally
• Health inequalities
• Cognitive mechanisms underlying prejudice and stereotyping

Teaching and learning activities are based on a problem-oriented and collaborative approach to learning to provide opportunities for the students to be actively responsible for their own learning. The used teaching methods are lectures with interactive exercises, group assignments, home assignments, literature studies and feedback on other students' assignments. Part of the teaching will be conducted interactively via the course website. All teaching, examinations and other coursework will be in English.

The course is examined according to the following:

Health promotion, 4,5 credits

In project groups, examination through written report and oral presentation
Individually, examination through written reflection assignment

Global health in a multicultural environment, 3 credits

Individually, examination through written reflection and peer-review of other student's assignment

To pass the course, grade Pass is required on all examination assignments.

Students who do not pass a regular examination are entitled to re-sit the examination on five more occasions. If the student has failed six examinations/tests, no additional examination is given. Each occasion the student participates in the same test counts as an examination.

Late submissions of examination tasks are not accepted. Students who have not submitted their examination on time are refered to the occasion for re-take. The examiner assesses if a student has special reasons for the delay. The examiner has the possibility to make a decision about supplementary material to the examination to achieve the grade pass.

Absence from or unfulfillment of compulsory course elements:
Compulsory elements such as group work and seminars are included in the course. The course coordinator decides if, and how, absence from compulsory parts can be compensated. Study results cannot be reported until the student has participated in compulsory course elements or compensated for any absence in accordance with instructions from the course coordinator. Absence from a compulsory course element could mean that the student can not retake the element until the next time the course is offered.

Possibility of exception from the course syllabus' regulations on examination:
If there are special grounds, or a need for adaptation for a student with a disability, the examiner may decide to deviate from the syllabus's regulations on the examination format, the number of examination opportunities, the possibility of supplementation or exemptions from the compulsory section/s of the course etc. Content and learning outcomes as well as the level of expected skills, knowledge and abilities may not be changed, removed or reduced. 

An examination will be made available for a period of one year in the event of the course being discontinued or a new course syllabus being devised.

Course evaluation will be carried out in accordance with the guidelines established by the Board of Education at Karolinska Institutet.

The course will not be credited in a degree together with another course the student has completed and passed which completely or partly corresponds to the contents of this course.