MA Humanitarianism and Conflict Response / Course details

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) “A good health system delivers quality services to all people, when and where they need them. The exact configuration of services varies from country to country, but in all cases requires a robust financing mechanism; a well-trained and adequately paid workforce; reliable information on which to base decisions and policies; well maintained facilities and logistics to deliver quality medicines and technologies” (WHO).  

Post conflict and developing states have difficulty in providing many of these needed services.  This module will define and explore aspects of an optimal health system and specific challenges expressed within developing and post conflict scenarios. It will also provide scope as to how these challenges have been met through the intervention of international government and non-government entities.

The unit aims to: Define the components of a good health system and identify how the delivery of these components is complicated within post-conflict and developing countries.  It will provide examples of each component, factors that have led to deficiencies within each and ways in which improvements can be made within the context of post-conflict and developing countries.

The module will be delivered entirely online using Blackboard 9.  The module will be comprised of 8 sessions which will be released to the student in one week intervals.  Each module will include:

Session description

Session material (which may include: inter alia, written material, assigned readings, videos, web casts, web links, discussion boards, interactive     assignments

Summary of learning outcomes

Formative questions/assessments to test knowledge

Understand the components of health systems

Identification of factors that limit health delivery

Explain how international actors affect the health delivery in post-conflict and developing states

Health delivery overview

Health communication processes

Persuasive writing

Health policy analysis

Written feedback following submission

Please note that these units are intensive 8-week short courses, predominately independent-study, with no face-to-face learning