BSc Public Health (on campus)

This unit will explore what we mean by population health and well-being research and teach the skills required to find, appraise and use different types of research from the published literature. We will explore the importance of measuring the health and well-being of the population in public health practice and learn how research improves population health and wellbeing.
 

The aim of this unit is to develop the students’ basic knowledge of the research methods used to measure and understand the health and well-being of populations, including how to find, appraise and use the research used in public health practice.

Academic engagement includes lectures, seminars, workshops and other face to face activities. To achieve the intended learning outcomes for this course unit, we have created a range of activities. Your course unit leads and teaching team will support you including access to the Student Development Programme including peer-support (PASS) and the Programme Director Seminar Series. We will consult with students to identify any additional needs and further academic engagement activities will be provided. Assessments, preparation for assessments, reading time and independent study are also included within your timetabled activities.

• A1 Describe the basic research methods used to measure the population health and well-being.
• A2 Explain how different types of evidence are found and used to support decisions in public health practice
• A3 Outline the strengths and limitations of the concepts of evidence-based practice and how these relate to the health and well-being of  populations
   

• B1 Identify different forms of evidence used in public health and describe why they are important for practice.
• B2 Evaluate the evidence required for public health practice and recognise factors that affect its quality.
   

• C1 Use appropriate tools to find published evidence relevant to population health and well-being questions
• C2 Apply appraisal tools to assess the design and quality of common research designs and published literature
   

• D1 Reflect on how evidence-based practice supports learning and professional development
• D2 Communicate research findings in a clear and structured way suitable for specific audiences.
   

Assessment task	Length	Weighting
Formative: Seminars and Discussion boards will provide consolidation exercises to provide feedback for the ILOs and summative assessment Formative: Regular quiz style activities on VLE	N/A	0%
Summative: Written assignment or equivalent	1500 words max + additional requirements in brief to include other relevant media such as images	100%

Students will receive regular written feedback, automated VLE feedback and written feedback for their summative assignment will be returned in line with University policy. 

Somerville, M., Kumaran, K. and Anderson, R. (2016). Public health and epidemiology at a glance. Second edition. Chichester, England: Wiley Blackwell. 

Trisha M. Greenhalgh, Paul Dijkstra. How to Read a Paper : The Basics of Evidence-Based Healthcare. Vol Seventh edition. Wiley-Blackwell; 2025.

CASP (2021). CASP - Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. [online] CASP - Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. Available at: https://casp-uk.net/. 

Fink, A. Evidence-Based Public Health Practice. Los Angeles, SAGE, 2016. Print 

Gray, M. Evidence-based Healthcare and Public Health: How to Make Decisions about Health Services and Public Health. Third edition.London, Elsevier, 2009. Print. 

NICE (2018). Principles for putting evidence-based guidance into practice. [online] . Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/Media/Default/About/what-we-do/Into-practice/Principles-for-putting-evidence-based-guidance-into-practice.pdf

Rychetnik L, Hawe P, Waters E, et al. A glossary for evidence-based public health. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 2004;58:538-545. Available at: https://jech.bmj.com/content/58/7/538 

Titler MG. The Evidence for Evidence-Based Practice Implementation. In: Hughes RG.. Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2008. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2659/

For every 20 course unit credits we expect students to work for around 200 hours. . This amount is only a guidance and individual study time will vary.

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2027 will be £10,050 per annum. Tuition fees for international students will be £30,300 per annum.

For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

The University of Manchester is committed to attracting and supporting the very best students. We have a focus on nurturing talent and ability, and we want to make sure that you have the opportunity to study here, regardless of your financial circumstances. For information about scholarships and bursaries, please visit our undergraduate finance page: Student finance for undergraduates at Manchester.