Course Overview
Why choose this course?
According to England's care watchdog, there will be 'a tsunami' of people without the care they need this winter unless staff shortages are tackled.
MSc in Public Health and Social Care in Practice programme is a broad social science-oriented degree for people who are or intend to work in health and social care, on managerial and practice areas. It aims to cover all key aspects, including public health, health promotion, policy, and ethical aspects of care, as well as modern technologies and AI contributions to the organisation and management of the care system. A clear focus of this programme is developing students’ ability to use evidence to inform their decisions, understanding and analysing critical issues in health and social care, and developing ways of dealing with them.
What will you learn?
The teaching and learning strategies of the programme designed to stimulate the student’s interest, skills and knowledge in Health and Social Care. It also will provide intellectual challenge PG level with the overall aim of ensuring that students are better prepared for employment and career development in the health and social care sector. The practice-based approaches, case studies and portfolios, workshops, seminars, tutorials, assignments, will help students to reflect on and validate their current practice as well as develop their knowledge base.
The course is designed with a strong emphasis on employability. The teaching team comprises university staff, as well as visiting experts from the health and social care professions and guest speakers from practice.
Modules
Level 7
Part I (PGCert, PGDip & MSc)
- Social Epidemiology and Public Health Development (20 credits; core)
Upon the successful completion of this module, the student should be able to:
- demonstrate a thorough understanding and knowledge of the various approaches to social epidemiology interventions and ways for monitoring epidemiological information of a population during the lifecourse;
- apply knowledge on the link between social environment and health for the development of needs assessments, considering the social determinants of health and impact of social factors on individual and public health;
- communicate analysis and evaluation of outcomes of epidemiological studies and how these outcomes relate to social and cultural contexts, public health interventions and policies;
- demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the various forms of health inequalities in the UK and globally, and critically compare and evaluate public health policies and interventions.
- Practice-Based Research (20 credits; core)
Upon the successful completion of this module, the student should be able to:
- engage in practice-based research in public health and social care settings and identify areas for improvement in terms of physical and/or mental health of the target group or community of interest;
- develop critical reflection skills, including skills of critical analysis, appraisal, and evaluation of research findings and provide relevant recommendations for health and social care professionals, policymakers, services, practice, and/or the wider population;
- critically analyse the data collection and findings from quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods research;
- develop knowledge and understanding of professional integrity and ethics in research and potential risks for participants and how to prevent them.
- Health Care System Organisation and Leadership (20 credits; core)
Upon the successful completion of this module, the student should be able to:
- understand key concepts in health leadership including, governance, health systems, systems thinking, service development and efficiency measurement;
- demonstrate knowledge on how leadership influences the planning, functioning, and structuring of local and global health systems and policy and influence outcomes in various health and social care systems;
- show an application of systems thinking and analysis which can improve health and social care outcomes.
- Community Care and Management of Longer-term Conditions (20 credits; core)
Upon the successful completion of this module, the student should be able to:
- critically evaluate the physical, psychological, and social impact on individuals and families living with a long-term condition(s) and its treatment;
- critically assess the key areas of local and national political, health and social care agendas and initiatives relating to long term conditions;
- critically evaluate the skills, values and behaviours required to provide co-productive and traditional models of care as appropriate;
- critically analyse the contribution of empirical evidence and local, national, and international guidelines to informing the delivery of ‘whole person’ care and self-management support for individuals with long term conditions.
- Service Integration and Partnership Working (20 credits; optional)
Upon the successful completion of this module, the student should be able to:
- apply a critical understanding of the core concepts of service integration and their relevance to practice;
- deal with complex issues both symmetrically and creatively in supporting an integrative health and social care workforce;
- comprehensively understand the key frameworks, theories, policies and practice elements of partnership working for a user centred approach;
- analyse the factors that promote, or hinder partnership working and make recommendations for their sphere of practice.
- Quality Assurance and Service Improvements (20 credits; optional)
Upon the successful completion of this module, the student should be able to:
- critically analyse theories and approaches to the management of quality and implementation of service improvement within health and social care;
- critically explore health reforms, and national and local policy issues affecting the health and care sector by demonstrating the impact these have on service provision;
- critically analyse the management of quality, service improvement and theories and tools to effectively design services for a sustainable future.
- Population Health and Digital Health Promotion (20 credits; optional)
Upon the successful completion of this module, the student should be able to:
- demonstrate comprehensive understanding of the recent development in digital technology relating to public health, aligning digital health promotion to health promotion principles and values, behaviour theories related to digital health promotion, big data and health promotion, and digital health inequality;
- demonstrate systematic understanding of the health information systems, telehealth, robotics, technology aids such as Apps & wearables, implantable technologies, and application of digital health at a macro level for health promotion and other health and social care services;
- apply skills in planning and designing digital health interventions to support services that address the health and social care problems.
Part II (MSc)
- Public Health and Social Care Dissertation (60 credits; core)
Key Features
MSc in Public Health and Social Care in Practice programme is a broad social science-oriented degree for people who are or intend to work in health and social care, on managerial and practice areas. It aims to cover all key aspects, including public health, health promotion, policy, and ethical aspects of care, as well as modern technologies and AI contributions to the organisation and management of the care system. A clear focus of this programme is developing students’ ability to use evidence to inform their decisions, understanding and analysing critical issues in health and social care, and developing ways of dealing with them.
Assessment
A variety of assessments will be used to challenge students. There is a strong academic focus within the programme alongside the development of practical skills.
Entry Criteria
Possession of a minimum of a 2:2 honours degree or professional qualification from a recognised British or overseas institution, or appropriate organisational competency in the health and social care field.
Tuition Fees and Scholarships
Please visit Funding for Postgraduate Study for information about financial support.
Additional Costs
No additional costs are mandatory.
Career Opportunities and Employability
This qualification is designed to facilitate your career and increase your expertise in the fields of public health and social care. Online advice and support is available from the UWTSD Careers Service as well as from MyCareer.
Questions?
For any questions related to the academic content of the course, please contact the programme manager Dr Diola Bijlhout.
For all other enquiries, please call us on 0207 127 7404 or email the London Admissions team at londonadmissions@uwtsd.ac.uk.
