Health and Social Care BSc (Hons)

This module will help you to further develop knowledge from the module ‘introduction to academic research’ through development of a deeper understanding of the research process.
The overall module aim is to support you in developing your research skills and knowledge. You will also further develop your ability to analyse and critique research literature and to consider its application to practice. The module will provide you with a strong grounding in a range of research methods. It will also enable you to understand the philosophical and theoretical frameworks that underpin these methods and the research process as a whole. Undertaking this module will help you to prepare for your final year dissertation / project

This module invites you to explore the concept of ‘madness’ with a consideration of ‘mental health’, ‘distress’ and ‘wellbeing’ through the perspectives of mental health service users and/or ‘survivors’. The survivors’ movement reject biological and genetic explanations of their mental health, they celebrate their difference and challenge the legal constraints placed upon them. In essence this is a political alignment within both the ‘anti psychiatry’ and ‘holistic’ movements in the UK and internationally. This module will therefore introduce you to the principle theorists Foucault, Laing, Beresford and LeFrancois. In addition the contested importance of mental health ‘recovery’ in current mental health provision will be explored along with critical challenges to diagnosis, treatment and potential stigma. Recovery refers to the affirming process of discovering (or rediscovering) a positive sense of self and accepting and coping with the reality of any ongoing mental health distress. This in turn includes a critic of the biological determinism often associated with any mental health pathology. The module will take a historical perspective to the field of madness including topics of architecture and art as well as the early interpretations and treatments. Intersectionality will also be considered through the relative influences of gender, ethnicity, class and sexual orientation providing a fuller understanding of how these effect the mad narrative.

This module will enable you to debate issues of citizenship, nationality, rights and duties in relation to health care and social welfare, through an understanding of forms of social capital and 'social ills' from a global perspective. You will analyse the development, implementation and diffusion of health and welfare policies in particular areas of the world, (for example India, China, the Pacific Rim), and assess their impact on the wellbeing of local populations.

The module aims to foster an understanding of the benefits and principles of comparative social policy analysis, as well as enabling you to debate issues of citizenship, nationality, rights and duties in relation to health and welfare provision through an understanding of the global and local distribution of social goods and social ills.

The Module aims to introduce key theories that attempt to explain “modern ageing”, including the notion of the Third and Fourth Ages, ageism, the diversity of older people, and the impact of professional and political agendas on health and social care policies, and their effect in the delivery of appropriate interventions for individuals and groups. By exploring different social theories, you will consider how societies have attempted to give shape to, the personal lives of older people, and you will develop an understanding how personal experiences of being older are constituted not only through chronological age, but also through issues of social class, (dis)ability, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. This module introduces you to current debates regarding ageing and later life. You will consider historical contexts of “old age, work and welfare”, and debate why some societies expect individuals to stop work at a defined age and the impact this has on their lives. You will debate both the challenges and opportunities ageing societies bring at local, national and global levels, in and around the areas of health and social care, and consider changing societal attitudes as to what constitutes an “older person”, including the impact of the media.

The aim of this Module is to debate the development of boundaries as an important stage in the practice of various groups of practitioners in health and social care, exploring opportunities for collaborative working and evaluating the success of this in terms of the agenda of multi-professional/integrated working. It will afford you opportunities to analyse concepts associated with collaboration, (or lack of), between “professionals” working in health and social care. You will also engage with and analyse the nature of, and challenges to, professional practice which have emerged as a result of multi-professional and multi-agency working. You will also consider theories of communication between professional groups focussing in particular on the use of “professional language” as a barrier to integrated working. You will also consider, in consultation with your named external agency, the practical issues associated with collaboration, (or lack of), between “professionals” working in health and social care settings, and the impact on service delivery. This will include you considering examples of models from past and current literature, critical evaluation of case studies and the evidence and personal knowledge based on your own, and other students and staff experiences, by engaging in exercises allowing reflection on individual experiences as a consumer of health and social care and consider these in terms of concepts from the module. and a changing health and social context in which professional working is influenced by policies - policies determined by the state which do, or have the potential to, impact on the realities of professional working and may not always correspond to real or perceived professional interactions and/or interventions.

In this module you will critically examine the interplay between public health; community-based health and social care provision; and community regeneration policies. You will develop skills in community profiling; critical analysis of the policies of regeneration; and critically reviewing community participation in health and social care delivery. The aim of this Module is to analyse and debate how public health and social care priorities are linked with the study of ‘communities’. Through an exploration of community development as an approach to working with communities you will evaluate lay health perspectives of health and social care. Theories of participation and empowerment will be debated and you will be introduced to different approaches to undertaking participative needs analysis exercises with communities. The Module also analyses how regeneration policies interact with wider health and social care policies.

The aim of this module is to support you to develop a critical understanding of public health theory, policy and research and apply this to the complex and dynamic health and social care context.

In this module you will critically explore and analyse key concepts relating to public health theory and practice. This will include developments in public health policy and prevention research and approaches to practice. You will examine the changing public health context and the emergence of ‘lifestyle illnesses’ which affect population health and individual health behaviours. You will be introduced to behavioural science and behaviour change theory, to equip you with a detailed understanding of the challenge and opportunities for improving health behaviours and lifestyles in individuals and populations.

The module also will examine research conducted on healthcare risks, lay beliefs, help seeking behaviour and the ‘prevention paradox’. Key sessions will support you to critically explore a range of public health initiatives from past and current literature, critical evaluation of case studies and the evidence and personal knowledge based on your own, and other students’ and tutors’ experiences.

You will learn to identify, engage and apply a range of creative helping practices in the context of their programme of study. Students will be encouraged to develop a deeper understanding of alternatives to traditional interventions to allow for work with diverse communities and clients. You will explore the practicalities associated with engaging with alternative approaches, including the realities of accessing creative helping practices, developing engagement with clients, and understanding how these can support wellbeing across the life course. You will be introduced to a range of methods and supported to explore how these can be engaged with in practice.

Academic skills when studying away from your home country can differ due to cultural and language differences in teaching and assessment practices. This module is designed to support your transition in the use and practice of technical language and subject specific skills around assessments and teaching provision in your chosen subject. The overall aim of this module is to develop your abilities to read and study effectively for academic purposes; to develop your skills in analysing and using source material in seminars and academic writing and to develop your use and application of language and communications skills to a higher level.

The topics you will cover on the module include:

• Understanding assignment briefs and exam questions.
• Developing academic writing skills, including citation, paraphrasing, and summarising.
• Practising ‘critical reading’ and ‘critical writing’
• Planning and structuring academic assignments (e.g. essays, reports and presentations).
• Avoiding academic misconduct and gaining credit by using academic sources and referencing effectively.
• Listening skills for lectures.
• Speaking in seminar presentations.
• Presenting your ideas
• Giving discipline-related academic presentations, experiencing peer observation, and receiving formative feedback.
• Speed reading techniques.
• Developing self-reflection skills.