This module explores the key concepts of health and wellbeing, and a big part of that is public health. You'll learn that while these concepts may seem straightforward, they are actually contested issues that are increasingly important when considering health and social care provision. You'll look at the factors that affect our core sense of health and wellbeing. Our health is not just a matter of individual health, this module allows you to consider how relationships and society level factors can also impact on our sense of health and wellbeing.
This module is made up of four blocks of study, each with four weeks of teaching. Each block focuses on a particular area associated with health and wellbeing, and uses a case study based on the real world, together with core academic theories that will allow you to think more deeply about practical and theoretical issues.
Block 1: Critical issues and the individual
You'll begin with a focus on health and wellbeing at the level of the individual person. You'll learn about the core theoretical models that are useful for thinking about health, illness and wellbeing.
Block 2: Critical issues in relationships
This block moves outwards from the level of the individual to consider the impact of relationships that individuals find themselves within. You'll explore how relationships such as family, work and social relationships affect health and wellbeing?
Block 3: Critical issues in service provision
The focus moves up another level to look at health and wellbeing from the perspective of service providers. You'll ask whether services that are fundamentally designed to treat illness can also support health and wellbeing. You'll also explore how staff can work together with individuals and examine the role that services users play in these partnerships.
Block 4: Critical issues in society
In this final block you'll draw together the core themes from across the module to examine the health and wellbeing of society in its broadest sense. You'll learn how and why services designed to address illness and disease have evolved. You'll also consider why inequalities persist in society and learn how public health measures have tried to address them.
Throughout the module, teaching is built around an interactive online learning guide, accompanied by a set of readings designed to support your study, audio-visual material chosen specifically to highlight particular real-world issues relevant to health and wellbeing, and journal articles that you will be able to access directly from the library. You'll also be encouraged to spend some of your study time searching for online resources from The Open University and engaging in skills to develop your academic study. By the end of this module you will have developed a range skills that will enable you to be an independent explorer of knowledge.
This module is vital and central to all sectors of health and social care, it heavily features aspects of public health which is an essential to understanding our own health. Some aspects of our health we do not, or perhaps cannot change, whilst other aspects are in our control. Moreover there is a contested area between these two poles that we need to understand if we want to work in any area of health and social care.
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
You’ll have access to a module website, which includes:
There are additional resources available on the module website designed to support your online learning. You will also be guided to find and research for relevant resources using the OU Library.
You can study this module on its own or use the credits you gain towards an Open University qualification.
K212 is a compulsory module in our:
K212 is an option module in our:
Critical ideas in wellbeing and public health (K212) starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2031.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
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If your income is not more than £25,000 or you receive a qualifying benefit, you might be eligible for help with some of these costs after your module has started.
There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.
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Please note: your permanent address/domicile will affect your fee status and, therefore, the fees you are charged and any financial support available to you. The fee information provided here is valid for modules starting before 31 July 2026. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.
