Public health: health promotion and health security

Public health is everybody’s business. Whether or not you are in professional practice, your viewpoint is a central aspect of this module. It will inform and empower you to challenge your existing assumptions around current policies and interventions and encourage you to move your everyday actions and practice forward. Public health: health promotion and health security considers both communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and how the demography and epidemiology of both types of disease have uncovered health inequality and inequity in society. The module is mapped against the current United Kingdom Public Health Register (UKHPR) requirements and offers you insights into how social determinants impact the health and wellbeing of diverse social groups. It’s ideal if you’re interested in developing a career in public health or want to discover ways of sustainably promoting greater health and wellbeing while strengthening integrated public health services and reducing inequalities.

Modules count towards OU qualifications

OU qualifications are modular in structure; the credits from this undergraduate module could count towards a certificate of higher education, diploma of higher education, foundation degree or honours degree.

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Health & Social Care qualifications
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Module

Module code

K310

Credits

Study level

Level of Study
OU	SCQF	FHEQ
3	10	6

What you will study

Public health is defined as the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts of society¹. Never in recent memory have public health measures, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, involved so many people throughout the world in collective and individual action to improve their health and wellbeing. Most recognisably through measures involving public health interventions.

Central to public health are issues of social justice arising from the social determinants of health and illness. Public health: health promotion and health security will play a central role in revealing insights into the ways in which social determinants impact on the health and wellbeing of diverse social groups.

This module is made up of 17 Learning Guides across 4 blocks of study. They are typically a week in duration each. During each block, you'll focus on a particular area associated with public health.

Block 1: An introduction to public health

Learning Guide 1: What is public health
Learning Guide 2: The scope of public health
Learning Guide 3: Health trends and wider determinants
Learning Guide 4: Theory and policy in health promotion
Learning Guide 5 Theory and policy in health promotion: health security

Block 2: Evidence-based public health

Learning Guide 6: The evidence base of public health
Learning Guide 7: Understanding quantitative research
Learning Guide 8: Understanding qualitative research
Learning Guide 9: Using research to plan public health interventions

Block 3: Planning, implementing and evaluating public health on a community level

Learning Guide 10: Education and empowerment
Learning Guide 11: Communities
Learning Guide 12: Settings
Learning Guide 13: Partnership and teams

Block 4: Going global

Learning Guide 14: Global public health and governance
Learning Guide 15: Factors influencing global public health
Learning Guide 16: Policy making for better health
Learning Guide 17: Public health in the 21st century

The module is mapped against the current United Kingdom Public Health Register (UKPHR) public-health competencies where appropriate. On successful completion, you can be awarded our Graduate Certificate in Public health (S06).

¹Acheson, 1988; WHO

Vocational relevance

This module is mapped against the United Kingdom Public Health Register requirements (UKPHR) for those who are pursuing a career in public health.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

Throughout your module studies, you’ll get help and support from your assigned module tutor. They’ll help you by:

marking your assignments (TMAs) and providing detailed feedback for you to improve
guiding you to additional learning resources
providing individual guidance, whether that’s for general study skills or specific module content
facilitating online discussions between your fellow students, in the dedicated module and tutor group forums.

Module tutors also run online tutorials throughout the module. Where possible, recordings of online tutorials will be made available to students. While these tutorials won’t be compulsory for you to complete the module, you’re strongly encouraged to take part.

Contact us if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.

Assessment

The assessment details for this module can be found in the facts box above.

You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.

You must submit your end-of-module assessment (EMA) online.

Future availability

Public health: health promotion and health security starts once a year – in October.

This page describes the module that will start in October 2023. We expect it to start for the last time in October 2029.

Regulations

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.

Course work includes:; 4 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs)
: 1 Interactive computer-marked assignment (iCMA)
: End-of-module assessment
: No residential school

Entry requirements

This is an OU level 3 module. OU level 3 modules build on study skills and subject knowledge acquired from studies at OU levels 1 and 2. They are intended only for students who have recent experience of higher education in a related subject, preferably with the OU, such as completing the modules below:

either K102 or SDK100, and K118; and
either K243 or KE206, or SK299 and SK298, and K219

You are not required to have done any study before in this subject area but if you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser.

Register

Start	End	England fee	Register
07 Oct 2023	Jun 2024	£3462.00	Registration closes 07/09/23 (places subject to availability) Register
This module is expected to start for the last time in October 2029.

Additional Costs

Study costs

There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.

If your income is not more than £25,000 or you are in receipt of a qualifying benefit, you might be eligible for help with some of these costs after your module has started.

Ways to pay for this module

Open University Student Budget Account

The Open University Student Budget Accounts Ltd (OUSBA) offers a convenient 'pay as you go' option to pay your OU fees, which is a secure, quick and easy way to pay. Please note that The Open University works exclusively with OUSBA and is not able to offer you credit facilities from any other provider. All credit is subject to status and proof that you can afford the repayments.

You pay the OU through OUSBA in one of the following ways:

Register now, pay later – OUSBA pays your module fee direct to the OU. You then repay OUSBA interest-free and in full just before your module starts. 0% APR representative. This option could give you the extra time you may need to secure the funding to repay OUSBA.
Pay by instalments – OUSBA calculates your monthly fee and number of instalments based on the cost of the module you are studying. APR 5.1% representative.

Joint loan applications

If you feel you would be unable to obtain an OUSBA loan on your own due to credit history or affordability issues, OUSBA offers the option to apply for a joint loan application with a third party. For example, your husband, wife, partner, parent, sibling or friend. In such cases, OUSBA will be required to carry out additional affordability checks separately and/or collectively for both joint applicants who will be jointly and severally liable for loan repayments.

As additional affordability checks are required when processing joint loan applications, unfortunately, an instant decision cannot be given. On average the processing time for a joint loan application is five working days from receipt of the required documentation.

Employer sponsorship

Studying with The Open University can boost your employability. OU courses are recognised and respected by employers for their excellence and the commitment they take to complete. They also value the skills that students learn and can apply in the workplace.

More than one in ten OU students are sponsored by their employer, and over 30,000 employers have used the OU to develop staff so far. If the module you’ve chosen is geared towards your job or developing your career, you could approach your employer to see if they will sponsor you by paying some or all of the fees.

Your employer just needs to complete a simple form to confirm how much they will be paying and we will invoice them.
You won’t need to get your employer to complete the form until after you’ve chosen your module.

Credit/debit card

You can pay part or all of your tuition fees upfront with a debit or credit card when you register for each module.

We accept American Express, Mastercard, Visa and Visa Electron.

Mixed payments

We know that sometimes you may want to combine payment options. For example, you may wish to pay part of your tuition fee with a debit card and pay the remainder in instalments through an Open University Student Budget Account (OUSBA).

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 2024. Fees normally increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules

This information was provided on 03/06/2023.

Can you study an Access module for free?

In order to qualify, you must:

be resident in England
have a personal income of less than £25,000 (or receive qualifying benefits)
have not completed one year or more on any full-time undergraduate programme at FHEQ level 4 or above, or completed 30 credits or more of OU study

How to apply to study an Access module for free

Once you've started the registration process, either online or over the phone, we'll contact you about your payment options. This will include instructions on how you can apply to study for free if you are eligible.

If you're unsure if you meet the criteria to study for free, you can check with one of our friendly advisers on +44 (0)300 303 0069 or you can request a call back.

Not eligible to study for free?

Don't worry! We offer a choice of flexible ways to help spread the cost of your Access module. The most popular options include:

monthly payments through OUSBA
part-time tuition fee loan (you'll need to be registered on a qualification for this option)

To explore all the options available to you, visit Fees and Funding.

What's included

You'll have a module text book - Health Promotion: Global Principles and Practice - and access to a module website, which is the focal point of your study, and includes:

a week-by-week study planner
course-specific module materials
audio and video content
assessment details and submission section
online tutorial access
forum to discuss the module with fellow students and the module teaching team.

Computing requirements

You’ll need broadband internet access and a desktop or laptop computer with an up-to-date version of Windows (10 or 11), or macOS (11 'Big Sur' or higher).

Any additional software will be provided or is generally freely available.

To join in spoken conversations in tutorials, we recommend a wired headset (headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone).

Our module websites comply with web standards, and any modern browser is suitable for most activities.

Our OU Study mobile app will operate on all current, supported versions of Android and iOS. It’s not available on Kindle.

It’s also possible to access some module materials on a mobile phone, tablet device or Chromebook. However, as you may be asked to install additional software or use certain applications, you’ll also require a desktop or laptop as described above.

If you have a disability

The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying K310 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.

To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.