Educational aims
This certificate is designed to enable you to develop a sound and critical understanding of public health policy, theory and practice. It will provide you with an opportunity to engage with the challenges facing professionals, service users and policy makers in the UK today. Studying for this certificate will enable you to:
- develop your knowledge and understanding of contemporary contexts in which public health takes place
- develop a sound and critical understanding of key theoretical concepts and debates that underpin public health provision
- develop your awareness of the diversity of needs and practices of different client groups and the need to work across boundaries
- develop the skills required for assessing current practice, for influencing and empowering others and bringing about change
- develop the skills to use research evidence to improve health and social care practice and to become an independent learner.
Learning outcomes
The certificate provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:
Knowledge and understanding
On completion of this qualification, you’ll have knowledge and understanding of:
- the social determinants of health and health inequalities, and competing definitions and concepts of health and wellbeing
- the scope and focus of public health, and of your own role in health security and in promoting health and the competencies that underpin multidisciplinary public health
- how research can inform public health, create evidence-based practice and inform interventions and commissioning promote health to secure and promote public health
- the processes and practices of policy making for public health, and how policy and practice can be evaluated
- knowledge of UKHPR requirements for public health practice.
Cognitive skills
On completion of this qualification, you’ll be able to:
- critically analyse different concepts, models and approaches to public health and apply theoretical perspectives in health security and health promotion explore your own perspectives in relation to public health
- critically reflect on debates and ethical dilemmas that may arise in securing and promoting of public health, including examples which draw upon your own experience
- critically analyse the links between different research methods and public health
- critically reflect on the theories and processes which underpin partnership and collaborative working in multidisciplinary public health activities in different organisations and settings.
Practical and/or professional skills
On completion of this qualification, you’ll be able to:
- develop skills for reflective learning, communication and team working that can be applied within different settings
- recognise diversity and demonstrate knowledge of appropriate strategies for promoting equality in public health
- deploy knowledge and experience to influence the policy process.
Key skills
On completion of this qualification, you’ll be able to:
- demonstrate an ability to identify, use and critically evaluate different types of health information in an independent and collaborative way as appropriate through the use of ICT
- demonstrate an ability to research, analyse and critically evaluate public policies for health
- communicate complex information, arguments and ideas effectively and appropriately to specialist and non-specialist audiences
- plan, monitor and evaluate your learning and identify strategies to improve your learning, and recognise your learning capability for keeping up to date with developments in public health.