Work Load
20  credits (ECTS)

Objectives
The module aims to introduce the methods used in epidemiology and preventive medicine. It also provides a foundation for further studies of these disciplines. Teaching takes place in the course of 3-4 gatherings, one at the start of the semester and one at the end (exam included). Teaching will be in the form of lectures, exercises and group work, and parts of the syllabus and tutoring will be given online.

In order to sign up for Public Health courses at a Master level, you will need to have either completed the Bachelor Degree with health and/or social sciences as your major, or to have a Bachelor Degree and two years of relevant work experience as a health professional. A Bachelor Degree in Health Administration will also qualify you for admission to this Master Degree programme. In addition, you will need basic knowledge of statistics and physiopathology.

Contents
Statistics will include an introduction to the principles of survival analysis and the most common multi-variable analyses in medical research literature. The epidemiological syllabus will provide an introduction to (and practice of) the use of epidemiological concepts, the charting of epidemiological data, types of epidemiological concepts / clinical studies and practice in how to read medical literature in a critical manner. The tutoring of theories of prevention reviews the principles of primary and secondary prophylaxis. Other related topics will also be discussed.

Form of teaching
The course has multiple teaching approaches, and active use of the Learning Management System ClassFronter is mandatory.

Assessment
2-3 home assignments, portfolio assessment and a final examination (home assignment) of 3 days'' duration.

Examination semester
Autumn

Type of course
Theoretical

Level of course/Year of study
First year at master''s level.

Work Load
10  credits (ECTS)

Objectives
The subject Organisation and Management will highlight the circumstances determining approaches to staff and potential consequences. In one of the gatherings, visiting lecturers will be discussing their practical managerial experiences.

Required Previous Knowledge: Basic Public Health Module, (Statistics, Epidemiology, and Prophylaxis) and a course in elementary statistics

Contents
The course provides a general introduction to health care economy, with an emphasis on alternative financing and utility and cost analyses. We will discuss private versus public health care; hospital economy including price per piece versus lump sum allocation; various kinds of economic analyses as aids to align priorities and various means of assessing public health. Basic organisation and management theories will be covered, and we will particularly look into how these theories may be applied to health care analysis. Research on working environment will be presented, and we will discuss management problems in public service systems. Additionally, we will make a point of utilizing the student''s experiences from practical management.

Form of teaching
Partly netbased by using ClassFronter. Three gatherings which are mandatory consisting of lectures, seminars and group works.

Assessment
Home assignment and portfolio assessment graded on the scale A-E.

Examination semester
Autumn

Type of course
Theoretical

Level of course/Year of study
First or second year at Master�s level.

Work Load
10  credits (ECTS)

Type of course
Theoretical and practical.

Level of course/Year of study
First or second year at master''s level.

Language of instruction
English

Examination semester
Spring

Objectives
The candidate should have an understanding of health problems in the world and of the most important factors that create disease and health inequalities (including services) among peoples. Poverty is a major determinant of health, but also the physical (e.g., temperature, precipitation, air and water supply, pollution) and biological environment (e.g., the food supply and its safety, origin and transmission of some diseases) are of importance. A major goal is to explore these aspects through international health and environmental health perspectives. The course will also explore how the health inequalities might be reversed/stopped and what national/international organizations are providing resources and/or services to do so.

Contents
The course will require presence on campus in two periods, one in January and one in April. See time table. On-campus activities are to include presentations, group discussions, overview lectures and planning of the interim period, group activities and cooperation with supervisors. The course will provide an overview of environmental health / medicine (EH) and international health (IH) and explores the inter-relationships between health, poverty, environment and development; demonstrates the need for interdisciplinary co-operation; promotes student-centred, self-directed learning and critical appraisal; and optimizes the use of the internet to achieve the stated learning objectives.

Form of teaching
The course has a variety of teaching and supervising methods; plenary, lectures, group processes, internet methods etc.

Exam and assessment
There will be interim assignments and group work based on scenarios. The final home exam will be based on the different learning processes during the course.

Recommended reading/syllabus
Curriculum is based on information available on the internet. For basic consepts in environmental health, the following textbook is recommended:
Basic Environmental Health
Annalee Yassi, Tord Kjellstrøm, Theo de Kok, Tee L. Guidotti
Oxford University Press 2001
RA565. B376 2001
615.9`02-dc21 00-032400
ISBN 0-19-513558-x

Work Load
10  credits (ECTS)

Type of course
Theoretical and practical.

Level of course/Year of study
First or second year at master''s level.

Examination semester
Spring

Objectives
After finishing this course, the students should a) be able to identify, describe, reflect on and analyse theoretical aspects and problems of research on public health in regards to theoretical science and b) be able to recognise strengths and weaknesses in their own projects.

Contents
Teaching is partly carried out in gatherings and partly in ClassFronter (chat rooms and file exchange). The module is longitudinal, and during the semester, there will be two reunions, each lasting two days.

Form of teaching
The course has multiple teaching approaches

Exam and assessment
In addition to the evaluation of compulsory written papers to be handed in or of documented participation in discussion groups (in ClassFronter), evaluation will mainly be based on a written essay (under academic supervision) on a chosen topic.
Extent: 3000-4000 words.
Graded A-F.

Work Load
10  credits (ECTS)

Type of course
Theoretical and practical.

Level of course/Year of study
First or second year at master''s level.

Examination semester
Spring

Objectives
Having completed this course, the students will be able to assess and apply medical tests for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. They should take a rational stance towards the ambiguity of medical decisions, and aim for a critical approach to medical documentation.

Contents
The course provides an introduction to decision analysis applied to medical questions. Topics will be probability calculation, the concept of normality, the technical properties of tests, test properties and diagnostic properties. Problems regarding multi-testing and mutual dependency of tests are discussed as well as inter-observer and intra-observer agreements. Kappa statistics are explained and likelihood ratio is applied on strata of the separator variable. Optimal test values and the effect of case-mix on test properties are discussed. Furthermore, the course discusses documentation basis and various methods for evaluating medical intervention. Various approaches to systematic reviews of medical documentation will also be presented. The students will practice on medical Internet databases such as the Cochrane Library.

Form of teaching
To a large extent, teaching will through the Learning Management System ClassFronter. Three gatherings on campus, where teachers and students attend will be organized. Each gathering lasts for 2 or 3 days. Teaching will take the form of lectures, group work and seminars, and demand a large degree of activity and participation from the students. During the periods between gatherings, the students will be working via ClassFronter on text book material or evaluating articles and solving tasks. Discussion groups will be organised and to each of them, a teacher will be assigned. Much of the syllabus will be distributed to the students by their teachers over the Internet. Some material must be searched for by the students themselves, for instance in medical databases.

Exam and assessment
At the end of the course students will work on a written home assignment. In addition, two home assignments will be given during the period between the gatherings, assignments which the students must hand in within given deadlines and must pass in order to continue the course. The home assignments may demand that a task be solved by means of calculation and assessment of the results, or that literature be assessed, or an essay must be written. The students will be given a grade (A-F) and concise written feedback about their written assignments. Moreover, active participation in discussion groups is required in the intervening period. All assignments are considered part of the exam and need to be answered individually. A single grade (A-F) will be given for the entire course on basis of the submitted three home assignments, for which an estimate of the extent and complexity of the undertaken tasks will be taken into consideration.

Recommended reading/syllabus
Pensumbok:
David L. Sacket, R. Brian Haynes, Gordon H. Guyatt, Peter Tugwell: Clinical epidemiology. A basic science for clinical medicine. Little, Brown and Company, 1991, second edition, 441 sider. ISBN 0-316-76599-6

David L. Sacket, W Scott Richardson, William Rosenberg, R. Brian Haynes: Evidence-based Medicine. How to practice and teach EBM. Churchill Livingstone,1997, 250 sider.
ISBN 0-443-05686-2.

Myriam Hunink, Paul Glasziou, Joanna Siegel, Jane Weeks, Joseph Pliskin, Arthur Elstein, Milton Weinstein: Decision making in health and medicine. Integrating evidence and values. Cambrige University Press, 2003, 388 sider, ISBN 0-521-77029-7.

Work Load
10  credits (ECTS)

Type of course
Theoretical and practical.

Level of course/Year of study
First or second year at master''s level.

Examination semester
Spring

Objectives
The course aims to give students insight into how to plan, sources of error (bias or skewness) that can be controlled through design and practical implementation of case-control studies, cross-section studies, cohort studies and randomised controlled trial (RCT).

Contents
The three most important methods used for epidemiological studies will be reviewed, i.e. cross-section studies, cohort and case-control studies and well as randomised controlled tests (RCT), and the strong and week points of such studies will be looked into. Furthermore, lectures will discuss how to dimension studies (amplitude calculations), formal requirements according to the Act on Biographical Data and ethics committees. Approaches to controlled clinical tests and intervention. Further, sources of error that can be controlled through design, skewness of selection and information will be investigated, as well as validation studies and reliability will be emphasised as well as the consequences of various kinds of flaws for further studies. Finally, we deal with practical implementation phasing based on the institute''s extensive experience dealing with the three above mentioned types of studies.

Form of teaching
The course has multiple teaching approaches

Exam and assessment
Home assignment, assessed with grades A-F.

Recommended reading/syllabus
Armstrong BK, White E, Saracci R. Principles of exposure measurement in epidemiology. Monograpgs in epi biostat 21; Oxford University press; Oxford 1921. (ISBN 0-19-262020-7)

Articles are copied and delivered, or available on the Internet.

Work Load
10  credits (ECTS)

Contents
The course is organised as three gatherings, each lasting 3 days with at least one intervening week. Following main topics are taught: Descriptive Epidemiology, Analytic Epidemiology, and Preventive measures to improve health, primarily focussing on the epidemology of diabetes, cancer, psychiatric illnesses, stroke and cardiac infarction.

Assessment
Two written, individual papers which will be evaluated as a whole on a scale of A-F.

Examination semester
Autumn

Type of course
Theoretical

Level of course/Year of study
First or second year at master''s level.

Work Load
20  credits (ECTS)

Type of course
Theoretical and practical.

Level of course/Year of study
First or second year at master''s level.

Examination semester
Autumn, Spring

Objectives
The independent Master Degree Thesis is compulsory and amounts to 30 credits. Throughout the thesis, the student should demonstrate mastery of relevant methods that have been presented during the studies, as well as understanding, reflection and maturity. Two students may apply to work together on a thesis. They will then need to specify the scope of each person''s contribution and effort.

Contents
Guidelines for how to write a Master Degree Thesis will be elaborated during the course. The student and his/her supervisor will need to enter into a contractual arrangement of supervision, after the proposed protocol, or project description has been approved.

Form of teaching
The course has multiple teaching approaches

Exam and assessment
Written Master Degree Thesis

Recommended reading/syllabus
Available on request

Work Load
5  credits (ECTS)

Objectives
This course is about the cultural and social aspects of a) health and illness, and b) the medical enterprise (the system, the knowledge, the practise and the professions); its design, development, role, functions, and place in contemporary society. After the course, the candidates are supposed to understand the cultural aspects of health, illness and the medical enterprise, the main aspects the modern health service, its major challenges, the driving forces behind its development, and main features of the attempted solutions.

Contents
Sociological perspectives on health, illness, medical knowledge and medical practice.- The modern health service: developments, dilemmas and challenges (health inequalities, medicalisation, priority issues, etc.), seen in a cultural, historical and global perspective.- New roles for health professionals and patients.- Cultural implications of medical knowledge and practice.- Expansion of the jurisdiction of the health professions.- Driving forces in the development of our health concepts. - Health policy and health services management.

Form of teaching
Lectures, video-presentations and organised group sessions during two 3 day long seminars, in addition to use of the Learning Management System ClassFronter.

Assessment
Home assignment (a written essay) over two weeks, on a chosen topic. Evaluation is graded on a A-E scale, and F is Failed. Students must have delivered, and passed, a compulsory written paper before the home assignment. This paper can be written alone or in groups , and is to be delivered via ClassFronter.

Examination semester
Autumn

Type of course
Theoretical

Level of course/Year of study
First or second year at master''s level.

Recommended reading/syllabus
 
Elliott, Carl (2003): Better than well. American medicine meets American dream (kap. 3, s. 54-76). W.W.Norton & Company: New York(23 sider).*
Freidson, Eliot (1970): Profession of medicine (kap. 8, 10 og 12). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press(79 sider).
Førde, Olav Helge (1998): Is imposing risk awareness cultural imperialism? Soc Sci Med 47: 1155-59 (5 sider).
Lawton, Julia (2003): Lay experiences of health and illness: past research and future agendas. Sociology of health & illness 25 (issue 3): 23-40 (17 sider). Fulltekst.
Moynihan, Ray, Iona Heath and David Henry (2002): Selling sickness: The pharmaceutical industry and disease mongering. BMJ 324 (issue 7342): 886-891 (5 sider). Fulltekst.
Nettleton, Sarah (1995): The sociology of health and illness (kap. 1 og 2, s. 1-35). Cambridge: Polity Press (35 sider).
Payer, Lynn (1992): Disease-Mongers: How doctors, drug companies, and insurers are making you feel sick (kap. 1, s. 3-35). John Wiley & Sons Inc, New York (33 sider).
Potts, Annie; Nicola Gavey; Victoria M Grace og Tiina Vares (2003): The downside of Viagra: women''s experiences and concerns. Sociology of health & illness 25 (issue 7): 697-719 (23 sider). Fulltekst.

Work Load
5  credits (ECTS)

Type of course
Theoretical

Level of course/Year of study
First or second year at master''s level.

Examination semester
Spring

Objectives
The course Health technology assessment will give students an introduction to the principles of evidence based medicine. Students will learn how to identify, evaluate and synthesise relevant documentation. There will be a special focus on pharmaceuticals, procedures, diagnostics and screening. In addition students will be introduced to the principles of economic evaluation, ethical and juridical consequences.

Contents
The course in health technology assessment will give students the basic principles of systematic reviews: problem formulation, literature search, critical assessment of study quality and grading of the evidence to combine results from individual studies into an overall synthesis of research findings.

Form of teaching
The course will be given as lectures, self study and projects. There will be 2 modules each of 4 days for students and teachers to meet. The course will be consist of ordinary lectures, exercises and discussion groups. In addition there will be web-based discussion groups between modules.

Coursework requirements

Compulsory plenaries. Assignments.

Exam and assessment
Examination will be a home-based project graded at the scale A-F. During the course students have to deliver a home-based project in groups of 2-3 persons, which is evaluated passed/ not passed.