Social protection and Health: Definitions, policy goals and global examples
The course will familiarise students with cross-cutting approaches in the Global South, and understand how social protection and health are interrelated. Social protection is a key policy goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
5 ECTS Credits — Studies start 13 February 2023 — Tampere University
Course dates
13 February 2023 – 31 March 2023
Registration period
1 January 2023 – 31 January 2023
Coordinating university
Tampere University
Instructors
Credits
5 ECTS
Course dates: 13.02.2023 - 31.3.2023
Registration dates: 01.01. - 31.01.2023
Coordinating university: Tampere University
Responsible teacher: Salla Atkins (if.inut@snikta.allas)
Credits: 5 ECTS
Course offered: 3/3
Course summary
Social protection is a key policy goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Its link to health and wellbeing is well established, but has received substantial attention only recently. This interdisciplinary course draws on expertise on social protection from four institutes and universities, two from the Global North and two from the Global South, highlighting its role in protecting and promoting health.
The objective of the course is to familiarise students with cross-cutting approaches in the Global South, and understand how social protection and health are interrelated.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course the students will:
- Understand the core concepts of social protection, including social security
- Understand the key debates in social protection globally and in the Global South
- Be able to reflect on the potential of social protection for health through examples in current research
Learning methods
This course is distance learning, using a student-centred learning approach. Instructors will give online feedback on assignments and discussions during the course.
- Online lectures and lecture materials will be available on Moodle.
- Students are expected to follow the course from the beginning, as part of the course will be in real time.
- There is a short set of pre-materials consisting of readings associated with each video lecture. Required reading will be one to two key articles per lecture. Optional reading is also included.
- There are three mandatory Moodle discussions, one discussion post or response per module.
- Final assignment: each student prepares a 2000-word paper including 5-15 references on a freely chosen topic related to social protection and health. Detailed instructions will be given during the course. Based on the essay, 2-3 best essay ideas will get the opportunity to convert their essay into a blog.
Study materials
The course will consist of video recorded lectures, with reading materials. Students are expected to watch the lecture and read the associated material. Key to learning and feedback will also be a monitored student discussion forum on the Moodle platform. For each lecture, a discussion question will be posted and students are expected to respond to the discussion question and reflect upon their learning.
Assessment
Students will be assessed through:
- Active participation in the discussion forum as measured by at least one post to each discussion posted on the discussion forum
- An essay on social protection and health (2000 words)
Assessment of the course will be on a pass/fail basis, no grades will be given. On request, students may get individualized feedback on their essay.
Additional information
Maximum number of students: 60. Students participating in the course should have Bachelor level studies in social science, humanities, or medical/health sciences.
The course is produced in collaboration with the University of Zambia, the South African Medical Research Council, and Karolinska Institutet.