Entry requirements

University degree, minimum of 180 credits in medicine, nursing, nutrition or another area relevant to global health. All applicants need to verify English language proficiency. This is normally attested by means of an internationally recognised test such as TOEFL or IELTS.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students are expected to be able to:

• Outline the magnitude, prevalence and geographical distribution of the main child health, nutrition and sexual and reproductive health and rights problems in low-income settings
• Map and appraise the importance of the causes of child health, nutrition and sexual and reproductive health and rights problems and evaluate their consequences for Sustainable Development.
• Outline steps to implement research projects that addresses child health, nutrition and sexual and reproductive health and rights problems and judge the appropriateness of different methods.
• Demonstrate skills in analysing and interpreting data from research on child health, nutrition and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
• Critically read, analyse, synthesize, present and discuss literature addressing child health, nutrition and sexual and reproductive health and rights problems.

Content

The course consists of three modules; Global Nutrition, Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Global Child Health. Below the content of each module is described.

Global Nutrition

The module analyses the role of nutrition in development including the threat of climate change and addresses infant and child nutrition and women's nutrition in the life cycle where current problems and recommendations for interventions are analysed. This includes issues related to nutrition transition. A section addresses assessment of diet and nutrition in the community. It presents programmatic approaches for prevention and control of malnutrition and analyses of issues relevance for effective nutrition programs.

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

The module addresses maternal and newborn health, adolescent health, STI and HIV/AIDS, family planning and abortion care in a public health perspective in low income countries. Research priorities and strategies on these issues in resource poor settings are discussed.

Global Child Health

The module analyses the magnitude, character and trends in global child health problems with a special emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. It has sections on priority setting in order to address these child health challenges. A section addresses research priority setting in relation to global child health problems, and methodological problems that arise when establishing research projects focused on the health and development of the child. Practical hands-on experiences are offered of analysing longitudinal child health data. Exercises uses critical appraisal of scientific reports in the field.

Instruction

The course consists of a series of lectures, literature studies, seminars and group and individual assignments and presentations. Sessions are interactive and students are encouraged to draw on their own experiences from the fields presented. Language of instruction is English.

Assessment

Assessment is based on written examinations, participation in mandatory seminars and group exercises, approved written assignments. If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator. All examinations are in English.