Fall 2022 - HSCI 340 D100

Social Determinants of Health (3)

Class Number: 2150

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 7 – Dec 6, 2022: Fri, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    60 units and two HSCI 200-level courses with a minimum grade of C-, one of which may be taken concurrently.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Social determinants of health and health inequities. Explores how and why the social advantages and disadvantages that people experience - based on their social position(s) and social circumstances - determine their health status and overall well-being.

COURSE DETAILS:

Over the last decades the international community, including Canada, has recognized the primary role social determinants play in fuelling our inequitable population health outcomes. In this course, we will examine how some of the major determinants of health help illustrate and explain the complex linkages between the structural organization of society and population health outcomes. This course will challenge students to interrogate traditional viewpoints on health, healing, and disease and question the interplay between values, power, and politics embedded in discussions of healthy individuals, families, and communities. Students will be asked to critically assess the context/causes, evidence, intersections, and health effects of social inequities and to develop better understandings regarding the social determinants of health, health inequity, and policy solutions.

This course is about practicing how to work in public health and address health inequities.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

    • reflect on your social location, biases, and responsibilities, and how these impact your work promoting health equity
    • link upstream social structures to exploitative processes and poor health outcomes
    • apply important equity-promoting tools and frameworks to areas of public health and public health practice that interest you
    • build resources that help you center important knowledge regarding social inequities, and share this knowledge with others
    • leverage resources, tools, and frameworks for action in multiple domains

Grading

  • Small Group Discussions 15%
  • Building and Sharing Knowledge Report 30%
  • Reflective Journal 30%
  • Equity Infographic + Summary 25%

NOTES:

TEACHING FORMAT
The course will consist of one weekly three-hour class that will include a combination of lecture, discussion, in-class group work, exercises, and multi-media presentations. Your participation is required to create a productive learning environment; it is crucial that you come prepared having done the required readings and ready to participate actively in class discussions and activities.

This course is designed to challenge you to critically evaluate, describe, and explain the social determinants of health and health inequities. The class will be a place where you can freely explore ideas, express your opinions, and question assumptions.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

The reading & resource material for this course will include peer-reviewed articles, websites, podcasts, videos, and reports. All material will be made available via CANVAS.


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html