SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS

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1 SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS Voyage: Short-term 2013 Discipline: Public Health SEMS 2500: Public Health in Scandinavia: Successful Outcomes Lower Division Faculty Name: Andrea Parrot Pre-requisites: A social science course or public health course COURSE DESCRIPTION The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of human development and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, a developing, or an under- developed country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. All Scandinavian countries have HDIs in the 'Very High' range. In addition to their positive quality of life aspects measured by the HDI, their views on sexuality are generally very liberal, with relaxed attitudes towards their own and others' sexuality. These attitudes are reflected in their public policies. We will examine these public policies and their positive outcomes, and compare those policies to varying approaches to policies throughout the world that result in low HDI rankings. Public policies that relate to Scandinavian attitudes regarding sexuality: Universal health care; Legalized Abortion; Paid parental leave; Condoms widely available; Generous child care benefits; Legalized prostitution, controlled to promote sexual health; Legalized gay marriage; Compulsory comprehensive sex education at all levels. Public health outcomes resulting from the public policies identified above: Maternal and infant mortality rates are among the lowest in the world; Premarital sex is acceptable in Scandinavia; Very high level of sexual health; Extremely low STD rates; Extremely low teenage pregnancy rates; Very low abortion rates; Divorce rate is much lower than in the US. COURSE OBJECTIVES Identify the measures that are included in the Human Development Index rankings, and why each of those measures is critical. Evaluate the Scandinavian countries, Poland and Germany by measuring public health outcomes. Gain an understanding of Global Public Health problems and priorities for change and their impact on Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Examine the differences as well as similarities between the public approaches in Scandinavian countries, selected other countries, and the United States. Explore a body of knowledge about three broad areas Health, Education and Welfare 1

2 Understand how the MDG might be amended in the future to address mental health needs throughout the world Further develop oral communication and group presentation skills. Evaluate policies in selected countries that impact the health, education, and welfare of that country REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS Mellinium Development Goals (MDG) report 2012 (US Government Document available online) - forthcoming Human Development (HDI) Report 2012 (US Government Document available online) - forthcoming Kristof, N, and WuDunn, S. (2010). Half the Sky Turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE Day 1 (readings: MDG, HDI, Fox) Course introduction Human Development Index Millennium Development Goals Gross National Happiness, a new way of thinking- Butan Overview of individual countries Day 2 (readings: And it s going to get better; Larsen; Norweigan country progress report: Kristof and WuDunn, Signild Vallgarda 2007, Eide) The best and worst Public Health Outcomes worldwide How does Scandinavia do it? General policy issues: o AIDS education and policies needle exchange o Condom availability o STI rates Discuss policies and public health issues in Norway Day 3 (readings: Signild Vallgarda, 2011) Analyze Norway General policy issues: o Health Care o Physician Assisted Suicide o Maternal and Infant Mortality/Health o Parental Leave Policies Discuss policies and public health issues in Denmark Day 4 (readings; Analyze Denmark stlin & Finn Diderichsen) 2

3 General policy issues: o Education o School based sex education o Teenage pregnancy o Abortion access Discuss policies and public health issues in Sweden Day 5 (readings: Ekberg; Parrot and Cummings; Ministry of Health and Public Affairs) FDP presentations on Sweden Analyze Sweden Discuss policies and public health issues in Finland Day 6- (reading: Andersen) Analyze Finland Discuss policies and public health issues in Poland midterm Day 7 (readings: Danielle da Costa & Leite Borges) Analyze Poland General policy issues: o Laws o Prostitution o Same sex Marriage o Divorce Day 8 (readings: OECD Economic Survey Germany) Project presentations and discussion Discuss policies and public health issues in Germany Day 9 (readings: Claire Shewbridge, Moonhee Kim, Gregory Wurzburg and Gaby Hostens) Analyze Germany Project presentations and discussion Discuss policies and public health issues in Holland Day 10 (readings: rda 2010) Analyze Holland Project presentations and discussion course evaluation course closure Day 11 final exam 3

4 METHODS OF EVALUATION / GRADING RUBRIC Field component 20% Individual Project 25% Class participation 15% Exams- 40 % INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS: Each student will critically evaluate and analyze one policy in one country we are visiting in depth that has resulted in a positive public health outcome. None of the topics covered in the Swedish FL or those presented extensively in class for a given country will be approved for this assignment. The policy must be discussed thoroughly and the resultant public health outcome must be clearly tied to the policy. Scholarly and reputable sources must be referenced in the presentation. Students will be assigned policies on a first come-first serve basis. These presentations will take place in class on days 8, 9, and 10. Possible policies for selection include, but are not limited to, the following: Laws Prostitution Pornography Same sex marriage Divorce Parental leave Education School based sex education Teenage pregnancy AIDS education and policies Health Issues Physician Assisted Suicide Maternal and Infant Mortality/Health Health Care access Needle exchange policies Condom availability Abortion access STIs 4

5 FIELD COMPONENT FIELD LAB (At least 20 percent of the contact hours for each course, to be led by the instructor.) As a group we will visit a school, a sex education program; a police station to discuss laws on prostitution and pornography; a child care program/facility; and/or a health care facility in Sweden. FIELD ASSIGNMENTS Each student will participate in a small group to assess, evaluate and present one component of the field experience to the class. These should be power point presentations and students will be expected to access and cite the scholarly literature to support their findings. 5

6 Readings for the electronic course folder: AND IT S GOING TO GET BETTER! National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health and Social Services ( ) Norway Andersen, J. (December 12, 2011) From Finland, an Intriguing School-Reform Model. New York Times, Education Section, da Costa. D., & Borges, L (2011) European Health Systems and the Internal Market: Reshaping Ideology? Health Care Annals 19: DOI /s Eide, A. (2011) The Health of the World`s Poor - a Human Rights Challenge Ekberg, G. (2004) The Swedish law that prohibits the purchase of sexual services. Violence Against Women, 10, (190) Fox, J. (2012). The Economics of Wellbeing. The Harvard Business Review. pp Larsen, Bjørn-Inge, (May 2008). Health creates welfare the role of the health system in Norwegian society, Trends in the health sector, 2008 Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (2011) Public Performance Reports on Health Care and Social Services. A national strategy for quality improvement through public performance reports on health care and social services, Sweden, 2011 Nusche, D., Gregory Wurzburg and Breda Naughton (2010) OECD Reviews of Migrant Education, Denmark 2010 Norwegian Directorate of Health Department of Public Health (2009) Ungass country progress report Norway January 2008-December 2009 OECD Economic Surveys GERMANY (2012) stlin, P., & Finn Diderichsen (2001) Equity-oriented national strategy for public health in Sweden A case study. WHO Europe. data/assets/pdf_file/0009/119916/e69911.pdf Shewbridge, C., Moonhee Kim, Gregory Wurzburg and Gaby Hostens (2010) OECD Reviews of Migrant Education, Netherlands 2010 Parrot A., & Cummings, N. (2008) The Sexual Enslavement of Girls and Women Worldwide. (chapter 8) Legislative Success Stories. Praeger 6

7 rda, S., (2010) Is the focus on health-related behaviours a new phenomenon? Social Studies of Science : 609 DOI: / Vallgarda, S. (2011) Appeals to Autonomy and Obedience: Continuity and Change in Governing Technologies in Danish and Swedish Health Promotion Medical History, 55: rda, S., (2007) Public health policies: A Scandinavian model? Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 35: HONOR CODE Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the University of Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University s honor code. The code prohibits all acts of lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager s Handbook for further explanation of what constitutes an honor offense. Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: On my honor as a student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment. The pledge must be signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed [signed]. 7