Public health explores detecting and preventing disease, increasing longevity and quality of life and promoting physical and mental health amongst populations. Upon successful completion of this course you will have developed an understanding of health disparitites and health inequalitites at local, national and international levels have the knowledge to improve health outcomes through the effective planning, execution and evaluation of health interventions to change behaviour.

This course has been designed following extensive consultation with health care organisations and professionals from various public health disciplines to ensure it reflects the latest thinking in public health and to prepare you for employment in the field.

Public Health is based on three pillars: prevention, protection and promotion. The course aims to equip you with essential skills and knowledge in each of the three pillars. Through the prevention pillar, upon successful completion of this course you will learn about the causes and consequences of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, and how to tackle the challenges facing disease prevention efforts. Through the protection pillar, you will study communicable diseases such as influenza, tuberculosis, and HIV, their surveillance, and the reaction to and control of communicable disease outbreaks. Through the promotion pillar, the theories, techniques and tools used to promote health and wellbeing are examined, drawing on behavioural psychology, sociology, as well as actual health promotion policies in operation, for example from Public Health England and the World Health Organization.