<p>Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Health develops in homes, communities, workplaces, and in economic, social, and legal environments. The health of a population is a reflection of the values and priorities of the society of which it is a part. Introduction to factors that influence individual health and the health of populations. Topics include economic policy; environment of cities; and shared culture, unequally and at times uneasily. Emphasis primarily on the determinants of health in the U.S., with occasional international perspective for the insights it provides. Study provides students with a holistic understanding of what it takes to create a healthier society with greater health equity. Letter grading.</p>

Health Policy and Management

Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health

HLT POL 142 - How Health Happens

How Health Happens

• Describe the health of Americans compared to that of people of other nations;
• Describe the changing context of population health over the 20th Century;
• Describe the contribution of medical care to health outcomes in the US context.

•Explain the concept of collective decisions;
• Identify several types of collective decisions;
• Explain how collective decisions affect the built environment in ways that affect human health;

● Describe some of the ways in which power influences health;
● Explain the 3 faces of power;
● Describe some of the sources and uses of power in the current U.S. context.

• Differentiate among several types of social and economic inequality;
• Discuss the effects of economic inequality on health;
• Define capitalism, socialism, democratic socialism and communism;
• Provide examples of how market capitalism can promote health;
• Provide examples of how market capitalism can harm health;
• Analyze the conditions in which market capitalism is likeliest to promote health (i.e., provide examples of specific policies which influence market capitalism to have a positive influence on health);

• Explain the influence of exposure to greenspace on human physical and mental health;
• Identify the connections between ecosystem health and human health;
• Identify some of the current and expected future effects of climate change on human health;

• Describe trends of violent crime in the US;
• Identify plausible reasons for these trends;
• Explain the concept of structural violence and provide concrete examples;
• Discuss the role of rehabilitation in the health of incarcerated populations;

• Explain the concept of structural racism;
• Provide examples of institutional racism in the US (as distinct from structural racism);
• Provide examples of structural racism in the US (as distinct from institutional racism);
• Describe the role of consumerism in human development;
• Contrast the US context of consumerism to that of peer countries

• Describe the role of health behaviors in health outcomes;
• Differentiate between the determinants of individual health and the determinants of population health;
• Distinguish between causes and forces;
• Explain the metaphor of upstream health determinants;
• Apply the distinctions of the upstream metaphor to health risks today;
• Identify forcing factors in population health;

• Describe the historical trends in social isolation in the U.S.;
• Identify the health effects of social isolation;
• Identify the role of religion in health;

General Catalog

How Health Happens

HLT POL 142

4 units