Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

Society and Health: International Cooperation in Health

Society and Health: International Cooperation in Health
3
14007
4
First semester
op
Module MINORS (Choose one minor)
Community Care
Main language of instruction: Spanish

Other languages of instruction: Catalan, English,

Teaching staff


Mrs. DA PALMA AFONSO, Elsa Sofía - edapalma@uic.es

Students may contact teachers by appointment via e-mail or after the lectures.

Introduction

Societat i Salut (3 ECTS) is a core subject for the Community Studies (Society and Health) program. This subject aims to introduce fourth-year undergraduate students to Development Cooperation projects in a Global Health context, from a nursing perspective, and how nursing professionals can participate in all phases of the project. Other lecturers include: Dr. Blanca Goni Fuste (bgoni@uic.es) and Mariona Catafal Sauqué (mcatafals@uic.es).

Pre-course requirements

Not required

The Department of Nursing in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences has agreed that it is compulsory for all students taking a Bachelor's degree in Nursing, when participating in online classes, to turn on their camera and remain visible to lecturers and professors at all times.

If there are students in self-isolation due to the COVID-19 health and safety measures, who cannot physically attend class at the University like their peers, teaching staff will carry out online teaching during this isolation period only so that the student(s) in question can attend their classes online. The rest of the students will have to attend their classes in person in the classroom.


Objectives

  1. Understand the foundations of international cooperation and global health. 
  2. Analyze the social, environmental, and cultural determinants of health. 
  3. Develop skills for community assessment and health education. 
  4. Acquire competencies in the design, implementation, and evaluation of health cooperation projects. 
  5. Promote critical thinking about the role of cooperation and its ethical and political implications. 
  6. Enhance teamwork, academic communication, and interdisciplinary reflection.

Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme

  • 10. B - Protecting the health and welfare of individuals or groups by ensuring their safety.
  • 11. E - Establish effective communication with patients, families, social groups and partners and promote health education.
  • 12. B - Know and observe the ethical code of conduct of Spanish nursing, understanding the ethical implications of health in a changing global context.
  • 13. G - Know the principles of health-care funding and use resources appropriately.
  • 14. G - Establish mechanisms for evaluation, taking into account scientific, technical and quality standards.
  • 19. B - Ability to make decisions based on critical thinking and reflective practice.
  • 1. G - Ability to provide technical and professional health care appropriate to the health needs of the people they treat, with full technical and scientific autonomy, according to current and available scientific knowledge and to the quality standards and safety requirements set forth in the applicable legal standards and code of ethics.
  • 21. B - Oral and written communication.
  • 22. G - Use and management of information and research
  • 23. B - Ability to analyze and synthesize.
  • 24. G - Ability to work autonomously.
  • 28. E - Leadership in nursing care and in nursing teams to improve quality care for people, participation in health policy and professional development.
  • 29. B - Know the scientific terminology in another language (English).
  • 2. E - Plan and provide nursing care for individuals or groups, taking health outcomes into account and their impact, through guidelines for clinical practice and care, which describe the four processes by which a health problem is diagnosed or treated.
  • 4. B - Understand the interactive behavior of the person according to their gender, group or community, within their social and multicultural context.
  • 6. E - Base nursing care on scientific evidence and available resources.
  • 7. B - Understand people without prejudice, considering their physical, psychological and social aspects, as autonomous and independent individuals, ensuring respect for their opinions, beliefs and values, ensuring their right to privacy through confidentiality and professional secrecy.
  • 8. B - Promote and respect the right of participation, information, autonomy and informed consent in decision-making of people treated, according to the way they live their health - disease process..
  • 9. E - Promote healthy lifestyles, self-care, as well as the maintenance of therapeutic and preventive behaviors.

Learning outcomes of the subject

At the end of course "Society and Health", the student will be able to

 

  • Understand the foundations of international cooperation and global health, identifying their historical evolution, objectives, and frameworks.
  • Critically analyze the main current challenges in global health, assessing their complexity and the interactions between social, economic, environmental, and political factors.
  • Identify and evaluate the social determinants of health (poverty, gender, housing, environment, urban planning) and discuss strategies to promote healthy urban environments and communities.
  • Apply community health diagnostic tools to understand the landscape, assess health status, and promote community empowerment processes.
  • Design health cooperation projects, recognizing their phases (diagnosis, design, implementation, evaluation) and reflecting on their benefits and limitations as a support tool.
  • Develop debate and critical thinking skills regarding international cooperation as a support instrument or as a potential source of dependency.
  • Explore the relationship between global mobility and international health, including travel-related risks, emerging diseases, and the role of health NGOs.
  • Recognize the importance of care in extreme and vulnerable contexts, integrating respect for cultural, religious, gender, and local traditions into healthcare practice.
  • Prepare and present group analysis projects (mediacasts, journal clubs, case studies), developing communication, critical synthesis, and teamwork skills.
  • Propose solutions to global health problems from an interdisciplinary perspective, considering social, cultural, environmental, and political dimensions.

Syllabus

  • Introduction to international cooperation and global health
  • Current challenges in global health
  • Social and environmental determinants of health
  • Community health and health education
  • Critical debate on international cooperation
  • Design and management of health cooperation projects
  • International health, global mobility, and the role of health NGOs
  • Care in extreme and vulnerable contexts
  • Analysis activities and academic presentation
  • Final project on health cooperation

 

Teaching and learning activities

In person



  • Classes will be done in the presencial modality. In case there are students who cannot attend for reasons derived from COVID19, the teacher will do the classes in BLENDED format, where the whole group will be in the classroom and at the same time the Collaborate will be used for those who cannot attend.
  • The methodology will be varied, generally having one session focus on the professor exposition and others focused on exercises in the classroom. Among other activities there will be workshops, seminars (photography, video, etc.), discussions, role-playing, etc. In addition, participants will be invited in cooperation projects of an international scope

Evaluation systems and criteria

In person



The evaluation will be carried out through a continuous assessment that will take into account the following data: 

  1. Project focused on an international development program (50%, of which 20% is a presentation and 30% is a written assignment) 
  2. Debate (10%) 
  3. Class Attendance and Participation (10%) 
  4. Journal Club (10%) 
  5. Mediacast on a public health issue (10%)

In the first resit the results of the ongoing evaluation will be taken into account. The mark obtained for participation and class exercises is not taken into account in first resit assessment. All the exercises that have been failed must be retaken.

For the second and third resit the same criteria applies as for the first and second.

 Before enrolling again in the subject please check compatibility with other subjects.

 Honors will not be awarded in the first resit.

Honor Matrix Assignment Procedure (MH)

  1. The criterion for assigning Honorary Enrolments (MH) is based on the Excellent (9.0).
  2. The assignment is solely for the teacher and does not have to give it, even if the student has obtained a mark above 9.0.
  3. In case the teacher decides to award MH, he will not take into account the numerical mark and the highest, but will evaluate other factors. The HM might not match the highest numeric score.

Procedure for Non-presented Assignment (NP)

  1. To register an NP in the student's file, it must not have been submitted to any of the evaluation tests throughout the assignment.
  2. If a student has submitted to one of the evaluation tests, the corresponding percentages in the teaching guide will be applied, with a 0 in those not presented.

Procedure for plagiarism or academic fraud

Any assignment or activity (including exams) in which plagiarism, falsification or academic fraud is detected, will result in a failure of the activity and an academic sanction that will entail from the loss of enrolment rights in this subject, to the opening of a file process.

Bibliography and resources

The different resources of the subject will be uploaded in moodle

Evaluation period

E: exam date | R: revision date | 1: first session | 2: second session:
  • E1 17/11/2025 10:00h
  • E2 17/06/2026 12:00h
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