Open University: Public Health Challenges in Asia, Spring 2025
- Date:
- 19.3.2025 - 28.4.2025
- Credits:
- 5 ECTS credits
- Location:
- Kuopio
- Continuous learning category:
- Social welfare and health care
- Teaching format:
- Online teaching
- Price:
- 80 € (VAT 0%)
Course deals with general development in Asia, with special focus on public health conditions and trends. Detailed focus will be in selected macro regions of Asia, which in previous courses have been South Asia, Central Asia, and Middle East. Some changes in priority areas may take place in coming years, depending on world events and development of public health across Asia. The course provides insight to prevailing health issues in Asian populations, as well as governmental and international efforts to respond to those challenges. The topics will cover population dynamics, general development trends in the UN Agenda 2030 framework, as well as cultural, economic, political, and environmental aspects that are relevant and typical to each of the various regions in Asia. Comparative health-related data from various globally recognized digital sources and databases are utilized. Course material includes online articles, reviews, reports and statistics on mortality and disease burden. Lifestyle issues are one topic, with special focus on food safety and security in some of the subregions. Various health systems across Asia, as well as health policy priorities, public health management and health promotion programs will be reviewed. Humanitarian and environmental crises that have carried a heavy toll on Asian population health, such as war in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, flooding in Pakistan, earthquakes in the region, etc., will be revisited during the course.
The course is organized in modules (3-5), which include following topics:
- Overview of history, culture, and ethnicities in Asia, with special focus on selected macro regions
- Demographic trends, population growth, age structure
- Social and economic development in selected regions
- Environmental health and hazards, including issues of water, air, pollution, and climate change
- Current and recent disease burden across Asia (communicable and noncommunicable diseases, injuries and other external causes, mortality and morbidity)
- Predicted public health trends and disease patterns in the foreseeable future
- Maternal and child health in Asian countries
- Humanitarian crises, conflicts, migration
- Nutritional health, food safety and security as a challenge
- Health systems in selected regions
- Health promotion and health policies: regional, state- and community-level programs
- Conclusions on the future public health in Asia, with global considerations
You can study this course 19.3.-28.4.2025. This course will be conducted completely online. Registration is open 5.8.-10.3.2025.
This course is a part of intermediate studies in Public Health. Please make sure you have sufficient skills and understanding of English language.
Online course (hybrid or other such variations may be possible with some of the lectures or seminars, with on-campus teaching along with distant participation). The 3-5 modules in the course each examine separate set of issues and Asian regional specifics.
Expert lectures (streamed or prerecorded), will be available for a limited time on Moodle platform according to specific schedule during the course.
Three learning diaries based on lectures are required from students. Detailed directions are given at the start.
Independent studies include:
-Prerequisite readings (will be announced prior to the course).
-Reading assignments (digital articles and reviews, possibly chapters of e-books) will be announced at the start of the course. Some may be updated and/or added as the course proceeds.
-Independent study of other online material (videos, documents, statistics, policy papers etc.)
-Group discussions (mostly in small online groups, details will be announced at the start of the course).
Preparing for the final seminar presentation either individually, or with a smaller group to which the student is assigned to, depending on the size of the class.
Final online seminar with student presentations and discussions. Each group (or student) will be given a topic concerning one of the regions and a specific public health issue. Reliable evidence-based data is used to compile a short online presentation that will be given to the rest of the class. Each group (or in case of single-student work, student) prepares one-page abstract of their presentation, which is submitted to the course coordinator, at latest, one day before the seminar. The digital abstracts are then displayed for the whole class on the Moodle. Detailed instructions of the preparation, presentation and seminar will be given at the beginning of the course.
Previous studies
Minimum of bachelor-level university degree in health sciences, social sciences (or equivalent) is recommended, but not absolutely required
Learning outcomes:
Upon completing the course, students will be able discuss the complex social, cultural, political, and public health challenges in various parts of Asia, a huge continent with subregions that are among the fastest changing ones in the world. Many societies in Asia boast ancient cultural history and have recently experienced economic transition and transformation into modern global powerhouses. The course is useful to those who want to obtain and evaluate data and make evidence-based inferences on sustainable development in Asia, especially from the public and global health perspectives. The course is particularly directed to students of various health sciences, but not limited only to these groups. Students of other disciplines such as social and political sciences, development studies, conflict studies, economics, applied geography etc. might find the course equally interesting.
Online course (hybrid or other such variations may be possible with some of the lectures or seminars, with on-campus teaching along with distant participation).
The 3-5 modules in the Online course (hybrid or other such variations may be possible with some of the lectures or seminars, with on-campus teaching along with distant participation).
The 3-5 modules in the course each examine separate set of issues and Asian regional specifics.
Expert lectures (streamed or prerecorded), will be available for a limited time on Moodle platform according to specific schedule during the course. Prerequisite readings (will be announced prior to the start of the course).
Reading assignments during the course (digital articles and reviews, possibly chapters of e-books). Updated list will be announced at the start of the course.
Independent study of other online material (videos, documents, statistics, policy papers etc.)
Group discussions (mostly in small online groups, details will be announced at the start of the course).
Preparing the final seminar presentation either individually, or with a smaller group to which the student is assigned to, depending on the size of the class.
Final online seminar with student presentations and discussions. Each group (or student) will be given a topic concerning one of the regions and a specific public health issue. Reliable evidence-based data is used to compile a short online presentation that will be given to the rest of the class in the final seminar. Each group (or in case of single-student work, student) prepares one-page abstract of their presentation, which is submitted to the course coordinator, at latest, one day before the seminar. The digital abstracts are then displayed for the whole class on the Moodle. Detailed instructions of the preparation, presentation and seminar will be given at the beginning of the course.
For possible Ukrainian or other Open University participants, separate instructions will be given concerning the final seminar work or equivalent assignment
Literature acquisition costs / borrowing fees are not included.
Study units cost 20 e / credit. This price holds for the academic year 2024–2025.
For more information on study fees and payment and cancellation terms, please see: Registration, study fees and right to study | University of Eastern Finland (uef.fi).
By paying the study fee, the student receives a temporary right to study that entitles them to attend a particular course. The right to study is course-specific, and is required to complete the course as specified in the syllabus for the term, covering both teaching and course exams. If the course is continuously open for registration, the maximum time to complete the course is from 1 August to 31 July for that academic year.
Literature acquisition costs and borrowing fees are not included in the tuition fee.
If your employer would pay your tuition fee, please contact our Student Affairs Secretary. Their contact details are below.
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