IPHU aims to contribute to achieving Health For All by strengthening the people's health movement by providing learning opportunities which are well targetted and address priority learning needs and which are well designed and presented.
Goals and Objectives for IPHU Short Courses (General Framework)
- learn practical skills and concepts which will enable me to be more effective as an activist in the people's health movement;
- deepen my understanding of globalisation and the political economy of health;
- learn more about health services policy; about comprehensive primary health care and about health systems;
- explore the application of a rights-based approach to health issues;
- learn about "development assistance" in health and about the politics of "health sector reform";
- broaden my understanding of the links between the environment and health
- work through the implications of gender relations in relation to health (and other axes of difference) and acquire new insights, skills and strategies addressing these issues;
- learn more about the social determinants of health and the role of the health sector in addressing these; and
- explore the role of meaning and spirituality in activism and social change.
Notes on the pedagogy of activism
The story line which holds the IPHU short course together (including learning objectives and pedagogical strategies)
Preparation Participants should come prepared:
- to describe in some detail an activist project or campaign or movement that they have been directly involved in; to describe in sufficient detail for the strategies, theories and skills of practice to be evident;
- to provide an overall assessment of the health challenges in their country and the status and prospects for PHM;
- to present an account of an episode of teaching and or learning that they have been involved in.
Students should provide an abstract of their activism case study and of their volunteered topic. Students should visit the IPHU website and review all of the pages linked from the Library Page (which form the core of the material for formal presentation and discussion). Students should come prepared to comment on the implications for their own countries of the material covered in the different topics. For example:
- what is the extent of brain drain and what is being done about it?
- what is the role of the WB and IMF in health sector reform?
- what are the implications of the WTO (eg GATS)
- what is the role of the GFATM in own country; access to medicines.
The program for all of IPHU Short Courses is based on the People's Charter for Health (PCH). We explore the meaning of the PCH; analyse the challenges it presents and develop resources and strategies for the struggle for Health For All. Participants should ensure that they are familar with the Charter. Try the PCH Quiz as a way of working systematically through the PCH and reflecting upon what we need to know in order to realise the vision.
Activities IPHU courses involve: lectures, small group discussions, debates, workshops and field trips and follow up study. Resource materials will take the form of hard copy readings, lecture notes and websites. Project Groups The project groups have several purposes. One is simply getting to know each other. But they also provide a space in which to plan for projects which PHM might take up (or on-going PHM projects) which build solidarity and collaboration across national boundaries. More on the project groups Country Groups The country groups (or state/region) provide a place for discussing PHM-building in our own countries. More on the country groups Panel Discussion This is a place in which we can debate questions to which there are no easy answers. We collect questions in advance for the panel's consideration. More on the panel discussions Reports from Practice Focused attention on detailed stories of activist practice. What can we learn from each other? More on the reports from practice
Academic accreditation IPHU short course participants who are enrolled in an MPH and request accreditation of their training as part of their MPH will be required to submit assignments for assessment and will be provided with formal certification regarding the standard of the program and of their achievement. The IPHU short course study program is presented at masters level. The IPHU short course (with assessment) corresponds to one eighth of one full time full year study load. IPHU does not, at this stage, provide full degree programs. It remains the prerogative of the enrolling university to decide whether or not to grant credit for the short course as part of the MPH they offer. Applicants who are contemplating seeking accreditation of IPHU training towards their MPH are advised to consult with the academic authorities of their enrolling university. The IPHU Coordinator would be pleased to provide additional information as required.
