In this course we consider when our health policies support the highest standards of medical care, consistent with the latest discoveries in medical research. We examine the ways in which debates around ethics, effectiveness and efficiency shape global and national health policy. We begin by exploring the most important advancements in global health policy over the past two decades. We then assess Canada’s experience in providing health care, identifying lessons for national policy reform and for Canada’s role as a leader in global health research and policy. We explore a range of health challenges including universal health care, anti-microbial drug resistance, HIV AIDS, tuberculosis, reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, cardiovascular care, oncology, environmental health, indigenous health, violence against women and mental health. Theories will be drawn from philosophy, theology, and ecology, and will include Western and non-Western approaches to living in harmony with one’s environment. Key themes may include speciesism – the idea that human needs are the most important – as well as overpopulation, extinction, vegetarianism, and responsible resource management. The course will also look at how social policy shapes human choices and whether sustainability initiatives should be pursued through the public or private sector. The course will also discuss the spiritual connection between humans and the environment and how society can be organized to promote access to nature in urban communities. The course challenges students to apply the scientific method to environmental monitoring, research and problem solving through project design, data collection and analysis. The course also emphases information literacy, skills to distinguish science from pseudo-science, and considerations around representation of environmental science in the media.
In this course we consider when our health policies support the highest standards of medical care, consistent with the latest discoveries in medical research. We examine the ways in which debates around ethics, effectiveness and efficiency shape global and national health policy. We begin by exploring the most important advancements in global health policy over the past two decades. We then assess Canada’s experience in providing health care, identifying lessons for national policy reform and for Canada’s role as a leader in global health research and policy. We explore a range of health challenges including universal health care, anti-microbial drug resistance, HIV AIDS, tuberculosis, reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, cardiovascular care, oncology, environmental health, indigenous health, violence against women and mental health. Theories will be drawn from philosophy, theology, and ecology, and will include Western and non-Western approaches to living in harmony with one’s environment. Key themes may include speciesism – the idea that human needs are the most important – as well as overpopulation, extinction, vegetarianism, and responsible resource management. The course will also look at how social policy shapes human choices and whether sustainability initiatives should be pursued through the public or private sector. The course will also discuss the spiritual connection between humans and the environment and how society can be organized to promote access to nature in urban communities. The course challenges students to apply the scientific method to environmental monitoring, research and problem solving through project design, data collection and analysis. The course also emphases information literacy, skills to distinguish science from pseudo-science, and considerations around representation of environmental science in the media.
