Working for health
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| 6 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| Examination | No residential school |
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Summary
What does your health mean to you? What features in society affect it? This course will appeal to anyone – lay or professional – who has an interest in health issues such as the influence of stress, housing and employment on health, the role of complementary medicine, the debate about the relative importance of individual lifestyles and wider public health concerns, and the implication of changes in the NHS. You will explore everyday aspects of health in different cultural, historical and policy settings; consider some radical ways of enhancing health and health care; appreciate different models of health; and review your own and alternative standpoints.
Course content
Health is increasingly ‘everybody’s business’. K203 will provide you with insight into the debates that surround human health, and:
- encourage you to develop knowledge and understanding of medical, psychological, sociological, political and cultural perspectives on health
- help you to explore and review your own and alternative standpoints and values in health work
- enable you to reflect on your own practice, or other health-related activities, in the light of different models of health
- develop your ability to make critical analyses of health policy and practice in relation to different models of health
- encourage you to reflect on the risks and tensions that appear as health moves onto wider public agendas.
There are five blocks of study.
Visions and values of health work introduces the idea that health is everywhere, and examines different accounts of health. The rise and dominance of the medical model of health is explored, and challenges to it are analysed. We debate the coexistence of different health accounts, and explore the implication of different visions of health for knowledge and practice. The block concludes with a study of childbirth that contextualises and debates the visions and values of health already discussed.
Working for health in everyday life explores the relationships between everyday experiences and health. The block begins by examining body image and maintenance, and goes on to look at the role of positive and negative life events, and in particular stress, in promoting and maintaining health, and at ways in which relationships determine health and well-being. The conditions of life (such as housing, employment) and their effects on health are considered, and the block concludes by critically examining ways in which individual lifestyles are a focus for promoting health and well-being.
Exploring health and illness care extends the discussion of structural and theoretical concepts of health by looking at their relationship to the practice of health and illness care within a social model of health. Ways in which individuals take care of themselves are examined, as well as concepts of caring, curing and prevention. We draw on examples from a wide range of acute and chronic illness to explore issues of gender, class, culture and age-sensitive care in professional practice. The block ends by reviewing the themes of self-health, caring, curing and prevention in a framework of mental health.
Towards a social model of health policy and provision looks at health care systems in the NHS, particularly primary and secondary care and the interface with the ‘new’ public health. We ask how the participation of users affects policymaking and the provision of health care, and we explore public health initiatives (health action zones, health improvement programmes, healthy living centres) and their role in wider social policy agendas. After analysing the unequal distribution of health, health care and social exclusion, we assess the strategies to tackle inequality in health. Finally, transport serves as a means for examining the health implications of public policy decision making, and debating the need for inter-sectoral and inter-agency working for health.
Health on wider agendas begins by analysing the role of complementary and alternative medicine and its relationship to the NHS. Global issues in the wider international community are also explored, and the course concludes by looking forward to future health work, examining some recent developments, including technological innovations, that challenge traditional health care practice.
Entry
K203 is a Level 2 course and you need to have knowledge of the subject area, obtained either through Level 1 study (our Level 1 course An introduction to health and social care (K101) (or the discontinued courses K100 or KZX100) would be ideal preparation) or by doing equivalent work at another university. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
You will receive guidance of how to get started online in your first course mailing. This will provide you with information on using your computer for OU study and working with the Computing Guide. If you have time before the course starts, you can work through this and explore all the online services available to you.
Qualifications
K203 is an optional course in our
- BA/BSc (Honours) Health and Social Care (B18)
- BA/BSc (Honours) Health Studies (B17)
- BA/BSc (Honours) Nursing Studies (B47)
- BSc (Honours) Nursing Practice (B53)
- Diploma of Higher Education in Health and Social Care (E40)
- Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care (G05)
- Diploma in Health and Social Care (D10)
It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is equally appropriate to a BA or BSc. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
Excluded combinations
Sometimes you will not be able to count a course towards a qualification if you have already taken another course with similar content. To check any excluded combinations relating to this course, visit our excluded combination finder or check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service before registering.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Large print versions of the course materials can be provided on request. Other alternative formats of the course materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
Course books, other printed materials, audio CDs and DVD. You will have access to a course website through which teaching and library resources are available. Electronic versions of most of the printed course materials are provided on the course website.
You will need
A CD player, a DVD player.
The audio-visual components of this course are delivered on a DVD that will play on a standard DVD player and television. If you want to view this on a computer, it will need a DVD-ROM drive and software for viewing DVDs.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual.
Materials to buy
Set books
- Heller, T et al. (ed) Working for Health, Sage £22.99 - ISBN 9780761969983
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the course material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. We may also be able to offer group tutorials or day schools that you are encouraged to attend. Where your tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You can choose whether to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) on paper or online through the eTMA system. You may want to use the eTMA system for some of your assignments but submit on paper for others. This is entirely your choice.
Professional recognition
This course can make a significant contribution to the continuing professional development of nursing practitioners and will be mapped against the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in October 2009. We expect it to be available once a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
An undergraduate course in Health and Social Care.
Study explained
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Student Reviews
I think, the title reflects the content of the course perfectly. This course explores the breadth and depth of current ...
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This was my fifth course with the OU. As with the others I found it both challenging and stimulating. K203 ...
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