Introduction to Social Medicine and Global Health

Recommended Prerequisites

Reading and understanding of English language.

Teaching Methods

Lectures, with slide projection.

Asssistance to videos and movies, related to the programatic contents.

Class discussions on some topics of the program.

Learning Outcomes

The student should be able to acknowledge the importance of a social and cultural perspective about health and illness; make a critical analysis of biomedicine and keep a critical regard about alternative theoretical models; verify the contributions of social epidemiology in the context of the epidemiologic transition; reflect on the so-called "solid facts"; discuss basic aspects related to the social determinants of health; have basic notions about the impact of local and global inequalities in health; know the basics of social stress; be familiar with concepts of illness experience, illness narratives, illness behavior and sick role behavior; consider and discuss notions of social stigma and medicalization; acknowledge the different sectors of heath care, including alternative and complementary medicines. Have notions about the social dimensions of chronic disease and learn basic concepts related to global mental health. 

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Social medicine and global health. Historical and conceptual aspects.

Social epidemiology. Health and socioeconomic status. Health inequalities. Work conditions. Social networks. Social capital and social cohesion. Health related behaviors and social context. How social conditions get "under the skin". The "solid facts".

The social determinants of health. Chronic stress. The life course. Scial support and social relationships. Poverty and social exclusion. Gender and health. Neighbourhoods, housing and health.

Interactions professional-patient in social and cultural context. The sectors of health care.

Ilness experience and illness behavior. Explanatory models and illness narratives.

Chronic disease, disability, stigma and discrimination. Sociological and anthropological dimensions.

Global health and global mental health. Suicide and parasuicide, transnational perspectives.

Human rights and social justice. Social suffering and structural violence.

Head Lecturer(s)

Manuel João Rodrigues Quartilho

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Synthesis work: 20.0%
Exam: 80.0%

Bibliography

Berkman, L; Kawachi, I; Glymour, M (2014) Social Epidemiology. Oxford University Press

Marmot, M. and Wilkinson, R. (2006). Social Determinants of Health. Oxford.

Cockerham, W. (2010). The New Blackwell Companion to Medical Sociology. Wiley-Blackwell

Helman, C (2007). Culture, Health and Illness. Hodder Arnold.

Nettleton, S.2013). The Sociology of Health and Illness.Polity.

Marmot, M. (2004). The Status Syndrome. Bloomsbury.

Cockerman, W. (2007). Social Causes of Health and Disease. Polity

Quartilho, M. Cultura, Medicina e Psiquiatria (2001). Quarteto

Knifton, L., Quinn, N., Eds. (2013). Public Mental Health. Global Perspectives. Open University Press.

Patel, V., Minas, H., Cohen, A., Prince, M. (2014). Global Mental Health. Principles and Practice. Oxford.

Stuckler, D., Siegel, K., Eds (2011). Sick Societies. Responding to the Global Challenge of Chronic Disease. Oxford.

Artigos e documentos a disponibilizar, ao longo do semestre. Web.