Louise is Programme Director for the BSc in Population Health and Medical Sciences at Swansea University Medical School (SUMS), lecturing in Medical Psychology, Health Psychology and Mental Health across both the Population Health degree and the BSc in Applied Medical Sciences. Louise has over 15 years’ experience in multidisciplinary applied health research from a clinical perspective, working with a range of individuals within the NHS and across private practice.
The module aims to provide a student with an understanding of data and information. It will examine what information is, how it is collected, manipulated, presented and interpreted and why data driven decision making is a much more subjective process than it might appear. The primary aim is to provide a strong foundation of ideas that will properly prepare students for further study. The secondary aim is provide some of the skills necessary to manipulate and manage data.
This module introduces students to various academic and practical skills required for study in Higher Education. This module will provide students with the skills to work safely within a laboratory environment, understanding key health and safety issues (from risk assessments to COSHH forms). Students will also be provided with a range of laboratory skills, such as accurate pipetting, standard curve construction, spectrophotometry, and the ability to perform technical/biological replicas for data accuracy. This module will develop foundational data analysis and mathematic skills associated with laboratory research. Finally, students will be provided with a range of academic skills on literature searching, referencing and plagiarism, communicating information, presenting, and writing. Through a combination of workshops and practical sessions, students will gain insights into various skills that will be useful throughout their studies at Swansea University and beyond.
The module aims to provide an introduction to the way in which psychologists study human behaviour. Students will be introduced to the dominant theoretical approaches within Psychology in order to understand how each approach studies and explains behaviour differently. Students will consider different explanations of the causes and treatment of various mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviours. Students will learn some of the key principles of behaviour analysis and how they can be applied to behavioural medicine and health behaviours. Students will attend two seminars to hone their critical thinking and discussion skills. Seminar one will involve discussing of the advantages and disadvantages of how we diagnose mental health conditions. Seminar two will discuss some of the challenges of implementing contingency management interventions to treat addiction, and whether we should reward abstinent behaviour.
This module is designed to provide the foundational knowledge necessary to develop a deeper understanding of the historical context and antecedents for population health. It will address the structure, stakeholders, and processes of local, national and international health systems. An examination of the historical events and social, political, economic and demographic forces will help to contextualise the challenges faced by health systems stakeholders. Topics will cover both organisational and individual perspectives of population health and will serve as a foundation for further modules.
Communities now play a key role in improving and sustaining good health and the delivery of care. This has led to the development of a new field within medical education and practice called Community Medicine. Community Medicine is often considered synonymous with Preventative and Social Medicine (PSM), Public Health, and Community Health because of a shared concern with the prevention of disease and promotion of health and wellbeing. This module introduces students to the wide range of approaches encompassed within Community Medicine. These include preventative, promotive, curative and rehabilitative approaches aimed at improving population health through community-based health and care.
This module will build upon knowledge acquired in PM137 Introduction to Medical Psychology with regard to mental health by exploring and applying contemporary research into the treatment of these conditions. Students will learn about third wave psychological interventions (such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy,Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Compassion Focussed Therapy) as a way of treating mental health problems. Students will then apply this treatment knowledge to a fictitious case study as part of the written coursework assessment. In this module students will be introduced to the field of Health Psychology including some key models of health behaviour, psychological aspects of illness (for example the doctor-patient relationship, non-compliance with treatment), psychological aspects of pain, and psychological aspects of stress.
Population Health Management (PHM) is concerned with the organisation and management of healthcare delivery systems in a manner that makes it more clinically effective, more cost effective, and safer. This module examines established Population Health Management approaches and the strategies required to create a balance between the often competing interests of clinicians, funding bodies, managers and patients.
This module aims to answer the question `does having a healthy mind translate to having a healthy body'? It explores the multiple associations between mental health and physical conditions that significantly impact people¿s quality of life, demands on health care and other services, and wider societal consequences. The module also explores contemporary issues, debates and influences on the prevention of mental health conditions and the promotion of well-being.
This module introduces students to the philosophical underpinnings, and practical applications of population health research. It has been designed to enable students to develop a real-world understanding of a range of epidemiological and qualitative research methodologies used to investigate population health problems, and an appreciation of the importance of ethics when conducting population health research in practice.
This module builds upon PM-269 Population Health and the art of research 1 and is designed to provide students with the opportunity to further develop their research skills by undertaking data analysis and interpretation of the results of a small-scale research study. Students will also gain an insight into the mechanisms through which research findings can be disseminated to the scientific community, and the importance of engaging the public in research.
The aim of this module is to provide a capstone experience to students¿ learning, through participating in their own enquiry-based research project, with guidance from an academic supervisor. The project may be laboratory or non-laboratory based, but it will always involve a research question that is drawn from the literature, and focused on a topic relevant to the life sciences. It will ask a research question and involve the critical analysis of research findings. Students will refine their oral and written communication skills to a graduate level through an oral presentation and dissertation on their research findings and conclusions.
Reports of mental health issues are growing rapidly across the globe. It is within this context that Mental Health Literacy (MHL) has evolved as a distinct component of Health Promotion. MHL focuses on understanding how to obtain and maintain positive mental health; understanding mental disorders and their treatments; decreasing stigma related to mental disorders; and, enhancing help-seeking efficacy (i.e. knowing when and where to seek help and developing competencies designed to improve one¿s mental health care and self-management capabilities). Mental Health Literacy is fundamental to improving a person¿s mental health outcomes, decreasing health inequities in populations, reducing the burden on health and social care services, and to aid the development of preventative, proactive health policy. Mental health literacy is also an important empowerment tool as it increases people¿s resilience and control over their mental health and increases confidence in help-seeking behaviour. For students wishing to pursue careers in medicine or healthcare, an enhanced awareness of Mental Health Literacy will be beneficial for their own mental health, and that of their patients, family, friends, carers and co-workers.
This module enables students to develop a global perspective on population health and recognise emerging and re-emerging population health issues that are paramount in High Income Countries (HICs) and Low to Middle Income Countries (LMICs). The module takes a multidisciplinary perspective, and integrates new ideas, theories and empirical evidence from population health, medicine, demography, epidemiology and social sciences in order to examine specific population health problems as they relate to pandemics, natural disasters, conflict, poverty and sustainable population growth. It considers the political, economic and social dimensions of global health problems, and their influences on health outcomes and health services. Analysis of these topics will centre around the strategies of the UN Millennium Development Goals and the post-2015 development agenda (i.e. UN Sustainable Development Goals).
