| Title: |
Climate change and health |
| Keywords: |
Human development
Health Policy (incl. advocacy)
Globalisation
Economic development
Climate
|
| Country: |
United Kingdom
|
| Course coordinator: |
Ilan Kelman
Hugh Montgomery
|
| Date start: |
2020-02-03 |
| Date end: |
2020-02-21 |
| About duration and dates: |
3 weeks and 2 days 2 days pre-reading 2 weeks face to face 1 week assessment preparation |
| Classification: |
advanced optional
|
| Mode of delivery: |
Face to face
|
|
Course location:
CIHD, UCL, London |
|
| ECTS credit points: |
6 ECTS credits
|
SIT:
150 SIT (36 contact hours, 114 self-study hours)
20 hours lectures; 16 hours seminars; 10 hours project work; 74 hours private reading; 30 hours essay writing |
|
| Language: |
English
|
Description:
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
• Define the scientific basis for climate change and explain the basic concepts.
• Critically analyse key climate change concepts and drivers.
• Differentiate between human-driven (anthropogenic) and natural (non-anthropogenic) factors contributing to climate change.
• Differentiate between positive and negative consequences of climate change.
• Describe and evaluate consequences of climate change for human health.
• Identify means by which climate change science, policy, and impacts are communicated and disseminated.
• Evaluate the impacts that climate change has, and is likely to have, on the determinants of human health, including;
• Appraise frameworks for managing the health impacts globally.
• Critically evaluate a range of strategies for and barriers to dealing with climate change, including mitigation, adaptation, and their connections. |
|
Assessment Procedures:
100% Summative assessment: A 2,000-word essay written on one of a four-six fixed questions on themes included in the module (questions change from year to year), requiring the demonstration of the use of evidence from peer-reviewed and grey literature as well as independent thinking. 100% of total mark. Due on the last day of the course.
Sample Essay Questions
1. Climate change presents a huge health opportunity. Discuss.
2. Discuss the positive and negative security implications of climate change’s health impacts.
3. Recommend three top priority actions to address the health impacts of climate change for policymakers in either Asia, Africa, or Latin America. Defend your choices with evidence and policy relevance.
4. Discuss the statement "The poor will suffer most as a result of climate change". If true, to what extent does a country's wealth make a difference?
5. Write a case study for project funding (up to £1,000,000) to study one aspect of managing the health effects of climate change. (Your statement should include background, Aims and Objectives, Methods, Data Analysis Plan, and Justification for Resources and References).
6. Describe how climate change does and does not influence human migration and migrant’s health.
Students who fail the assessment have one chance to re-submit the assessment. In cases of plagiarism, special conditions may apply to this rule. |
|
Content:
The module explores all facets of the health impacts of climate change, such that a grasp of the field in its entirety will be gained.
• Climate science
• Communicating climate science
• Health and climate change
• Economics of mitigating climate change
• Vulnerability and resilience
• Islanders, islands, and climate change
• Politics, health, and climate change
• Gender, health, and climate change
• Climate change, international diplomacy, and security
• Ecosystem health and climate change
• Law, health, and climate change
• Population, health, and climate change
• The role of the health system including a case study in developing sustainability in the health sector (Making the UK National Health Service carbon friendly) |
|
Methods:
There will be 11 x 3-hour sessions of interactive lectures and seminars for the first two weeks of the course, led by experts in the field, both from UCL and external speakers.
In the final 1.5-hour teaching slot of each week, students will be expected to contribute to and debate in panels, with experts at the front giving their views, but students challenging them. The first panel will be a ‘solutions panel’ and the end will be ‘Climate change: The good, the bad, and the ugly’.
Students are expected to conduct relevant private reading and self-study outside of sessions, to inform discussions in the sessions.
The third week will be devoted to private study and assessment. Students are expected to complete in-depth study of the literature related to their essay topics, to inform their written essay.
Moodle is used as an information portal for participants and source for reading materials. |
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Prerequisites:
English proficiency: Good Level in any of the English language qualifications accepted by UCL for postgraduate studies with 6.5 (or equivalent) in each subtest.
See: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/apply/english-language/index |
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Attendance:
12-30 students |
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Selection:
The number of available tropEd places on each module in the academic year is normally determined in October. TropEd applicants wishing to secure a place on modules can apply before this period and be placed on a waiting list for the module. Applicants will be notified as soon as it is confirmed if places are available on the module(s). Please note that applicants must pay the course fees in order to obtain a confirmed offer of a place on a module, and places are awarded on a first-paid, first-admitted basis. Full course fee refunds will be provided to paid-up applicants if there are no places on the module(s) for which they applied, or if the module is cancelled. |
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Fees:
GBP:850 – The fee in Euros will vary relative to the exchange rate at the time of enrollment. |
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|
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Major changes since initial accreditation:
The course coordinator has changed due to the departure from UCL to WHO of the main previous course coordinator, Prof. Anthony Costello.
Each year, the course objectives, content, and readings were updated to reflect the latest developments in science and policy. Major revisions have been enacted in all aspects of the course from 2015 to 2016 due to the publication of the Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change in June 2015. The new objectives, content, and readings reflect this commission. |
|
Student evaluation:
In each of the four years, students overwhelming enjoyed the module and felt it to be useful. Each year, only 0, 1, or 2 students gave less-than-good evaluations. The balance of the module between teaching time and private study time also received high ratings consistently. Some individual lecturers were given top ratings by all students while the average rating for any individual did not fall below 'Good'. Many constructive suggestions were provided throughout the years which have been taken into account for revising the module.
• "I thought this module was brilliant. The topics covered were wide ranging and fascinating, the lectures offered many opportunities for discussion, all the lecturers were all extremely engaging."
• "The people who came in to talk to us were so passionate about their work! I would recommend this module to everyone!"
• "Really and truly enjoyed this module." |
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Lessons learned:
We will make reading lists and materials available to students at least 1 week in advance of each reading discussion session. |
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tropEd accreditation:
Accredited in September 2010. Re-accredited in Basel, September 2015. This accreditation is valid until September 2020. |
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Remarks:
The climate change and health module offered by UCL Institute for Global Health is distinctive because it is multidisciplinary, drawing from knowledge by experts in their fields from departments across UCL, plus very high profile external speakers who are world leaders in their subject, for example Prof. Chris Rapley CBE, Prof. Mark Maslin, and Prof Judith Stephenson. Prof Hugh Montgomery co-chaired the Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change (published in June 2015), and many course tutors (including Dr Ilan Kelman) were co-authors.
Link to UCL Lancet Commission paper:
http://www.thelancet.com/commissions/climate-change |
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| Email Address: |
igh.adminpg@ucl.ac.uk |
| Date Of Record Creation: |
2012-01-11 23:01:36 (W3C-DTF) |
| Date Of Record Release: |
2012-01-12 05:13:54 (W3C-DTF) |
| Date Record Checked: |
2017-09-12 (W3C-DTF) |
| Date Last Modified: |
2022-03-02 23:35:23 (W3C-DTF) |
