FHSU312 Health Promotion and Preventive work

Contents and structure

This course is directed at health promotion and preventive work. Focus is on people, environment, society and the interaction between people, environment and society.

The course starts with an introduction to main concepts and approaches, followed up with two group based projects.

The first project is directed towards preventive work in a labour health context. Focus is on persons movement in relation to their work environment, and the process of making work arenas more safe and healthy. To reach this goal it is necessary to identify and reduce physical and psychosocial risk factors, and increase environmental and personal factors promoting health. (The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, 1986. The Norwegian Act of Working environment, 2005).

The second project deals with physical activity as a tool in health promotion in everyday life. Health promotion is described as the process of enabling people to get increased control over- and improve their health. To reach this goal, it is necessary to identify needs and aspirations, and through motivational work, social- and cultural support and adjustment of the environment, guide people to learning, healthy living and development, in order to cope better within their lives. In this project we work with testing and analyzing physical capacity. How to do the tests right, how to analyze-, and how to use the testresults in motivational work. We also work with how to arrange physical activity to different target groups. (The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, 1986. The Norwegian act of Public Health, 2011, The Norwegian act of Community based health and caring services, 2011

Learning Outcome

A student who has completed the course should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge:

The student...

• has knowledge of the significance of social-, cultural- and structural conditions for public health in everyday life and work life
• has broad knowledge of following factors as approaches in health-promoting and disease-preventing work; physical activity, exercise, health literacy, ergonomics.
• has knowledge of relevant health- and social policy.

Skills:

The student....

• can investigate and assess risk factors, and master methods for following this up systematically
• can test physical capacity, analyze the results and reflect on how the results can be used in motivational work.
• can organize physicla activity for different target groups
• can present physiotherapy knowledge, adapted to different work arenas, and motivate people to use and develop their resources.
• can use technology to promote health and participation, both at individual-, group- and system level

General competence:

The student...

• has insight into how the interaction between physiological processes, personal-, social-, environmental- , cultural and structural conditions affect the individual's health, function, participation and quality of life

• can present knowledge about health-promoting and disease-preventing work to different groups in the population.
• can plan and implement measures that promote good public health in work life and in everyday life
• can plan and implement systematic professional development projects

Entry requirements

The course is open for incoming students from physiotherapy educations / - institutions the education has an agreement with.

Recommended previous knowledge

None

Teaching methods

Lectures that provide summaries of the knowledge base within public health, preventive work, health promotion and methods for developmental project work.

Project work in groups, where the groups work with real challenges in the fields of occupational health.

The project work is presented in seminars and in written report with the intention of integrating, applying and presenting central professional knowledge. Project 2 about testing, adaptation and activity will be presented in groups for the class after the exam.

Compulsory learning activities

None

Assessment

Written project assignment in group (2500 words), project preventive work in work life. (Project 1)

Assessment terms

The grading scale used is passed / not passed.

New exam

When not passed is given, the group can improve their project and hand it in for the new exam.

Examination support material

All

More about examination support material