Global Public Health ASS007-2

The case study should consist of 5 clearly labelled sections as follows

1. Introduction to the case study (200 words maximum)
2. The main health issues/challenges in the country (approximately 600 words)
3. A description of the health system in the country (approximately 500 words)
4. An assessment of the progress the country has made on a named health-related sustainable development (SDG) goal (approximately 450 words)
5. An advocacy statement highlighting what the country needs to do to improve its population’s health (approximately 250 words)

The requirement for each section of the case study is noted as follows

A: Introduction

Provide a brief introduction to the chosen country for the case study (e.g., country’s population, relevant WHO region it belongs to and other key useful indicators of note such as life expectancy, demography/age structure of the country’s population, maternal mortality rates and GDP and a summary of the country’s main health challenges).

B: The main health issues/challenges in the country (600 words)

You must choose 3 contemporary public health issues in the chosen country. The three public health issues must focus on 1 communicable disease, 1 non-communicable disease and 1 health issue that is grouped as an accident/intentional or unintentional injury in that country. You must address all these three categories effectively.

For each health issue, you must

1. Describe the scale of the health challenge (e.g., social group that are most affected, mortality rates or DALYs attributable to this issue and any other notable patterns).
2. identify the main risk factors predisposing affected social groups to this issue and
3. discuss how the health issue is tackled by the government or another global health body in that country.

This section B must include at least one relevant illustration of health data (e.g. a chart, table or graph). Data for this section should be based on sound and recent global health data from credible global sources of statistics such as the World Health Organisation, the Institute of Health Metrics data and evaluation website and the ‘Our world in Data’ website. Students may also support discussions from these sources section with relevant peer-reviewed academic sources signposted in the reading list and their own independent study.

Global Public Health ASS007-2

SECTION C: A description of the health system in the country (500 words).

In this section, the student needs to

1. Provide a brief discussion of how the health system is organised at various levels of care and delivers Universal Health coverage to the country’s population (no more than 200 words)
2. The student must choose and clearly identify oneaspect of the WHO building blocks of the country’s health system and write brief points about the following:

• Use a relevant graph/Chart/table from a recent and credible source of global health data to describe trends around an indicator related to this building block. The student could also briefly mention issues related to access, coverage, effectiveness, and/or responsiveness of the health system and reasons for the observed implication, if relevant.

For example, if a student chooses to explore data in the last five years that shows that fewer hospital beds are available for chronically ill patients in a country, (number of hospital beds being a health indicator of the service delivery block of the health system), it can be suggested that service users in that country may be faced with long waiting times to be admitted in hospitals and may therefore overburden A&E services etc. It may however be that increased demand for hospitalization is due to an increasingly ageing population in that country etc.

• Discuss any current initiative(s) by the government or other international organisation to support improved outcomes relating to addressing the issues identified around that indicator. For example, is the government of that country planning to build more hospitals?

This section C requires at least one illustration of health data to be included. Points in this section must be supported from evidence from credible sources of global health data as well as relevant peer-reviewed academic sources signposted in the reading list and sources found through independent study.

SECTION D: Assessing the progress the country has made in reaching a named Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) (450 words)

In this section, students should describe the progress the country has made towards meeting any one of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs). To assess a country’s performance, the student must include relevant graphs or charts on any two targets under the chosen SDG since 2015 to date, to support the discussion for the progress the country has made and describe the trends the data shows.

For example, if a student chooses to explore progress made on SDG5: Gender equality, the student may want to explore percentage increases/decreases and/or other rates in how the country has made progress since 2015 to end all violence against women and girls (target 5.2) and eliminate forced marriages and genital mutilation (target 5.3) using relevant illustrations to support their discussion

Global Public Health ASS007-2