Health Sciences

This course explores public and personal health infrastructure with a focus on Egypt. It includes an optional service-learning component in which students become aware of their role in community health issues. The course discusses the effect of cultural and social-economic conditions on public health, community and governmental services to protect and improve the health of populations, and methods of transmission and prevention of selected diseases. It considers current and emerging health concerns in the region and worldwide, preventive measures for current and emerging health concerns, and how health issues impact society. It also practices efficiently writing and presenting health issues to the public.

 

This course examines concepts and perspectives in mental health and distress, including social perspectives and service-user-based knowledge, with regard to issues of human rights and social justice. This course includes historical perspectives; ideologies of institutional and community care; key concepts in mental health; social and intersectional perspectives; service-user/survivor knowledge; epistemic and social injustice; Mad studies; and human rights in mental health.

This course covers critical food safety issues in Taiwan, from foodborne chemicals; foodborne micro-organisms; health behavior policies; climate change and food safety/security; food fraud and terrorist attacks; genetically modified and emerging foods, to regulatory tools related to food safety. It analyzes contemporary issues in food safety from different perspectives via dialogue and critical thinking.  

This course explores social, cultural, economic, and structural factors influencing individual and population health risks and outcomes beyond predisposed biological factors and access to healthcare. It adopts a multidisciplinary approach to critically examine the complex emerging public health problems, their causes, and potential solutions. Students engage in contemporary technological, ethical, political, and cultural debates in health, healing, and well-being. Through the analysis of these factors and the development of strategies to address them, students gain the knowledge to promote health, and develop critical insights into health equity and strategies to address social factors for improved health for all, for a just society.

This course covers the practice of medical nutrition therapy for various disease states, including gastrointestinal tract disorders, hepatobiliary and pancreatic disorders, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, pulmonary disease, anemia, and genetic metabolic disorders. Upon completion of this course, students are able to 1. Understand the etiology, pathogenesis, and clinical manifestations of various diseases, 2. Identify the role of medical nutrition therapy in the prevention or treatment of selected diseases, and 3. Apply principles of medical nutrition therapy to the care of patients with selected diseases. 

This course examines health and illness from a cultural perspective. Specifically, we will analyze the social meanings associated with health and illness, medical knowledge production, medical decision-making, and global health in cross-cultural contexts. The students will have a chance to delve into issues related to the social processes of framing illness, the medicalization of life, the complexity and uncertainty surrounding medical decisions, and the cultural aspects of health practices across the globe.

This course analyzes the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health in society. There have been consequences of the pandemic for mental health in the human population. Considering the potential scale of this problem, there is growing need for medicine to integrate knowledge from related subjects, such as psychology, criminology, psychotherapy, and neuroscience, to precisely understand the mechanisms of ill health. This course brings together the discoveries of science with the life stories behind diagnoses to clarify the mechanisms that drive mental health symptoms. In the book, The Myth of Normal, Dr Gabor Maté makes the claim that society is built on a hidden assumption of generational trauma. Trauma disrupts the connection between mind and body. This psychophysiological problem can be diagnosed by doctors as physical and mental health conditions. While diagnostic labels help individuals understand mental health problems to an extent, the individual remains a member of society and its many challenges. Therefore, this course draws upon research taking place at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health to understand resilience in the context of different challenges, such as adolescence, socioeconomic deprivation and war. The course illustrates the mechanisms by which life experiences impact the mind, including the impact of the pandemic on the disconnect between mind and body.

The Czech Republic is known for its rich cultural heritage, and its cuisine is an integral part of its identity. This course examines the historical, cultural, and social influences that have shaped Czech cuisine, and how this cuisine reflects the country’s culture and values. In addition to exploring the traditional Czech cuisine, its ingredients, and the methods used in preparing them, the course analyzes their nutritional value and impact on the overall health of the population, looks into recent food and consumption trends, food marketing, tourism, and sustainability. Throughout the course, students engage in critical thinking and analysis, as well as hands-on activities such as food preparation and field trips.

Explore the social, political, economic, and cultural elements that explain global health disparities. The course introduces the concepts of globalization and global health, illustrate the global burden of disease, and by doing so, deepen understanding of the inequities and inequalities between and within countries and why we think they exist. The main global health stakeholders and ´global health´ governance and explore diverse science paradigms that have dominated the way we analyze and comprehend the process of being healthy and ill, as well as how we approach global health issues. Review concepts such as determinants of health vs determination of health (a Latin-American theoretical construct), decolonialism and equitable discourses in global health. The course is delivered by global health experts at BSMS and our independent consultant Maria Cristina Quevedo-Gomez.

This course studies the natural healing power of forests and gardening environments. It covers the importance, hazards, and risks, as well as the health effects and benefits of forests, wood, and gardens.