Health Sciences

This course addresses gender and sexuality in healthcare contexts. The course provides a basis for understanding health from interdisciplinary social science perspectives, drawing in the ways gender and sexuality play important roles for understanding and shaping healthcare experiences. Issues around gender, sexualities and health are intimately shaped by social, cultural, political and economic forces; they are contemporary issues with ongoing debates around the globe concerning rights, justice, activism, and access to services, all of which can be examined using the lens of sex and gender. The course is delivered by a multi-disciplinary team of experts within the School of Health in Social Science, and introduces students to social scientific approaches to exploring issues around gender, sexualities and health. The course draws on the sociology of health and illness, as well as gender studies, anthropology, policy and politics, law, and history.

This course covers the rich history and development of traditional Thai medicine, theoretical concepts, types of treatment with herb, massage, herbal sauna, and other curative applications. It covers traditional Thai medicine and health care, and its integration into the country's health care system. It provides a basic knowledge in human anatomy and physiology necessary for Thai massage, its history, benefits and limitations, and steps, postures and the etiquette of Thai massage. The course includes demonstrations. 

This course covers concepts in community health, primary health care, and the health system. It discusses the development of health manpower and identification and visualization of health disparities that exist in the community. Practical sessions in local hospitals and field trips as well as independent research and a group project are included.

This course provides an in-depth understanding of nutritional needs from infancy through older adulthood. Students explore how nutritional requirements evolve across various life stages including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and aging. Topics include physiological changes impacting nutrient metabolism, dietary guidelines for optimal health at each stage, and the role of nutrition in preventing and managing diseases. Students learn to identify practical nutritional challenges and to critically evaluate information and resources to provide evidence-supported suggestions.   

This course introduces the conceptual framework of social determinants of health (SDH) and examines how globalization affects various types of SDH and consequentially influences the health of individuals and populations. Societal and policy-level SDHs are highlighted, focusing on analyses of interventions and solutions to tackle health inequalities. 

A basic understanding of public health and health policy is helpful but not a prerequisite.

This course brings together a range of academic disciplines and literature to give students a broad understanding of drug policy, both international and national. While drug use and policy may be discussed as part of other courses, this is the only course that focuses specifically on drug policy, and the impact it has on society today. Drug policy is becoming increasingly visible as an important component of both health and legal policy. Around the world there are shifts which see drug policy moving to a health matter, and the contradictions that can have in the development and delivery of criminal justice and public health frameworks. The course explores both criminal justice and public health approaches to drug policy, and introduces students to the broader concept of a "public good" approach.

This course introduces students to social theory in medical sociology. It does this by exploring sociological factors that impinge on health status, health chances and health care. It looks at concepts of health and illness, the social context of health and illness as well as changing patterns of health and illness, and the social organization of both formal and informal health care. This also includes a critical analysis of formal Western biomedical approaches to health and health care. A number of theoretical positions are considered ranging from Functionalist, Marxist and neo-Marxist perspectives through to Postmodern, Realist and Critical Realist perspectives and the relevance of these in medicine and health care. These are applied to key substantive areas covered in the course.

This course aims to provide students with a foundational understanding of common brain disorders-such as depression, brain tumors, and Alzheimer’s disease-covering their current status, epidemiology, and underlying pathogenesis. Students will also become familiar with mainstream diagnostic and treatment approaches, while enhancing their awareness of preventive strategies, thereby fostering a more resilient and proactive mindset in facing life.

This course examines the historical and contemporary social determinants of Indigenous wellbeing. Through an exploration of holistic Indigenous health and wellbeing frameworks, students identify a range of successful strategies that facilitate self-determination and transform Indigenous health and wellbeing outcomes. 

This course covers theories of infectious disease control policy and management of the processes of prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery for public health crises related to infectious diseases. 

Via examination of infectious disease control policies and biological knowledge, the course offers an interpretation of infectious diseases and public health crises through the lens of political economy.