Overview

Topics may include:

• How health behaviours are shaped by forms of belonging, such as families and communities • Different ways to understand care • Cultural differences between professionals and how these affect teamwork and care for patients and clients

The module aims to present a contextual and comparative approach that illuminates the social, cultural and political dimensions of healthcare issues. The module will include case studies from Wales to illustrate.

Assessment Strategy

Threshold: D+ to D- To achieve a ‘pass’ on the module, students will be required to achieve a minimum of D- grade which requires them to demonstrate a basic appreciation of the nature of culture and its role in understanding and improving health and social care practice. In doing so they will acknowledge and explore ways in which beliefs and practices about health vary across different cultures and are influenced by social, religious, political, historical, and economic factors.

Good: B+ to B- To achieve this grade the student will need to demonstrate a detailed understanding and good depth and breadth of knowledge around the nature of culture and its role in understanding and improving health and social care practice. They will engage critically with some of the important ways in which beliefs and practices about health vary across different cultures and are influenced by social, religious, political, historical, and economic factors.

Excellent: A* to A- To achieve an ‘excellent pass’ on the module, students will be required to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the nature of culture and its role in understanding and improving health and social care practice. In doing so they will critically evaluate key ways in which beliefs and practices about health vary across different cultures and are influenced by social, religious, political, historical, and economic factors.

Satisfactory level: C+ to C- To achieve this grade on the module, students will be required to demonstrate a good appreciation of the nature of culture and its role in understanding and improving health and social care practice. Students will analyse some of the ways in which beliefs and practices about health vary across different cultures and are influenced by social, religious, political, historical, and economic factors.

Learning Outcomes

• On completion of the module students will be able to critically discuss key concepts, methods and topics in the anthropology of healthcare.

• On completion of the module students will be able to define and critically engage with the concept of culture.

• On completion of the module students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the actual and potential applications of anthropological knowledge, for example, supporting advocacy, and informing service provision.

• On completion of the module students will be able to synthesise different levels of analysis, for example, patient experience, the social organisation of health care, and the broader economic and political context.