Admission requirements
This course can only be taken as part of the minor European Approaches to Societal Challenges.
Description
This course aims to provide students with an in-depth, interdisciplinary examination of the governance of health in Europe, focusing on the European Union as a major health actor. Moving beyond the traditional view of health as a matter reserved for the national Welfare State, students will learn how globalisation affects health in various ways, as well as the promises and challenges of governance beyond the national level.
Students will examine the emergence of health as a topic for governmental regulation from a historical perspective. The course addresses the diversity of health in Europe, both in terms of the state of health and burden of disease, as well as from the perspective of the healthcare and social insurance systems that have been put in place. Particular attention will be paid to (i) health inequalities: how disease and ill-health affect different segments of the population differently based on socio-economic, gender, and other social variables; and (ii) digitization, focusing on data management, interoperability, ethics, and the implementation of digital technologies in healthcare systems.
The course focuses on the European Union as a major health actor—a field in which its powers are limited but its influence is steadily growing. Students will become familiar with the basic legal and institutional structures that underpin EU action in health and will gain an understanding of the various mechanisms through which the EU influences national health systems. They will also be provided with an overview of the EU’s main health policies, including its role on the global stage. Finally, the course will address the COVID-19 pandemic and the transformative role it has played in EU health law and policy, while considering possible future scenarios for the governance of health in Europe.
Course objectives
Objectives of the course
At the end of the course, students will:
Understand the basic concepts and foundations of public health as a discipline
Know the main public health challenges faced by European societies
Understand the relevance of the EU as a health actor
Describe the EU’s main health policies
Achievement levels
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
Present orally on a topic relevant to public health in Europe
Express, in writing, a reasoned opinion on health governance in Europe
Schedule
The timetables are available through MyTimetable (see the button in the upper right corner).
Teaching method
The class is based on weekly sessions of two hours.
5 sessions will be taught by the coordinator of the course, and 2 by guest-lecturers from other faculties.
Each session consists of a lecture and in-class discussion on the basis of the mandatory readings and the presentation(s) by students.
Assessment method
Oral presentation (%25)
Individual or in groups depending on the number of enrolled students
10 minutes presentation
25% of total grade
Re-sit not possible
Final assignment (%75)
3-hours written exam
Multiple choice questions (10 pts) and one essay question (10 pts)
75% of total grade
Re-sit possible
Resit, review & feedback
Students who have passed the exam may retake the final written assessment of the course.
Reading list
The prescribed reading materials will be available on Brightspace before the course starts.
Registration
See general information about the minor.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer(s) (listed in the right information bar). For questions about enrolment, contact the Student Services Centre: ssc@leiden.edu.