London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

‘Health Policy: Process and Power’ is a Term 1 MSc module designed to introduce students to different ways of understanding how and why changes in health policy take place. It includes discussion and debate of real-world examples of health policymaking in low, middle and high-income countries, and provides tools and theory to analyse and act in the health policy arena. Students gain skills in policy analysis necessary for engagement in policy change.

Intended learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the module, a student should be able to:

• Review different basic theoretical approaches and concepts used in policy analysis.
• Analyse the political system within which policies are made and the contextual factors that influence policy change.
• Identify the key actors within policy making, and understand some mechanisms of power and influence over policy change.
• Identify key features of the processes of policy identification, formulation implementation and evaluation.
• Plan how to use the policy analysis framework introduced during the module in research on policy and/or decision-making in policy.

Session Content

The module covers the following topics: 

• A basic framework for health policy analysis.
• The different forms of power are influential in policy making. 
• The changing global health policy environment.
• The role of policy actors.
• The implications of the concept of ‘equity’ in health policy.
• The meaning and role of governance and institutions in health policy. 
• Different theories that are useful in policy analysis.
• The political nature of the evidence for policy-making in health. 
• The stages of the policy process (policy identification, formulation, implementation and evaluation).

Mode of delivery

This module is delivered predominantly face-to-face. Where specific teaching methods (lectures, seminars, discussion groups) are noted in this module specification these will be delivered by predominantly face-to-face sessions. There will be a combination of live and interactive activities (synchronous learning) as well as self-directed study (asynchronous learning).

Assessment

The summative assessment for this module is by individual written assessment to be submitted in the final week of term (Week 10, Term 1).

Credits

• CATS: 15
• ECTS: 7.5

Module specification

For full information regarding this module please see the module specification.