Foundations of Public Health Practice: The Public Health Approach

The Public Health Approach course forms part of the Foundations of Public Health Practice specialisation at Imperial College London's Global Master of Public Health. This course was developed by a team of practitioners and academics who have combined decades of practical experience in public health with deep academic knowledge. Learners will immerse themselves in the world of practice public health through short video lectures, interviews with practitioners, and a variety of interactive activities.

This course is for newcomers to public health. It consists of four modules that will take four weeks to complete. Learners will be familiarized with the principles, origins and ethics of public healthcare practice. For those with more experience, there is important foundational material. The term "Public Health Approach" is widely used to describe an upstream, preventive, values-driven, evidence-based approach to improving the health of the population. Learners will be able to identify and describe a variety of public health issues using the language and references of the public-health profession by the end of the course. This course will provide the foundation for the next courses. Learners will be introduced the public health toolkit that includes health needs assessment and evaluation. Then, they will dive deeper into health protection and behaviour change.