L1: International Health: Key Concepts and Approaches

This unit covers historical, social, political, and economic forces influencing health, illness, disability, poverty, inequality, trade, foreign aid, SDGs, population displacement, climate change, and food security.

LO1: Understand global burden of disease, health priorities, approaches, and shaping factors.
LO2: Recognize impact of structural inequalities on population health.
LO3: Understand contemporary issues (e.g., Covid-19, global mobility, humanitarian crisis, food security, climate change).
LO4: Appreciate development assistance and humanitarian aid significance and limitations.
LO5: Examine international health regulations, analyze data, and development priorities.
LO6: Understand importance of local context and participation in policy formulation.
LO7: Work individually and in interdisciplinary groups to solve global health challenges.
LO8: Reflect on disciplinary assumptions and knowledge in health contexts.

WHO Definition: "Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
Health inequality: Illness and death are social phenomena, greatly affected by social context (how people live, work, recreate, wealth disparity).

Public Health: Science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through organized community efforts. Focuses on health issues within a particular country/community, requiring national cooperation.
International Health: Application of public health principles to problems in low and middle-income countries; influenced by global/local forces. Focuses on health issues in low- and middle-income countries, usually requiring bi-lateral cooperation.
Global Health: Health problems/issues that transcend national boundaries, influenced by other countries, best addressed by cooperative actions. Focuses on issues transcending boundaries, requiring multi-lateral cooperation.
Key Differences:
- Geographical Reach: Public (particular country/community), International (low/middle-income countries), Global (transcend national boundaries).
- Cooperation Level: Public (national), International (bi-lateral), Global (multi-lateral).
- Key Actors: Public (government departments), International (international aid agencies, government departments), Global (international aid agencies, government departments, non-state actors).
- Health Equity Objective: Public (within a nation/community), International (between countries), Global (among nations and all people).

Globalization: Varying definitions exist, viewed as a natural force or a social force. For indigenous people, it began with European invasion, leading to cultural destruction, new diseases, and population devastation.
Parameters: Globalization creates an environment for the free flow of:
- Goods and services across national frontiers.
- Capital.
- Technology among nation-states.
- Labor between different countries.
Liberalization: Relaxation of government restrictions in economic and social policies (e.g., removal of tariffs, subsidization, minimal trade restrictions).
Privatization: Involving the private sector in ownership or operation of state-owned or public undertakings. Objectives include increasing efficiency, reducing deficit financing, strengthening industrial management, earning foreign currency, and optimum resource use.

Biomedical Model: Health primarily a function of the healthcare system and individual risk factors (genetics, lifestyle). Focuses on individuals, curative approach, includes preventative measures like vaccines and screening.
Behavioural Model: Health/illness as a consequence of individual actions and beliefs (e.g., poor lifestyle choices). Focuses on modifying personal conduct through education, counseling, and incentives.
Political Economy Model: Healthcare as part of larger societal forces, emphasizing power/resource distribution in shaping social determinants of health. Views health as a function of determinants linked to individual, household, workplace, social class, and global political/economic context. This is central to the course.
Sociological Perspectives: Holistic view integrating sociological imagination (where private issues become public, e.g., poverty, violence).

A multi-level framework showing the interconnectedness of factors affecting population health:
- Political and Economic Structures & Ideologies: National and international levels (e.g., governance, power distribution, trade agreements, financial instruments).
- Social Policies and Programs: Local and national levels (e.g., taxation, social welfare, health/education systems, work conditions).
- Living Conditions: Household and local levels (e.g., access to clean water, nutrition, housing, transportation, healthcare, education).
- Personal Characteristics and Actions: Individual and household levels (e.g., genetic factors, health behaviors/lifestyle).