SP232      One Unit
Health and Social Care Policy

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

Availability

The course equips students with the concepts, tools and knowledge to understand the challenges of health and social care policy in the 21st century, in the differing contexts of the UK and other rich countries, and in low- and middle-income countries. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, this feels more important than ever.

In the first term, we consider the fundamental aims of health and social care policy, including for example health and well-being, health inequalities by ethnicity and social class, public health and health promotion, and health as a human right. We then examine policy approaches and healthcare regimes across different country contexts, including the strengths and weaknesses of different models of healthcare financing, public and private. 

In the second term, we move on to think about how to bring about change - both change in people's behaviour through regulation, 'nudge' and incentives, and change in health and social care systems, including an examination of the role played by global pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, and the potential for reform. We investigate the role that  evaluations of health and social care play in shaping policy change. Finally, we turn to specific groups and needs, including for example the challenges of mental health policy, child protection, and healthcare needs of sexual minorities.

15 hours of lectures and 12 hours of classes in the Autumn Term.
15 hours of lectures and 15 hours of classes in the Winter Term.
1.5 hours of lectures in the Spring Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn and Winter Term.

All teaching will be in accordance with the LSE Academic Code which specifies a "minimum of two hours taught contact time per week when the course is running in the Michaelmas and/or Lent terms". Social Policy courses are predominantly taught through a combination of in-person Lectures and In person classes/seminars. Further information will be provided by the Course Convenor in the first lecture of the course.

There is no course textbook. A list of selected texts and readings will be included in the reading lists for each week.

Yaya S, Yeboah H, Charles CH, et al (2020), Ethnic and racial disparities in COVID-19-related deaths: counting the trees, hiding the forest, BMJ Global Health; 5:e002913

Wouters O, Shadlen K, Salcher-Konrad, M et al (2021), Challenges in ensuring global access to COVID-19 vaccines: production, affordability, allocation, and deployment, The Lancet, Volume 397, Issue 10278, Pages 1023-1034

World Health Organization (2017) Tracking universal health coverage: 2017 Global Monitoring Report

Valéry Ridde, Ludovic Queuille & Marame Ndour (2014) Nine misconceptions about free healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa, Development Studies Research, 1:1, 54-63
 

Exam (60%), duration: 180 Minutes in the Spring exam period

Written test (30%) in Winter Term Week 8

Essay plan (10%) in Autumn Term Week 8

Students will be expected to produce 2 essay plans in the AT (10%); write one essay in class under open book, timed conditions, on a pre-circulated question (30%); and sit an in-person E-exam in the Spring Term - answering 2 questions from a choice of 8, expected word count 1200 for each question (60%)