INTHE4030 – Fundamentals in International Community Health

Course content

The course focusses on core concepts and topics related to international community health and global health. The emphasis is on understanding and appraising global community health challenges and examining how these relate to individual, societal, cultural and environmental changes.The course seeks to explore the role of various actors and evaluate strategies and programs, aimed at improving community health. The course is divided into four-modules. They focus on relevant and fundamental global community health topics:

  • Understanding Health Systems

  • Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

  • Migration and Health

  • Drugs, Pharmaceuticals, and Medicines

Learning outcome

Knowledge

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Describe concepts, challenges, and institutions of relevance in global community health.
  • Outline the elements and functions of health systems, including the role of metrics in understanding them.
  • Summarize the principles of disease surveillance, disease prevention and control, and health promotion.
  • Explain the social and historical lives of drugs, pharmaceuticals, and medicines.
  • Demonstrate the ways in which migration affects health and disease.

Skills

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Apply essential concepts of global community health.
  • Assess the distribution of major global health challenges and their cultural, social, economic and environmental determinants.?
  • Evaluate the role of major actors and institutions in global community health.
  • Analyze the main structures of health systems and their role in achieving health equity.
  • Critically discuss the process of data production, metrics and evidence.
  • Appraise the main approaches to disease prevention and control, and health promotion measures.
  • Evaluate global drug use cultures and the role of policies and markets on access to essential and safe pharmaceuticals.
  • Explain the relations between migration and health inequities.

General competences

After completing the course, you will be able to:

  • Effectively communicate about global community health challenges in an interdisciplinary and diverse classroom.

Admission to the course

This course is only available for students at the master programme:

International Community Health (master)

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for?in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about?admission requirements and procedures.

Overlapping courses

Teaching

The course consists of lectures and seminars. In the seminars, the students do exercises and assignments related to the course.To be able to take the exam, you must complete the following requirements for the course:

  • 80% attendance in the seminars.?

The quota for absence is meant to cover normal sickness absence and the like. You are therefore not given a valid absence from classes based on a medical certificate, even if the absence is due to obstacles for which you yourself cannot be blamed. In special cases, for example in the case of serious or long-term illness, you can apply for special needs provisions.

  • One compulsory task per week (oral or written).

If you are ill or have another valid reason for being absent from compulsory activities, you can apply for a postponed deadline or to take the compulsory activity again.

A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.

Examination

Written school examination, individual

To be able to take the exam, you must complete the following requirements for the course:

  • 80% attendance in the seminars

  • One compulsory task per week (oral or written).

Examination and grading at The Faculty of Medicine.

Examination support material

No examination support material is allowed.

Language of examination

The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about?the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.

Last updated from FS (Felles studentsystem) Apr. 19, 2026 3:48:38 AM

Facts about this course

Level
Master
Credits
10
Teaching
Autumn
Teaching language
English