HS856-7-PT-CO:
Health Inequalities and Intersectionality 101

The details
2023/24
Health and Social Care (School of)
Colchester Campus
Spring Special
Postgraduate: Level 7
Current
Thursday 11 January 2024
Sunday 31 March 2024
15
26 September 2023

 

Requisites for this module
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Key module for

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Module description

Unfair systematic differences in health status and experiences of different population groups have become a core focus of population health research, and of growing interest to policy makers, health practitioners, and advocates of social justice worldwide.

Policy makers are confronted with the challenge of addressing complex health needs of an increasingly diverse population amid multiple crisis (of health/pandemics, economy, society, environment) making the promises of "health for all" and "leaving no one behind" an unattainable aspiration. The ongoing pandemic is a stark reminder of this challenge as it lays bare the systemic, structural nature of inequalities in health outcomes.

Health inequalities has been a core concept of several disciplines; Medical Sociologists and other scholars have informed valuable research enquiry on how social divisions such as 'class', 'gender' or race determine health experiences, access to care and wider determinants and outcomes. While this body of work has contributed significantly to our understandings of how material as well as ideational and affective factors shape individual behaviours, risks, experiences, care-seeking practices and produce different health outcomes, scholars argue these siloed and unitary approaches are insufficient in tackling the escalating problem of health differences.

What drives these health inequalities and what approaches are most suited to address these determinants are subject of much policy and academic debate. As practitioners and advocates contend with the slow progress on closing the gap on gender and other inequalities, 'intersectionality' framework is gaining popularity for offering a radical new approach to advance equality and social justice. Yet, the concept is not without its critiques and challenges of operationalisation. Important questions arise: Is equality 'mainstreaming' feasible? What social divisions matter? Do they matter equally (i.e. are the dynamics of gender the same as those of age or ethnicity or sexuality? How can such a framework be operationalised – in programmes, policies and in social movements? What methods lend themselves to examine social divisions and the interactions between these? to better understand?

As the context of academic and policy debate evolves, there is a pressing need for educational training on the theoretical and analytical approaches to understand differential distribution of resources and power and its impact on people's health, and for such training to be enriched by dialogue between academic researchers examining the complexity of inequalities research, practitioners and policy makers.

This innovative, first of its kind teaching module to be offered in UK higher education and in global public health, fills this gap.

The social environment we live in is widely recognised as shaping patterns of health and illness within and across populations. In the UK and beyond the importance of understanding the factors, processes and institutions through which these patterns are shaped and (ill)health produced is necessary for developing appropriate policy and systems responses for well-being. This module explores the relationship between the multiple determinants of individual and population health and health inequalities.
Students will be asked to explore health issues from various scholarly perspectives, to reflect critically on the role of determinants in different societies, and to engage in classroom debate on a broad and varied range of scholarly literature.

Module aims

This Module examines the theories underlying unfair and avoidable differences in distribution of social determinants of health, and offers a critical understanding of the theory, research, and public policy applications of intersectionality. It helps students to move beyond mainstream research and analysis of health inequalities, which typically focuses on individual factors determinant (e.g. in the UK analysis of socio-economic position dominates, in the US a race focus predominates and for South Asia caste and indigeneity predominate) and engage with intersectionality and the importance of engaging with multiple risk factors.

The module is unique in bringing together multi-sectoral and international perspectives on Intersectionality to the classroom and exploring policy interventions and civil society actions to reducing health inequalities, nationally and globally.

The module will also provide students with the opportunity to develop their research and presentation skills through engaging in an innovative research assignment.

Module learning outcomes

1. Critically evaluate different accounts and theories of disparities in the distribution of health and its fundamental social causes and recognize gaps in knowledge and evidence base.
2. Gain knowledge of diverse approaches utilised in studying health inequalities and their historical and disciplinary roots.
3. Appreciate the utility of intersectionality theory in revealing and addressing gaps in conventional explanations of inequalities in health Examine the origins of intersectionality theory and its links with feminist praxis
4. Understand and critically appraise the different delineations of intersectionality theory, its critiques and applications to the explanation and analysis of health inequalities.
5. Gain understanding of methodological and public policy applications of intersectionality to study and tackle differences between and within population groups categorised by gender, socioeconomic position/social class, ethnicity, place and other social divisions.
6. Employ theoretical and methodological learnings to design policy approaches to tackle persisting global public health challenges.

Module information

DAY 1: Understanding Health Inequalities and theoretical advancements in the study of HIs
Day 2: Introducing Intersectionality – potential & critiques
Day 3: Methodological Applications
Day 4: Intersectionality in Practice & Advocacy
Day 5: Intersectionality & Public Policy

Learning and teaching methods

Given intersectionality’s normative focus on social justice and issues of power and interlocking oppressions, the module’s objectives are well aligned with principles of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI). Through its interactive and participative structure that brings rich insights from diverse sectors (academic, policy, social movements) and geographies (UK/ Europe, Canada, South Asia) and critical pedagogical approach that incorporates problem-based learning, this module will engage with and advance efforts to decolonise public health academy. The course design is rooted in an intersectionality-informed EDI framework developed by Kapilashrami which will guide teaching & learning via a decolonised approach to curriculum design and classroom delivery. The framework adopts intersectional thinking and principles and across stages of the teaching and learning cycle- content design, classroom delivery, and wider institutional contexts – to ensure inclusivity, diversity and responsibility in teaching practices. It will also engage Student wellbeing & Inclusivity Support (to identify and support those with learning difficulties and other disabilities. Teaching will combine instructional methods such as lectures- live and pre-recorded to aid flipped-classroom learning - and seminars employing participatory techniques of role play, simulated practice scenarios that draw on diverse sites of expertise. Students will practice and develop the skills to articulate cutting-edge critiques of diverse theoretical explanations of Health Inequalities in a variety of formats, including oral argument, group exchanges and written submission. This will cater to a range of different learning styles as well as helping to develop structured, critical assessment skills.

Bibliography

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting
Coursework   1200 word Policy Brief    60% 
Practical   Summative: Presentation    40% 

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Anuj Kapilashrami, email: a.kapilashrami@essex.ac.uk.
Student Programme Administrator: Ashwini Bharambe E: gph@essex.ac.uk

 

Availability
No
No
No

External examiner

Prof Theodore Schrecker
Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University
Professor of Global Health Policy
Dr Kate Parkinson
University of Huddersfield
Subject Leader, Health and Social Care
Resources
Available via Moodle
Of 46 hours, 46 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

 

Further information
Health and Social Care (School of)

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