The aim of the course is to bring together different perspectives on a central public health issue, social inequalities in health. The perspectives are from epidemiology, policy analysis, health service research, history, international health and philosophy. What are social inequalities in health? We will address questions such as: How can social inequalities be studied and explained? Which differences are unjust? How can the inequalities be reduced?

Main teachers

• Signild Vallgarda (Denmark)

Workload and ECTS

Class workload	Total workload	ECTS
30	275	10

Since 1992, the health systems of the countries of the former Soviet Union and the former Eastern bloc undergone a rapid and widespread transformation. This course sets out to address key aspects of the health systems in central and eastern Europe, including:

• Funding and financing (e.g. health insurance models, user fees, public/private divide, allocative efficiency);
• Health policy (e.g. the role of WHO and other key actors involved in health sector reforms);
• The primary/secondary care division (e.g. the role of family doctors and hospitals, regulation);
• Public health (e.g. responses to and the epidemiology of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, TB and sexually transmitted infections);
• Community involvement (the role of non-governmental actors such as civil society and professional organisations).

During the course students will learn to use the European Health for all database and critically analyse health systems and public health data from the region.

Case studies, group work, debates, films and discussions, in addition to lectures and course readings will be employed. A range of experts on the aformentioned topics, from WHO and elsewhere, will lecture as appropriate. Challenges to health systems in the region and research priorities will be reviewed.

Main teachers

• jeffrey V. Lazarus (Denmark)

Workload and ECTS

Class workload	Total workload	ECTS
30	275	10

Stress is a rising public health problem with important consequences for the general well-being and health of the population, as well as for the labour market and the health sector. About ten percent of all Danes say that they experience high levels of stress in their daily life. Thus, even relatively small increases in disease risks associated with stress could have a large impact at the population level.

Through an examination of current epidemiological, psychological, social and historical research the course aims at discussing stress as a public health problem. Specifically, we will discuss 1) different definitions of stress and how these are operationalized in research, 2) risk factors for stress, 3) psychological, behavioural, and biological stress responses, 4) health consequences and socio-economic consequences of stress, and 5) stress prevention strategies.

Main teachers

• Naja Rod Nielsen (Denmark)

Workload and ECTS

Class workload	Total workload	ECTS
30	275	10