Check out the recommended reading and activities for the Master of Public Health, Master of Public Health (Global Health) and Master of Public Health (Health Research)

There are many different organisations which are influential in underpinning the thinking about public health both nationally and globally. 

Below are links to five very different organisations in the public health field which talk about some of the issues we want you to explore.  Through the perspective of each of these organisations we want you to explore the current and global public health problem of antibiotic / antimicrobial resistance. 

1. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance 
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/antimicrobial-resistance-amr-information-and-resources
3. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/antimicrobial-resistance
4. https://www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/index.html
5. https://www.unep.org/topics/chemicals-and-pollution-action/pollution-and-health/antimicrobial-resistance-global-threat

 Activity 

• Explore the above links and read the case studies and materials that are available relating to either a specific issue relating to antibiotic resistance or generally. Use this as an opportunity to be informed about this public health issue. 

• Take notes of issues about antibiotic resistance that intrigue you, of things you might want to explore in more depth. 

• Reflect on the kind of organisation and the work/campaigns that they do and their contribution to the discourse.  

• Make notes on the challenges and possible strategies to resolve problems on antibiotic resistance, especially in countries with low and middle-income economies. How does antibiotic resistance relate to specific areas of public health outlined in the induction webpage (e.g. health economics, health protection, health promotion etc.)?  

How this links to your course 

In your MPH we will be introducing you to key concepts and ideas about health and public health that draw from a range of theoretical perspectives. By undertaking this activity, you will begin to familiarise yourself with some of the key themes in public health. 

On this website, we have introduced you to the following public health topics: health inequalities, determinants of health, epidemiology, health economics, health promotion, health protection, healthcare systems, global health, health policy and public health research. 

Activity 

We would like you to think of an aspect of public health of interest to you from either: 

• your own work within the public health field 

• your own personal experience (for example, a health condition you or a family member may have experienced) 

• one of the following public health priorities; breast feeding, smoking cessation, obesity reduction, alcohol, mental health, screening. 

• Reflect on how your chosen area of public health fits with each topic on the list at the top of the page. 

• Write a few notes on your reflection. 

•  Please find a recent news article which presents your chosen area of public health from the perspective of one of the topics in the list above and bring this with you to induction week. 

How this links to your course 

In your MPH you will be introduced to public health from a number of different perspectives. Some of the assignments on the course will ask you to choose a topic of interest to you and present it from a particular public health perspective. This activity will help to familiarise you with the core topics within public health. 

The dissertation module will also give you the opportunity to explore an area of public health in depth through a personal research project. 

We would like you to write a short paragraph about what you consider to be the key public health priorities in your country. 

We would also like you to summarise the key features of the healthcare system in your country (for example, how is it set up, financed, and how does it operate?) with some thoughts around challenges and benefits. Does the healthcare system seek to overcome the public health priorities you listed above? 

This will feed into an activity that we do in the induction week period. 

Write a short paragraph on the COVID-19 pandemic from your own perspective. We would like you to briefly think about a couple of different public health points of view.  

You may wish to think about how your views and thoughts align with the media coverage. What do you think are reliable sources of public health information during the pandemic? How do you personally make sense of conflicting messages? 

You may wish to think about how your country has done things differently. better or worse. If you were a decision maker for pandemic management, what decisions would you have made? 

This is a personal reflection with no right or wrong answers. 

At the University of Nottingham, we like to structure teaching content around your interests and backgrounds. Please tell us a bit about yourself using this form before you start the course.