Political Determinants of Health

3.0 credits · Undergraduate

Health is shaped not only by medical care, individual behavior, and social conditions, but also by political decisions about who is recognized, whose voices are heard, and which health conditions are deemed worthy of public attention, political action, and funding. This course examines how power, political institutions, public policy, and collective action produce, sustain, and challenge health inequities. Students will explore how political decisions are embedded in laws, policies, administrative systems, and social conditions, and how these decisions affect health access, quality, and outcomes. Through case-based analyses in the United States and other countries, students will move beyond describing health disparities to identify the political actors, interests, ideologies, institutions, and power relationships that produce them. The course will prepare students to evaluate opportunities for policy reform, collective action, advocacy, and other strategies for advancing health equity and justice. (HCP-EL)