Pop.DynamicsGlbl Burden on HC

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Population is a fundamental dimension of the world, countries, societies, and communities in which we live. Demographic patterns and trends exert their influence on the global burden of disease, and therefore on health care needs, at different levels: namely global, regional, national, and sub-national (including urban-rural differences). To be able to plan for the future of health care at the national level, we need to understand the changing size, rate of growth and distribution of a country’s population as well as its age structure and labor force. And to be able to plan for the future of health care globally, we need to understand how these national and sub-national population dynamics align or differ from those of other nations, especially at regional and global levels. The Demographic module of the course will establish the core demographic measurements of mortality, fertility, migration, and natural and net population growth. The demographic component of the course will also cover other dimensions of demographic change, including urbanization (and slums) patterns, the intermediate and proximate determinants of fertility, key family planning indicators, and population projections. In order for the students to fully grasp these demographic concepts and measurements, the course will explain how to calculate basic demographic indicators and rates with hands-on exercises to be done at home and corrected in class, using a calculator. The Population module of the course will bring the analytical information gathered so far into a larger perspective. With respect to economic development, one class will be devoted to the concept of the demographic dividend. The course will also cover how topics such as major diseases and population policies influence demographic patterns and trends, including how effective population policies can be, and how they relate to the gender and Human Rights agendas. The Global Burden of Disease module will link population dynamics with population-level burdens of disease. It will assess the impact that predicted population patterns (negative growth of the general population, life expectancy increase, alongside an increase in the old-age population group and in migration flows) are expected to have on population health. This module will explore the health impacts of an accelerated epidemiological transition in less developed countries and an increase in aging in more developed countries, among other related disease patterns. The Health Care Delivery module will look at how well countries are responding to changing health care needs. We will focus on how health systems are supporting their population based on current and future burdens of disease as generated by population dynamics. The course will look at progress made to date on adapting health systems to population-derived health needs, and how health care delivery can be anticipated and planned for to gain better health outcomes in medium and long term.