BSc (Hons) Health & Social Care with Foundation Year

This module is an introduction to theories and concepts across the disciplines of sociology and psychology that pertain to health and social care practice.

This module requires you to develop an understanding of the theoretical concepts that inform a variety of complex group and individual human behaviours.

The module provides a theoretical-conceptual social science framework within which health and social care issues can be analysed as social phenomena. The relationship between behavioural psychology and organisational behaviour will also be explored with particular focus and application to the Health and Social Care arena.

This module will focus on practice issues in health and social care, ensuring you develop an understanding of important concepts such as multi-agency working and critical reflective practice.

The concept of assessments within health and social practice will be introduced. Awareness of personal, professional and ethical values are further explored within health and social care practice.

The first placement takes place during this module, and will enable you to experience health and social care practice, linking theory to practice. This will enable you to share your experience and knowledge with your peers.

The module will enable you to reflect on the utility of evidence in practice to support and inform effective Health and Social Care and enable effective decision making. It will support the initial awareness of the importance of research and evidence-informed practice, and its utility for and in practice. The module will develop the foundational skills to support your ability to critically review evidence-informed practice and consider the effective utility of practice informed research. The module will support confidence in your own skills of critical reflection and support you with initial decision-making processes with a view to empowering you to communicate possible changes in practice where incongruence exists. You will be introduced to appropriate ethical frameworks required to protect the rights, dignity and safety of those involved, but also which challenge the values and beliefs of self.

This module will introduce you to the working environment of Health and Social Care, incorporating the history, development and current climate. Contemporary issues are analysed, including the diversity of settings, delivery and roles within health and social care. Inequalities are introduced, highlighting social determinants of health, wellbeing and illness within the context of health and social care practice. You will be encouraged to explore your own values and the relationship of these to wider society and health and social care practice. The module also incorporates a formative essay that enables you to receive and reflect on feedback on essential academic components in higher education writing in order to develop these to feed forward into all future academic assessments.

This module is designed to encourage you to critically identify the tensions between legal, ethical and professional responsibilities from the perspective of health and social care practice. You will be assisted to further explore your own values and belief systems through a legal, ethical and professional lens. You will be supported to develop your knowledge regarding key pieces of health and social care legislation, professional codes of practice and organisational policies and procedures. The application of these on service provision, the service user and the professional will be examined. The module will consider what it means to be an accountable practitioner in contemporary health and social care practice.

This module is designed to explore diverse local and global perspectives of practice provision in field of Health and Social Care. This will incorporate a recognition of intercultural issues relevant to practice.

You will develop an appreciation of the importance of local and global public health and other policy initiatives around health and wellbeing. You will be encouraged to explore how these relate to contemporary Health and Social Care practice.

You will be supported to consider innovative ways of working to promote health and wellbeing within a changing global community.

Within the contemporary environment of Health and Social Care, there is an absolute need to be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of provision both individually and across organisations. In order to achieve and support this, practitioners need to be able to critically reflect on and in practice, evaluating evidence-based practice (including research) and be able to effectively utilise evidence to inform and improve practice. This module will enhance the skills learned with the Year 1 Module Introduction to Evidence-informed Practice and Decision Making, and encourage the development of independent research skills and literacy in preparation for the dissertation. You will be introduced to research paradigms, data collection methods and data analysis including the use of appropriate software packages. You will be introduced to research ethics processes and governance systems and consider how these protect the rights, dignity and safety of those involved.

This module will focus on professional practice in a domain of multi-agency and multi-disciplinary working. The complexities inherent in this work will be explored, ensuring consideration is given to professional and personal ethics and values. Leadership within the sector is examined, recognising differences, similarities and challenges across and within the sector.

The second placement takes place within this module, which provides the opportunity for you to enhance your knowledge and understanding of health and social care practice, and to build upon your portfolio of knowledge, skills and values. It also enables you to understand the direct and indirect relationships between your actual placement settings and the other agencies involved in the service users’ care.

This module introduces key concepts in Mental Health, Wellbeing and Resilience. The module encourages you to reflect on and challenge your own professional practice through critical personal reflection. You will define and interrogate key themes and concepts in Mental Wellbeing and Resilience.

You will then investigate how the intersection of ideas, practice and cultural change influences leaders and managers in professional contexts, institutions and systems.

The indicative content of this module focuses on defining and critically considers concepts such as anxiety, mood, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) etc and your impact from a service delivery and individual perspective. You will be encouraged to reflect on your own professional experiences.

CPD, or Continuing Professional Development, essentially ensures that individuals are proficient and competent within their work environment whilst furnishing them with essential skills that can help with career progression. It's not just a one-stop-shop, and is an essential skill which continues and develops throughout one’s career. Through a Continuing Professional Development framework, this module facilitates the synthesis of the theoretical and practical aspects of your development within the work based/practice environment. You will reflect on and critically explore your exposure to the work-place and consider how your exposure can be enhanced and advanced and thus support further role development and advancement.

This module brings together a range of theories, models and approaches that aim to identify and address the needs of service users and practitioners within Health and Social Care.

It will further develop the sociological and psychological theories covered earlier in the programme linking them to an area of your interest within Health and Social Care practice.

You will consider a holistic understanding of individuals’ expectations of the provision and delivery of Health and Social Care, from a local, national and global perspective. You will explore a range of strategies for managing service users’ expectations whilst appreciating the diversity of needs.

This module is designed to develop and enhance your leadership and management skills. Through your placement experience, academic teaching and learning you will have the opportunity to observe and explore a variety of different management and leadership styles. You will be supported to develop your knowledge and understanding of how effective management and leadership styles which include concepts such as coaching and entrepreneurship which contribute to practice development and innovation. The module will introduce a variety of appropriate resources to strengthen your knowledge and skills around leading service innovation in health and social care.

The Dissertation forms an essential component of the Undergraduate Honours award. It provides a major opportunity for you to demonstrate an ability to work ethically and independently. An academic supervisor will be allocated to support this. The aim of this module is to enable you to demonstrate critical analysis, problem solving, objective evaluation and reflection on an area of health and social care practice. In addition to the application of subject specific skills and general skills such as critical analysis, reasoning and the development of an argument, you will also be expected to display initiative, creative thinking, familiarity with the literature and organisational skills. You are required to select an area of study and to explore fully its relevance to your professional field, reflecting your in-depth study of a chosen topic area of practice, i.e. Health and Social Care.

This module builds on the acquisition of research skills attained throughout the programme, but in particular during the final year within the Dissertation module. The module provides you with a platform from which to demonstrate, consolidate and communicate your research learning. It supports learner reflexivity and the opportunity to critically consider how evidence can be utilised in practice and for your own practice.

Life expectancy is increasing. In the UK, the average person now lives to the age of 81, up from 77 in 2000 (ONS, 2021). This increase in lifespan has not been matched, however, with an increase in ‘healthspan’ i.e. years of healthy and independent life. Many older adults suffer from increased frailty, and other common health problems. This module critically considers current challenges and opportunities related to healthy ageing. It will explore a range of tools and methodologies to support healthy ageing which will include sociological and psychological perspectives. This module will consider not only health and its maintenance, but consider ways of assessing frailty, and explore measures to slow its onset. This module will be supported by the most contemporary evidence available and will critically reflect upon the utility of this in practice. This module also considers the responses of the policy makers to the increasingly ageing population by reflection on the UK Government’s Ageing Society Grand Challenge, which is “for people to enjoy five more years of healthy, independent living by 2035”. It also coincides with the WHO’s Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030).