BA (Hons) Social Care and Health & Wellbeing

Mental, physical and social wellbeing are virtually inseparable. Good mental health is a vital asset for individuals, families and society. It enhances healthy lifestyles, physical health and functional abilities and promotes recovery from illness. It also has important social benefits on educational attainment, economic productivity, social and family relationships, social cohesion and overall quality of life across the entire population. This module provides you with an opportunity to explore the concept of mental health and wellbeing from a range of perspectives. You will gain an understanding of holistic approaches to promoting mental health along with knowledge of mental health conditions, the factors that impact on mental health and look at mental health practice / service provision. The module also explores positive proactive steps to promote recovery and draws throughout on the lived experience, legislative drivers and research to further enhance an understanding of mental health and wellbeing. The module has been designed to allow flexibility of choice for you to focus on a specific area of interest.

Those working in the statutory, voluntary and independent sectors work within a range of inter-professional teams, organisations, networks and systems in order to support individuals and communities. This requires practitioners to be able to learn and work together in order to overcome the potential constraints arising from different professional and organisational accountabilities, cultures, values and professional codes of conduct. In addition, there is a heightened recognition now at a national policy level that not only do staff need to work together in the best interests of individuals and communities but local health and care organisations must also collaborate more effectively to make best use of public funding and accelerate the integration of services for patients. This module will introduce you to theoretical, legislative and policy underpinnings of partnership and collaborative working, consider professional roles and responsibilities and explore the key skills and knowledge required to engage and work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders across health and social care. There will be an emphasis throughout on understanding how partnership / collaborative working impacts individual service users and wider communities and responding appropriately to diversity.

This module will consider the key stages of interventions in social care, whether in terms of work with individuals, groups or communities. Practitioners in social care organisations - whether in statutory, private or voluntary sectors - work with different assessment frameworks and methods (including systemic social practice), designed to assess levels of need with a multidisciplinary approach. However, in some way, most will follow the progress of making an assessment and engaging with a service user through care planning processes and delivering appropriate needs led/person centred intervention. Students on completion of this module will be able to identify (1) the skills that are necessary to support these practices, and (2) how these practices can be needs led and /or person-centred.

Where we live and our communities are inextricably linked with our health and life expectancies. This module explores the impact that community environments have on health and wellbeing from a multi-disciplinary perspective, investigating both the theory and the practical applications which aim to improve health and wellbeing; empower communities to realise their potential and which contribute to building healthier, resilient and sustainable communities. Community development principles which you will explore and apply to the grassroots dimension of this subject area reflect an inclusivity and diversity framework, as social justice, education, sustainability, partnership and equality are fundamental principles embedded within. The module will support you to work within community settings by looking at local policy and provision and you will be expected to discuss and reflect on your own knowledge and experience to understand and challenge current theories, polices and practice. You will gain an understanding of how community development approaches seek to challenge the power relations embedded in professional contexts and you will be expected to synthesise and evaluate research, policy and practice evidence regarding community development and health.

This module will discuss a comprehensive and contemporary range of issues that affect children in their personal lives and in the wider community. The position of youth and the challenges they face within the community will be explored using appropriate theories, methods and models.

This module will give the opportunity for an in-depth study of a social care topic of your own choosing. This could be based around your personal, volunteer or work experience; it could be something that has particularly interested you during the course.

In the continually changing health and social care environment it is imperative that all staff are able to adapt and review how they understand and undertake leadership and management within their roles. Leadership in the health and care sectors is considered to be ‘shared’ and ‘distributed’, requiring the efforts of staff at all levels to maintain high quality care and to deliver change and improvement. However, leadership is challenging. It requires a complex set of skills - from motivating and engaging others and working collaboratively to dealing with uncertainty and supporting colleagues. This module will support you to develop an in-depth understanding of leadership and management in contemporary health and social care contexts, whilst considering your own role and future development. You will explore both the theoretical background to leadership and management and the practical skills which required to be an effective leader. You will leave with greater insight into your own leadership style and your impact on others, how to engage others to bring about change and improvement and a deeper understanding of how all those involved in delivering care/services can take on leadership roles.

In this module we will introduce you to the issue of innovation in social care and the current and future role of technology. The module will outline some of the current challenges facing the sector e.g. a larger and increasingly aging population and people with severe, multiple and complicated needs. Innovative and technological solutions have a role in tackling these challenges. The module will develop student’s ability to critically evaluate the challenges and solutions to these issues. This module will further equip students with employability skills to work in practice with these challenges and implement strategies and solutions that are based on technology and innovation

This module will discuss a comprehensive and contemporary range of issues that affect young people in their personal lives and in the wider community. The position of youth and the challenges they face within the community will be explored using appropriate theories, methods and models.

Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time. Beyond biological and physiological differences, gender roles, norms and behaviour have an influence on how women, men, girls and boys access health services and how health systems respond to their different needs. The different and often unequal abilities of women, men, girls and boys to protect and promote their health require recognition so appropriate health interventions can be planned. Gender is an important determinant of health in two dimensions: 1) gender inequality leads to health risks for women and girls globally; and 2) addressing gender norms and roles leads to a better understanding of how the social construction of identity and unbalanced power relations affect the risks, health-seeking behaviour and health outcomes of men and women in different age and social groups. This module explores concepts of gender, masculinity and femininity applied to health issues, considers the usefulness and relevance of binary categories such as male/female within contemporary societies and looks at the implications for those providing care and support.

Law and ethics in health is a fascinating area to study, dealing with some of the most contested and controversial issues of our time. In a changing moral climate, debates about abortion, about stem cell research, about withholding treatment or about assisted dying are very much alive and attract considerable political, media and public interest. There are also challenging ethical and legal questions about psychiatry, about capacity issues in relation to treatment decisions, about the allocation of scarce medical resources, about autonomy and public health, and many other issues. This module will provide you with an understanding of how law and ethics apply when working in health and care settings. It will give you an appreciation of relevant legal and ethical issues, terminology, sources of law and the ways in which law and ethics work in practice.. You will explore the philosophy and principles of ethics and look at the legal requirements of safe practice, using case studies to help you apply this knowledge. You will have the opportunity to deliver a coherent and reasoned solution to resolve a specific dilemma in a healthcare setting in the summative assessment.