Health Studies – An Introduction

Citation

McWhirter, J. (2002), "Health Studies – An Introduction", Health Education, Vol. 102 No. 2, pp. 84-86. https://doi.org/10.1108/he.2002.102.2.84.2

This book is intended to “bring together in a single comprehensive volume all the main disciplines, perspectives and methodologies of Health Studies”. As such it is intended to become a core text for health studies, nursing and related undergraduate courses. As a lecturer in health promotion at postgraduate level, I can see that it can also have a place as an introductory text for those embarking on master’s level courses in health promotion/health education.

One of the fascinating aspects of teaching health promotion is the range of qualifications which students bring to their studies in health promotion at master’s level. To take our current intake as an example, we have several students who come from a nursing background, some of whom have advanced qualifications in midwifery, health visiting or occupational health and many years of practical experience. Since we share at least two units with colleagues teaching an MSc in public health nutrition we also have several students who have studied nutrition or dietetics at undergraduate levels. The majority of these students have relatively little practical experience, but a good grasp of the knowledge base relating to their subject and of epidemiology. Both of these kinds of students could be said to have come from a medically dominated view of health and illness. In contrast to this some students in this and previous years have come with first degrees in psychology or sociology where the theoretical approaches to health and illness can have a different origin.

In addition we occasionally have students who come with qualifications in subjects apparently unrelated to health such as BA history (sharing the same qualification with one of the authors of this book) or modern foreign languages. This year one student has a background in complementary therapies including crystal healing. We have also had students with teaching experience in personal social and health education, but whose main subject was biology, English, physical education or religious studies.

While these diverse backgrounds make for fascinating class discussions it requires careful planning of group work to ensure a judicious mix of knowledge and experience. It also makes for challenges in knowing where to start with some of the more theoretical aspects of the course. Too many assumptions about the knowledge base of students can lead to a rapid sense of “conscious incompetence” with all the loss of confidence which this entails. Similarly, assuming no knowledge of the various disciplines can lead to a false sense of competence and a high boredom factor for more experienced students.

This book is edited by two academics in health promotion who have already written other successful text books. There are chapters written by well known academics in each of the disciplines which make up health studies, including epidemiology, cultural studies, ethics and the law, health psychology and sociology. It would therefore make a welcome introductory text for students embarking on an MSc in health promotion.

Each chapter helpfully makes no assumptions that the reader has prior knowledge of the subject but does not oversimplify the content or approach. The well known authors and theoreticians in each field are referenced and the different discourses explored without suggesting one is superior to any other. There is reassuring regularity in the pattern of each chapter. The editors have done a good job in getting the authors to conform to a model which ensures the reader can dip in and out of the chapters easily, comparing the different disciplines at several levels.

As well as the conventional subheadings one might expect in a good textbook – introduction, theoretical and methodological perspective, a summary, further discussion, further reading and a good reference list, these authors also set out the learning objectives for each chapter. This is useful for students and teachers alike. In addition to this, margin notes contribute to an ongoing glossary of terms and “connections” to other chapters where the same subject may be revisited – e.g. pain is used as an example or a case study by several authors.

While at M level we would hope students would move rapidly on from such introductory texts to reading journal articles and texts written by experts in their field, this book provides a rapid overview of the range of disciplines and assumptions which underpin much of our practice in health promotion. I would recommend this text to all students embarking on an MSc in health promotion, whatever their starting point.