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HLED4404 - Health Communication

Course content

• Communication conditions
• Hermeneutics and the process of understanding
• Different groups within the health system
• Different groups in the public
• Lay beliefs about health and the health
  service
• Analysis of documents
• The fact-value distinction
• Comparison of different conceptions of what a good health
  service is.

Learning outcomes

The issue of health communication has an internal and an external dimension. The internal dimension concerns understanding and interaction between different members of the health service, while the external dimension concerns the relation between the health service and the public. The students will be introduced to relevant challenges and problems related to the aim of achieving efficient communication in both areas. A key concept in the course will be the concept of communication conditions, the conditions that must be met in order for health communication to function adequately within a given context. The students will also be introduced to the connection between beliefs about the health service and basic health concepts like disease, illness, and sickness, as well as the question of how health beliefs are connected to values. The course will pay special attention to the question of whether arguments in official documents concerning the organization of the health system employ as premises claims that are accepted by many members of the public.

Prerequisites

No obligatory prerequisites beyond the minimum requirements for entrance to higher education in Norway.

Teaching

For detailed information concerning lectures and syllabus see the course plan for HME4404 - Health Communication

Exam information

A short paper on a topic given and/or suggested by the course instructor will be evalated to a pass/fail grade. Deadline for delivering the papers is June 15th.

Language of examination

Students may use either Norwegian or English.

Assessment and grading

Students are awarded either a passing or a failing grade. Read more about the grading system .

Explanations and appeals

Students can request an explanation of their grades, and can also appeal against their grades or make a complaint about formal examination errors. Read more about explanations and appeals

Possibility of make-up exams and re-takes

You can usually resit an exam, but the conditions depend on whether you had a valid reason for absence from the regular exam. Read more about resitting an exam .

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