Health & Society

Our "Living Social Laboratory"

Our "LAB" is not in a room. It can be a community, a health care system,  local agency, school, or village. 

We study individuals, populations, systems and ideas.  We use social and medical sciences together to ask and answer important questions about health and well being. Health and Society students contribute to the world by focusing on issues like health promotion, disease prevention, social change, patient care, and building better health care systems locally and globally. 

What kind of questions are we interested in?

• What is health? What does it mean to be healthy and who or what is involved in being healthy?
• How does poverty or wealth impact a person's or a group's health?
• How can we make patient care safer?
• How are physical, mental, spiritual health related to complete wellbeing?
• How can we change policies, practices or laws to improve health?
• Who makes decisions about health and how are these decisions made?
• Who is responsible for health? Do individuals, communities, organizations, and governments have shared responsibility or are they different?
• What is the impact of climate change on health?
• Can health care be equitable, ethical, and efficient?

Health and Society Courses 

The Health and Society courses, taken throughout the Health and Society student’s academic career, expose the students to contemporary issues in health and disease. The courses are designed to, amongst other things, foster reflection on how we measure health, analyze why some people are healthier than others, and investigate what might be done to improve the health of individuals and populations. The courses may also examine why different diseases and health risks are unevenly distributed within and between human populations. Students will be introduced to contrasting approaches to understanding disease causation, population health and disease profiles and intervention case studies. The courses also lead students to consider the needs, institutions and participants involved in health and how management strategies and organizational structures can be used to effectively fulfill the mandate of a health system. We focus on health as a local and global issue.

A fundamental aim of this program is to introduce students to the excitement of scientific inquiry in an interdisciplinary setting early in their academic careers. Students receive substantial exposure to the research environment throughout the program with the opportunity for expanded research experience through a work placement component. This program is limited to a relatively small number of highly motivated students with strong academic records.

OUR "LAB" IS HUGE!

Research Projects that Health and Society students have worked on include:

• Evaluation of parent satisfaction regarding the of quality of mental health services at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary.
• Research concerning causes and consequences of infant and child malnutrition in the Dominican Republic.
• Eating disorders and athletes
• Assisting in the development and delivery of HIV/AIDS awareness programs throughout Southern Alberta.
• Investigating the role of over diagnosis of malaria in Tanzania.
•  Participating in several projects associated with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Calgary.
• Health system responses to a possible rabies outbreak in Northern Alberta

Career Choices:

BHSC Honours students graduating with a Health and Society concentration have many career opportunities available to them. Most students choose to go on to post graduate level education. However, some students choose to work or travel after their BHSc. The BHSc degree is an excellent foundation for careers in the health sector. We work closely with graduating students to help them network with individuals from many fields. Career services also assists students with skill development in CV and letter writing.

BHSc Path - Suggested possibilities:

• Entry level training programs in industry or government
• Junior researcher in Public Health settings
• Junior researcher and officer for various not-for-profit and outreach organizations, like Community Living, the Cancer Board, Diabetes Association or the United Way
• Junior Project team member for international health projects with non government organizations.
• Junior researcher for governmental agencies
• Canadian International Development Internships
• Research Assistantships in Health Related Projects at Universities
• Applicant for the Canadian Diplomatic Service exam
• Volunteering

Post Graduate Path (Masters):

• Masters in Community Health Sciences (Epidemiology, Biostats, Population and Public Health, Health Systems)
• Masters in Public Health
• Masters in Anthropology, Geography, Political Science
• Masters in Global Health
• Law, Teaching
• Medicine MD, Nursing, Dentistry and Physiotherapy or other health professions
• Masters in Health Policy Studies
• Diploma in Health Administration

Post Graduate Career Possibilities (following Masters or PhD training)

• Assistant Professor /Researcher in an academic setting
• Researcher or Project Manager in a community agency setting
• Policy Analyst, Health Researcher with a health region
• Health Economist
• Health Administrator in a hospital
• Junior management position: WHO, UNICEF, CARE

PhD studies may be of interest to students following Masters level training.