URL study guide
https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/AB_1045Course Objective
• To define the concept of disability according to different models/philosophical ideas/worldviews (e.g., how do people experience disability?)
• To identify different causes and consequences of impairment, using neuropathy as a model
• To compare and identify strengths and weaknesses of interventions and innovations that i) aim to prevent impairment and disability, ii) focus on care and rehabilitation and iii) aim for inclusion.
• To familiarize yourself with important debates around human rights, ethics, participation, innovations in the field of disability and neuropathy
• To reflect on your own worldview related to disability
• To practice research skills during the i) problem-based learning sessions, including: formulating research objectives, searching for relevant literature, summarising the literature, presenting key findings, participating in scientific discussions; and ii) Community Service Learning project/Photo essay, including: working in partnership (e.g., with disabled people), formulating lines of argumentation.
Course Content
All over the world, people with impairments and illnesses experience activity limitations and have difficulties participating in society due to barriers, including physical barriers, legal and policy barriers, and psychological and social barriers, such as stigma. When people with an impairment or illness face barriers they cannot easily overcome, they experience disablement. The scale of this problem is huge. The World Health Survey and the Global Burden of Disease estimate state the prevalence of disability as 15.6% and 19.4%, respectively (WHO, 2011). This course looks at issues surrounding disability. We will review relevant theories and models related to disability, including the medical model, social model and ICF model. During the course you will investigate questions such as ‘What is disability?,’ ‘What is normal?,’ ‘How do different worldviews influence how people see disability?,’ and ‘What is my own worldview?’. Disorders that affect the nervous system (neuropathies) are responsible for many forms of impairment. Neuropathies that are important in this course include diabetes, leprosy, intellectual disability, autism, mental illness, spina bifida and cerebral palsy. It is important to understand that there are differences of opinion about these conditions: for example, many people consider autism and some forms of mental functioning that can be labelled as mental illness to be variant, but normal, forms of neurological function, while others consider them impairments that should be eliminated. Different interventions and technologies, and various health and support policies and practices, have been developed to address health issues and remove the social and environmental barriers that affect disabled people. During the 20th and 21st centuries, developments and innovations in health and life sciences have resulted in an exponential growth in scientific knowledge about people, society and the environment. The idea that we know who we are seems to increase, but is this truly the case? For example, what does having a disability mean for a person’s identity, and what does the existence of disability mean for our dominant image of human nature, or the drive for standardization or even perfection? Innovations bring forth possibilities for new interventions and technological gadgets (e.g. bionic prosthetics, cochlear implants, microchips that enhance intelligence), but how do we select and use these? Who decides what is appropriate for whom? In this course you will learn to reflect on various theories related to disability, and think critically about strategies to address the medical and social problems faced by people diagnosed with a neuropathy. Note: In the practical part of all courses in the minor Global Health, including this one, you will use your newly acquired knowledge and apply it in a community engaged learning project. Students will work in project teams on a real-life transdisciplinary global health challenge together with various local and global community partners. Students will cross disciplinary boundaries and interact with health professionals, patients and others to gain an in-depth understanding of global health problems, and to take cohesive and strategic actions to address these problems at a local level. Each course in the minor program will incorporate a different sub-project, starting in the first two courses with a broad exploration and needs analysis on the topic, followed by a more thorough investigation on a specific challenge in the next two courses, and concluding in the final course with a proposal for a sustainable innovation. Training workshops are offered throughout the minor program to support the development of specific skills such as transdisciplinary collaboration, reflection, dealing with diversity, creativity, leadership and adaptability.Teaching Methods
-Lectures (20 hours) -Work groups (24 hours) -Community Service Learning project (6 hours) -Self-study (remaining hours)Method of Assessment
- Individual exam (60%)- Community Service Learning project (30%)- Participation in workgroups (problem-based learning) (10%)All three parts need to be passed individually.Literature
There are ~10 compulsory readings for this course and some suggestedreadings (an overview of these readings will be provided on Canvas).Target Audience
Bachelor students from Biomedical Sciences, Health & Life, Health Sciences, bachelor programs in the natural sciences, and similar bachelor programs that participate in the minor Biomedical and Health Interventions or in the minor Global Health. Students from other programmes are welcome.Language of Tuition
- English
Study type
- Master
- Bachelor