Learn about the social, cultural, economic and political factors that affect health as well as identify health patterns and trends in the health and wellness of individuals, neighbourhoods and populations.

You will be able to empower individuals, families and societies to make healthy lifestyle changes through effective verbal, written, audio-visual, social media presentation and communication methods.

The University provides an excellent volunteering service with opportunities in public health related charities and not for profit organisations.

You can also develop wider skills such as taking part in organising and taking part in real-world health promotion such as a World AIDS day flash mob and a student-led health conference seminar.

This course includes Making Every Contact Count (MECC) training (usually delivered in Year 2). MECC is about taking every opportunity to ask, assist and advise people about their lifestyles, including:

• smoking
• alcohol
• physical activity
• healthy eating
• mental wellbeing

It will enable you to use evidence-based methods to empower and enable people to make the changes they choose. Following completion of the training you will receive a certificate.

In addition, you will enhance your leadership skills and ability to work as part of a team. 

Your new skills will help you to:

• work effectively with diverse groups involved in the promotion of public health
• deliver and evaluate innovative health promotion campaigns 
• influence the development of policy for healthy communities

After completing the course you will be able to work within multi-agency teams delivering health promotion projects and programmes, and will possess the interpersonal and community engagement skills to work in diverse communities. 

You will be looking at careers in public health and health promotion in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

These include jobs in public health, social care, housing and leisure departments in local councils or national agencies; in human resources departments in medium to large companies focusing on staff wellbeing; in community projects, run by charities, supporting local people to improve their own health and wellbeing; working in fundraising, research, project management and directly with communities here and abroad.

• Public Health England
• Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) such as Hera or WaterAid
• voluntary organisations
• media relations or the World Health Organization (WHO)

Within these organisations, you could work as a:

• health adviser
• training facilitator
• project manager
• programme officer