Subject benchmark statements
Academic standards - Health studies

Subject benchmark statements

Subject benchmark statements provide a means for the academic community to describe the nature and characteristics of programmes in a specific subject. They also represent general expectations about the standards for the award of qualifications at a given level and articulate the attributes and capabilities that those possessing such qualifications should be able to demonstrate.

This Subject benchmark statement, together with the others published concurrently, refers to the bachelors degree with honours.

Subject benchmark statements are used for a variety of purposes. Primarily, they are an important external source of reference for higher education institutions when new programmes are being designed and developed in a subject area. They provide general guidance for articulating the learning outcomes associated with the programme but are not a specification of a detailed curriculum in the subject. Benchmark statements provide for variety and flexibility in the design of programmes and encourage innovation within an agreed overall framework.

Subject benchmark statements also provide support to institutions in pursuit of internal quality assurance. They enable the learning outcomes specified for a particular programme to be reviewed and evaluated against agreed general expectations about standards.

Finally, Subject benchmark statements may be one of a number of external reference points that are drawn upon for the purposes of external review. Reviewers do not use Subject benchmark statements as a crude checklist for these purposes however. Rather, they are used in conjunction with the relevant programme specifications, the institution's own internal evaluation documentation, in order to enable reviewers to come to a rounded judgement based on a broad range of evidence.

The benchmarking of academic standards for this subject area has been undertaken by a group of subject specialists drawn from and acting on behalf of the subject community. The group's work was facilitated by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, which publishes and distributes this statement and other statements developed by similar subject-specific groups.

In due course, but not before July 2005, the statement will be revised to reflect developments in the subject and the experiences of institutions and others who are working with it. The Agency will initiate revision and, in collaboration with the subject community, will make arrangements for any necessary modifications to the statement.

This statement is © The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education 2002.

It may be reproduced by educational institutions solely for educational purposes, without permission. Excerpts may be reproduced for the purpose of research, private study, or review without permission, provided full acknowledgement is given to the subject benchmarking group for this subject area and to the copyright of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.

Introduction

Health studies is a subject that considers the great diversity of human experience of health and illness. It does so from a wide variety of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives. It critically examines health and illness discourse and seeks to analyse evidence about health and illness in a wide range of contexts and perspectives. It considers local, national, and international issues and may compare the experiences of different nations, cultures, or groups. It seeks to add to this evidence through research activity of many different kinds. Because of this potentially wide scope of topic and method, individual programmes will differ in their particular concerns and emphases.

Within the discipline of health studies many different award titles may therefore be found. These include health, health studies, and health sciences as well as more specific ones such as health promotion and health and community development. Each award will have its own characteristic focus on the range of issues referred to above. All programmes will undertake a critical examination of contrasting perspectives and provide insight into the human experience of health and illness.

Nature and scope of the subject

The word 'health' has connotations of wholeness and well-being, of happiness and contentment, of equity and justice, of a positive state that goes beyond freedom from disease or deprivation. It may indicate such a state within an individual, a family, a community or extend to the condition of the planet as a whole. There is no universally agreed definition of health. But despite the complexities of definition and the differences of opinion there is agreement that the study of health is not the same thing as the study of illness or of training in the care of the sick. Rather, health studies as a discipline seeks to examine all those factors which have the potential to increase human wellness or to diminish it. Thus the experience of illness, distress or care may be included within a health studies programme but the programme will not be confined to the study of such experiences.

A welcome consequence of the diversity of range and focus outlined above is that the scope of health studies is vast. At the heart of the subject a number of common themes are identified:

the exploration of health as a human experience mediated by individual, societal and global contexts;
a reflexive and critical evaluation of factors affecting health and its representations;
an ability to engage actively in the discourses surrounding the concept of health and its representations.

The challenge then for each particular course will be to make explicit the nature of its focus. Health studies students will thus graduate with a portfolio of employable skills from a variety of possible courses which may encompass:

degree programmes which approach the study of health through a relatively traditional application of physical and social sciences and the humanities; and
degree programmes involving the study of health within a more particular vocational focus - for example, health promotion, health policy and management, and community development.

Some degree programmes select a particular combination of subject disciplines upon which to found their programmes and provide a rationale for that choice. One central element in this choice will be the context in which health is located. For example, health can be examined as a human capacity determined by a range of social, political, economic and organisational factors. It is the breadth of evidence and analysis which is used to distinguish health studies from the application of any particular subject discipline to health.

Some programmes will have a specific focus set by the demands of the particular vocational outcomes towards which they are directed. Again, however, a suitable breadth of study should be undertaken so that the sense of the multifactorial nature of health may be captured.

Irrespective of such distinctions of focus, any health studies degree should be founded upon a sound research base, and recognition should be given to the need to consider diverse and innovative approaches to methodologies. Within this context the development of critical reflection is essential, as it enables the skills of analysis and synthesis to develop. Such skills provide a foundation from which to move beyond problem-solving into an exploration of the possibilities for the enhancement of health status.

Subject knowledge and understanding

The single honours health studies graduate will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

health as a contested concept;
the multidisciplinary nature of health studies;
the central place of research activity in the development of the subject;
the diverse determinants of health;
the contemporary issues at the forefront of the subject;
the range of realist and constructionist theories of causality relating to health;
the theoretical and professional rationales concerning health interventions;
the role of individual differences in affecting health status;
the diversity of the experience of health;
the diversity of values associated with health;
comparisons between health care systems and modes of delivery;
cultural diversity within health;
the central theoretical arguments and paradigms in health research;
the application of information technology to communication and analysis within the discipline.

Subject-specific skills and transferable skills

Subject-specific skills

The nature of health studies entails interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches and the indication of specific subject skills acknowledges this. A health studies student will develop the skills necessary to the assimilation and understanding of the complex and diverse nature of the subject, as well as more general skills which will be widely transferable. Students will undertake a critical examination of contrasting perspectives which provide insight into the individual and personal experience of health.

The following skills are identified as being related to the specific nature of health studies programmes:

the ability to make comparisons between a range of health contexts, such as individual and institutional contexts and national and international;
the ability to analyse health and health issues, and health information and data that may be drawn from a wide range of disciplines;
the ability to synthesise coherent arguments from a range of contesting theories relating to health and health issues;
the ability to draw upon the personal and lived experience of health and illness through the skill of reflection and to make links between individual experience of health and health issues and the wider structural elements relevant to health;
the ability to articulate central theoretical arguments within a variety of health studies contexts;
the ability to draw on research and research methodologies to locate, review and evaluate research findings relevant to health and health issues, across a range of disciplines.

In addition to these subject-specific skills, the health studies graduate will have developed many other skills related to the successful completion of a degree level programme, and which are relevant and transferable in terms of the student's successful career management.

Transferable skills

The student will have the ability to:

communicate with others in a clear and articulate manner, using word or number, through written work using appropriate academic conventions;
present ideas and arguments verbally in formal presentations and seminars, and informal discussions in a variety of environments;
work with others in the preparation and presentation of group work, and take responsibility for an agreed area of a shared activity;
negotiate informally with peers and formally with members of organisations;
identify and propose solutions to problems, both in relation to the substantive area of health studies and to other educational and social issues;
work independently and identify personal needs for skill development on an ongoing basis;
recognise issues relating to equal opportunities, and identify appropriate action in relation to such issues;
use information technology to store, retrieve and produce material for health studies coursework, drawing on skills in the use of word processing, databases and spreadsheets as appropriate to the task;
gather and analyse relevant information from a wide variety of sources using appropriate manual and electronic systems;
reflect on and review progress in their own studies, and seek assistance or guidance as appropriate in order to enhance their own personal development.

Learning, teaching and assessment

The learning, teaching and assessment strategies selected in health studies programmes will enable the development of reflective and critical approaches to the study of health. These strategies will reflect the contested and multi-dimensional nature of health studies and facilitate active student participation in recognition of the essential component that students bring to the learning and teaching process.

Explicit learning outcomes will provide transparent guidelines for student learning and the criteria for student achievement will be made explicit. Opportunities should be provided to enable students to:

locate and select appropriate resource materials;
critically analyse and evaluate health and its representations;
construct coherent arguments from a range of contested perspectives;
communicate effectively in a variety of modes;
develop independence in learning;
formulate questions, initiate, and carry out health-related projects;
make judgements and use a range of approaches in problem-solving;
develop lifelong learning skills.

A wide range of learning and teaching strategies should provide opportunities for progressive acquisition of subject-specific knowledge, understanding and skills, as well as generic and transferable skills. The learning and teaching strategies should be clearly specified within the programme of study. Some or all of the following may be appropriate:

small group discussion;
seminars, tutorials and practicals;
group work;
self-directed learning;
projects;
work-based learning;
lectures;
computer-assisted learning;
presentations;
simulations;
workshops;
context-based learning.

Assessment strategies should reflect the learning outcomes and should make a positive contribution to the student's learning experience. Assessment can be both formative and summative. Feedback on all assessment activities is essential for student development and progression. Methods of assessment should reflect progression within the programme of study, assess both knowledge and skills and enable students to demonstrate their level of attainment of subject-specific and generic knowledge, understanding and skills. The use of diverse assessment strategies should meet the varied needs of students and should provide the opportunity to incorporate innovative and original approaches. The assessment strategies adopted should include some or all of the following:

a range of written and oral presentations, such as seminar presentations, essays;
examinations, whether seen, unseen or open book;
case studies;
use of reflective diaries, critiques or portfolios;
practical-based, project-based or work experience reports;
computer-based assessments;
dissertations and independent study.

A dissertation or independent study will be an essential component of a single honours health studies programme.

Threshold statement

On completion of a single honours health studies degree all graduates should be able to attain a threshold level of performance, as indicated in the left-hand column of the tables below. Table 1 indicates the skills specific to health studies. Table 2 indicates general transferable skills. A typical graduate should be capable of more, and these capabilities are shown in the right-hand columns. A note at the end refers to the excellent graduate.

Table 1

Subject-specific skills

Table 2

General transferable skills

Threshold graduate	Typical graduate

Articulate opinions and formulate arguments effectively in speech and writing.	Use enhanced language skills to articulate opinions and formulate arguments effectively in speech and writing.

Able to learn independently.	Able to learn independently and show a good ability for self-critical reflection.

Collaborate and plan as a team member and contribute to the work of a team.	Contribute proactively to the aims and organisation of a team.

Use Information and Computer Technology (ICT) competently and effectively.	Use Information and Computer Technology (ICT) to enhance verbal and written presentations and to facilitate data analysis.

Demonstrate self-awareness and confidence in skills transferable to the workplace.	Demonstrate competence in skills transferable to the workplace.

The excellent student, in addition to the above, will demonstrate flair, creativity, independence of thought, advanced critical and analytic ability, innovation, a capacity to critique conventional approaches to the discipline, autonomy, initiative, and advanced problem-solving abilities.

Appendix 1 Membership of the benchmark group

Professor Elizabeth	Alder Napier University, Edinburgh
Mr David Balsamo	Chester College
Dr Stuart Brand	University of Central England in Birmingham
Mrs Susan Cuthbert	University College Worcester
Ms Lee-Ann Fenge	Bournemouth University
Ms Carol Hodgkinson	The Nottingham Trent University
Mr Martin Johnson	University of Central Lancashire
Dr Mike Money (chair)	Liverpool John Moores University
Ms Janet Quallington	University College Worcester
Dr Pamela Shakespeare	Open University
Ms Lynda Stobert	University of Central England
Dr Robin Talbot	St. Martin's College
Dr Marion Thompson	University of Central England

Threshold graduate	Typical graduate

Demonstrate a sound knowledge base in selected subject areas that inform health.	Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge base in selected subject areas that inform health.

Demonstrate a good grasp of the scope and breadth of the discipline.	Demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the scope and breadth of the discipline.

Show a critical ability to analyse health as a contested concept.	Critically analyse the contested nature of health using a wide range of perspectives.

Demonstrate a good understanding of the multidisciplinary nature of health.	Use knowledge of the multi-disciplinary nature of health to analyse health and health issues.

Show a critical awareness of the role of research in the development of health as a discipline.	Use research findings in a critical and evaluative way to demonstrate the development of health as a discipline.

Show an understanding of the diversity of determinants of health.	Show a detailed understanding of the diversity of determinants of health and the controversies that attend them.

Demonstrate an insight into contemporary issues at the forefront of health.	Critically analyse contemporary issues at the forefront of health.

Demonstrate a critical understanding of some theories of causality relating to health and ill-health.	Critically analyse a range of theories of causality relating to health and ill-health.

Critique some professional rationales concerning health interventions.	Critically appraise a number of theoretical and professional rationales concerning health interventions.

Understand and evaluate the role of the individual and of institutions in affecting health status.	Critically evaluate the role of the individual and of institutions in affecting health status.

Indicate the diversity of experience and values associated with health.	Critically analyse the diversity of experience and values associated with health.

Compare and contrast different health care systems.	Critically analyse different health care systems.

Articulate a number of central theoretical arguments within health studies.	Critically reflect on a range of theoretical arguments within health studies.

Use an appropriate range of theories and concepts to analyse health and health issues in a variety of situations.	Develop a critical analysis of health and health issues in a variety of situations making full use of a substantial range of theories and concepts.

Locate, review, evaluate, carry out, report, and analyse research in health studies.	Apply an appropriate critical framework to use and evaluate research in health studies.

Cross traditional subject boundaries drawing on appropriate knowledge from other academic disciplines to elucidate health issues.	Cross traditional subject boundaries drawing on appropriate knowledge from other academic disciplines to reflect critically on health issues.

Analyse health and health issues from several appropriate critical perspectives.	Demonstrate an applied and integrated approach to a critical analysis of health and health issues.

Identify and analyse current paradigms and issues at the cutting edge of health research and the health debate.	Develop independent arguments and draw independent conclusions about health and health issues using a critical approach.

Subject benchmark statements Academic standards - Health studies

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