Public Health Nutrition MSc

CC: Core Competencies – Association for Nutrition (2016) Competence requirements for programme accreditation. Available at: https://www.associationfornutrition.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AfN-Accreditation-Standards-Outcomes-and-Procedures-1st-Oct-2016-FINAL.pdf

The module is comprised of a series of seminars that facilitate progressive development of knowledge and understanding, practitioner skills and professional attitudes by linking current experience of public health nutrition with the academic and theoretical framework of the postgraduate programme. Seminar topics will evolve from aspects of the core modules delivered, emphasising integration with and application to public health nutrition. The development of communication and learning skills and a portfolio will be key features of the module. Students will be introduced to the standards of public health and the Public Health Career Skills Framework. In addition the role and work of other relevant professional bodies including Nutrition Society, Health Professions Council and Faculty of Public Health. Professional conduct of a Public Health Nutritionist will be addressed relating this to codes of ethics as relevant. (CC5a, CC5b, CC5d)

This programme will expose the students to a range of subject expertise and opinion on skills and topics that relate to the areas that surround public health nutrition. The programme will allow for additional input (over and above the main curriculum) from external experts on specialist areas and in particular those areas of emerging interest. It is not possible to define an exact "content" for this programme. We hope that the programme will entail a significant degree of reactivity - to enable emerging issues to be addressed in their contemporary context.

To expose students to a range of subject expertise and opinion on topics that relate to the areas that surround public health nutrition

To enhance education and awareness of public health nutrition in the field and thereby contribute to future professional competence

To enable students to broaden their food and health knowledge base into areas that surround various aspects of public health

To provide a focus for development of a career in public health nutrition and employability

To forge the links between the science and practice of public health nutrition, building a foundation for the professional perspectives that students are expected to develop throughout the programme.

To introduce the key elements of working as a professional within the voluntary sectors and healthcare environment by reviewing professional skills.

To provide a forum for students to discuss and reflect upon the professional attributes required of a Public Health Nutritionist

CC: Core Competencies – Association for Nutrition (2012) Competence requirements for programme accreditation. Available at: http://www.associationfornutrition.org/Portals/0/Public/Accreditation/Programme%20Accreditation%20Competencies%20July%202012.pdf

1. Nutrients, including water, oxygen and alcohol (CC1c, CC1f, CC1f)

• Essential nutrients
• Conditionally essential nutrients
• Dispensable (non-essential) nutrients
• Beneficial non-nutrients

2. Reference values: their sources, uses and limitations (CC4d)

• Dietary reference values
• Safe Upper Levels

3. Food sources: (CC1e, CC2a)

• Of nutrients
• Of other constituents of food
• Toxins
• Anti-nutrients
• Deficiencies (consequences of)

4. How food production, supply, and preparation can determine chemical composition and content of dietary nutrients and other constituents. Including fortification. General principles and methods of health claims, efficacy, safety and legal aspects of food, drinks and supplements (CC2b, CC4f)

5. Digestion, absorption and excretion of nutrients

• Metabolic fate of nutrients / end products of nutrient (CC1b, CC1d, CC1h)
• Biological effects of inert ingesta (CC4c)

6. Role of diet, nutrition and foods across the lifespan (CC1e, CC1g, CC1k)

• Including nutrition analysis of foods and diets for an individual and groups

7. Key functions of the body (CC1a, CC1h, CC4a)

• Control of food intake
• Bioavailability of nutrients
• Energy balance and nutrient balance (including methods of measurements, estimated energy balance, energy expenditure physical activity and fitness)
• Nutrient turnover and storage
• Homeostasis and homeorrhesis
• Adaptation and its limits
• Diet and Immunity
• Respiration
• Neuro-endocrine
• Haematological systems
• Thermoregulation

The aim of this module is to equip students with an in-depth knowledge of the fundamentals of nutrition, and to evaluate critically, arguments, assumptions, concepts and research data in the field. (CC2d)

CC: Core Competencies – Association for Nutrition (2012) Competence requirements for programme accreditation. Available at: https://www.associationfornutrition.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AfN-Accreditation-Standards-Outcomes-and-Procedures-1st-Oct-2016-FINAL.pdf

Public Health promotion and policy is a dynamic, multidisciplinary area that is receiving increased attention in government and the media. In this module emphasis is placed on the importance of gaining a critical appreciation of current developments in public health and nutrition policy, and the contributions of research and evaluation in guiding the development of health promotion and public health practice. Opportunities are also provided for participants to examine, reflect upon and develop their theoretical knowledge and practice in relation to current health promotion and public health initiatives, strategies and developments.

• Public Health, Health surveillance, health policy and health improvement – goals and practice (CC3a, CC4b)
• Overview of national and European food policies in the context of GATT and the WTO; Parallel aspects of food, social, environment and transport policy (CC2a, CC3a)
• Overview of roles and legal context of national and European nutrition policies and action plans; Policy and strategy development and implementation (CC3a, CC3g, CC5c)
• Theory and practice of policy planning, within an international context, including the nature and significance of goals and targets (CC3a, CC3f)
• Determinants of health (CC3c, CC3d)
• Inequalities in health and disease – including links to food sustainability (CC2e, CC3d)
• Definition, theories and models of health promotion: health beliefs, behaviour change, social marketing, empowerment, education (CC1q, CC3f, CC3h)
• Evaluation of health promotion practice (CC3b, CC3g)

The module aims to provide the student with: 

1. A knowledge and systematic understanding of public food, nutrition and health policy, including the international influences on public policy formation in national governments, with implications for practice
2. Understanding of the re-orientation of public health services, current frameworks, standards and outcome measures in order to enable them to evaluate these 
3. Critically assess implications of policy on health promotion and maintenance at a community level
4. Understand the different approaches to health promotion and application of these in relation to nutrition interventions
5. To enhance understanding of health promotion theory and develop and evaluation practice in health promotion
6. Understand social marketing, market segmentation and how to apply this into practice in support of health promotion 

CC: Core Competencies – Association for Nutrition (2016) Competence requirements for programme accreditation. Available at: https://www.associationfornutrition.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AfN-Accreditation-Standards-Outcomes-and-Procedures-1st-Oct-2016-FINAL.pdf

1.      Emerging concerns in nutrition and health, including issues with food sustainability (CC1f, CC2e, CC4a)

2.      Dietary factors in the aetiology and prevention of chronic diseases (eg. cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes). (CC1a, CC1b, CC1i, CC1j)

3.      Nutritional epidemiology and public health. (CC1p)

4.      Nutrition needs of different groups, including eating behaviour and food choice. (CC1k, CC4a)

5.      Role of scientific advisory committees and regulatory agencies. (CC3a, CC4f, CC5c)

6.      Healthy eating recommendations for the general public, including DRVs for general population. (CC5c, CC4d)

1. To provide students with an understanding of the nature of the diet and its relationship to the health and disease of different groups within the population.

2. To ensure that students have an understanding of nutritional epidemiology and of the scientific basis for current nutrition guidelines.

3. To provide students with an introduction to the policies which affect nutrition, food choice and related matters.

CC: Core Competencies – Association for Nutrition (2016) Competence requirements for programme accreditation. Available at: https://www.associationfornutrition.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AfN-Accreditation-Standards-Outcomes-and-Procedures-1st-Oct-2016-FINAL.pdf

This module develops knowledge of sociological influences on nutrition introduced in Key Concepts of Nutrition and introduces relevant psychological and health promoting factors. These disciplines underpin the science of dietetic and public health practice enabling the student to be able to relate models of behaviour and sociological influences to people and populations.  The module also introduces core public health principles and public health policy crucial for working within a health improvement agenda as a Public Health Nutritionist or Dietitian in both the UK and internationally.   

Content/Outline:

• Review of psychological and sociological contributions to health and lifestyle (CC3c)
• Introduction to health psychology, specifically examining factors that affect health behaviours (social cognition models of health, personality factors, motivation, interpersonal communication and group dynamics) (CC3c)
• Historical principles of behavioural change and the modern development of health promotion and health education strategies
• Practical skills in behavioural change including counselling skills, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioural techniques, health promotion, and health education
• Psychology of eating behaviour in both normal and disordered eating.
• Human body functions relating for example energy unbalance, impact of physical activity, disease, control of appetite and consequences of deficiency. (CC1a, CC1e, CC1i)
• Socio-cultural factors related to food and eating. Introduction to the sociology of food and eating; symbolic factors of food and consumption, food as a value system, religious and cultural roles in society (CC3d). Non-material factors affecting food choice and its interaction with lifestyle patterns (CC3c, CC3e)
• Impact of class, ethnicity, income level and social expectation in food choice (CC3c, CC3e). Modifying effects of household composition, gender, socio-cultural expectation and ethnicity
• Overview of public health, health inequalities, nutrition and health policy and programme planning for populations (including smoking, alcohol and physical activity)

1.  To provide an understanding of the biopsychosocial (CC1i) underpinnings of normal and abnormal eating behaviours, and to enable the practitioner to develop basic skills in relevant counselling and psychological interventions

2.To understand the development and principles underpinning public health practice  

3.  To consolidate and expand knowledge of public health nutrition and health promotion by reviewing current targets and recommendations aimed at addressing major public health concerns relevant to nutrition.

1.      The building blocks of scientific research: types of research (analytical, descriptive, experimental, and qualitative), scientific parlance (hypothesis, concepts, operational definitions, and dependent/independent variables), sampling procedures, and measurement issues (reliability and validity).

2.      Research and data collection methods: experimental research (developing hypotheses, independent/dependent variables, controls, sample selection, study designs, and experimental validity); descriptive research (questionnaires and interviews, case studies); qualitative research (characteristics, procedures, methods of data collection, data analysis, and internal/external validity).

3.      The nature of research; scientific methods of enquiry, pure versus applied ways of problem solving. Developing the research problem; identifying a topic area, devising specific questions, discovering what is already known (reviewing the literature), determining feasible ways to answer the questions.

4.      Ethics in research.

5.      Introduction to data analysis software (SPSS for Windows). Establishing an SPSS database. Defining and transforming variables; data storage and retrieval.

6.      Data analysis for descriptive and experimental research; descriptive statistics. Describing data; measures of variability, correlation and scatter plots. inferential statistics. Selecting an appropriate statistical test (parametric or non-parametric), and types of statistical tests (chi-square; t-tests; one-way ANOVA & post-hoc tests; Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney U). Worked examples in SPSS. Repeated Measures ANOVA; Factorial ANOVA, Limits of agreement analysis for method comparison and test retest reliability. Worked examples in SPSS.

1.      To expose students to the essential elements in the process of conducting sound scientific research.

2.      To develop students’ skills in the key aspects of data handling and statistical analysis.

The research will be agreed with an appropriate supervisor and the Research Co-ordinator.  The subject matter must be related to the field of nutrition.

1.      To provide the student with an opportunity to investigate systematically and in depth a topic of direct relevance to the programme of study and his/her personal interests.

2.      To enable the student to draw on and contribute to the development of the growing body of knowledge in the field of nutrition.

3.     To require the student to present a research proposal in the form of a poster and oral presentation.

4.     To require the student to present the outcomes of personal research in the form of a substantive research article.

CC: Core Competencies – Association for Nutrition (2016) Competence requirements for programme accreditation. Available at: hhttps://www.associationfornutrition.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AfN-Accreditation-Standards-Outcomes-and-Procedures-1st-Oct-2016-FINAL.pdf

Developing healthier communities brings together aspects of public health and nutrition and applies the theory in the context of the practice of public health nutrition in the UK and internationally.  The common theme of public health nutrition links policy, programme planning and health care.  (CC3a) These elements differ in that each addresses a different context for the application of professional skills. Policy and planning pathway covers issues relevant to public health contexts, such as government ministries, UN organisations, and non-governmental organisations. (CC3a) The health care focus covers issue relevant to the context of a food and health care systems. For both aspects underpinning knowledge in statistics, epidemiology, research methods, methods of nutritional assessment and programme design introduced in earlier modules are further developed with the focus of health surveillance, health improvement and health protection. (CC4b, CC4f)   This module addresses the major nutritional problems that influence the health, survival, and developmental capacity of populations in developing societies. (CC1i, CC1j). The content covers approaches implemented at the household, community, national, and international levels to improve nutritional status. The module develops knowledge of the theory and practice aspects of community development and community participatory aspects of practice for communities of interest and smaller geographically defined communities (e.g. travellers). (CC3d, CC3e) 

• Institutions and stakeholders in health improvement planning, implementing and monitoring and evaluation action plans and programmes (CC1l, CC3b, CC3g)
• Community development; ­ Power and empowerment (CC3f)
• Methodology, nutritional assessment, uses and comparative analyses of surveillance of nutrition, diet and lifestyle including physical activity and built environment (CC1a, CC1d, CC1e, CC2c, CC3e, CC4b).
• Use of nutritional assessment (anthropometric, biochemical, clinical, dietary, physiological and functional methods including use of nutritional analysis software) (CC1d, CC1e, CC1g, CC1k, CC1m, CC3c, CC3i, CC4a, CC4e)
• Ethics of food and nutrition human rights and promoting inclusion and food & nutrition security (CC1l, CC2e, CC3c, CC5e)
• Lobbying and networking at community, national and European levels (CC1q, CC4h)
• Collaborative Practice (CC1n)
• International Perspectives on Practice (CC4f)

1. To enable students to integrate and apply knowledge and skills in public health nutrition to the development of programme planning
2. To enable students to further develop professional and personal competencies in advocacy for improved public health and nutrition
3. To assist in the development of strategic thinking and to ground the student in public health nutrition development and direction
4. Develop skills in nutrition education for interventions
5. To enhance employability and further develop career avenues.