Mental health is closely associated with our rapidly changing society. This course will introduce students to mental health topics and issues in our contemporary society – including public policy; causes and prevention; treatment and support; resource allocation challenges; discrimination and stigma; and inequalities. These issues will be covered at different points across the life-course, with examples covering topics such as maternal mental health; child and adolescent mental illness and its adulthood consequences; recovery; workplace issues; family impacts and roles; suicide; and dementia. Students will gain in-depth understanding about mental health challenges and policy responses, especially from an economic perspective; risk factors for mental illness; economic evaluation of mental health interventions and policies, including methods and applications of cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses; policy analysis. Illustrative real-world examples will be used throughout the course, such as mental health policy in England today, economic evaluation of medication and nonpharmacological interventions for common mental disorders and severe mental illnesses, projection and other modelling to inform national dementia care policy.
Assessment: 100% coursework