Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Social and Behavioural Theory and Health

Course Description

This course is an introduction to social and behavioural theory as it applies to the understanding of health and illness. As such, it is a survey course designed to acquaint you with some of the major areas of inquiry, questions, debates, and arguments – and the work of key authors – in the fields of the sociology, psychology, and the social science of health and illness. Emphasis will be on a critical analysis of competing discourses on health, including those based on Indigenous perspectives, health behaviour change, critical race theory, intersectionality, Foucauldian perspectives, critical political economy, and beyond. The focus of discussion will be theoretical interpretations of what it means to be, and what causes us to be, healthy or ill. Through contemporary case studies we will apply diverse theoretical perspectives to a range of public health issues and pandemics, including HIV/AIDS and COVID-19.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, you will:

1. Have a basic and critical understanding of major social and behavioural theories as they apply to health, illness, and health behaviour;
2. Be familiar with a range concepts and key debates in the theorization of health;
3. Be able to use sociological and behavioural theory to open up, question and explore key health issues;
4. Have developed a capacity to critically compare and contrast different theoretical perspectives as they apply to a substantive public health issue; and
5. Express yourself better in oral and written work.

Methods of Assessment

Facilitation	25%
Paper Proposal	15%
Annotated Bibliography	20%
Final Research Paper	40%