| Dozent/in |
Dr. phil. Jan Reinhardt |
| Veranstaltungsart |
Masterseminar |
| Code |
HS261129 |
| Semester |
Herbstsemester 2026 |
| Durchführender Fachbereich |
Gesundheitswissenschaften |
| Studienstufe |
Master |
| Termin/e |
Fr, 27.11.2026, 08:15 - 17:00 Uhr, Online
Fr, 04.12.2026, 08:15 - 17:00 Uhr, Online |
| Umfang |
2 Semesterwochenstunden |
| Inhalt |
This course treats the social causes and impact of epidemics including economic, cultural, educational, political, mental health, and developmental aspects and attempts to shed light on fundamental issues in society including inequity and inequality that have shaped development, response, and effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The course is divided into two parts with the first part (day 1) providing a general introduction to the topic and the second part (day 2) consisting mainly of presentations on self-selected related topics by the students.
The first part serves gaining an overview of relevant terminology and research perspectives. It is comprised of short lectures with discussions and leads to a preliminary specification of student topics. In detail, part 1 is structured as follows:
1. Self-introduction of teacher and participants
2. Lecture 1 followed by discussion: General remarks on disasters, public health and society
3. Lecture 2 followed by discussion: Disaster epidemiology and research on epidemics of emerging disease: concepts, terms, challenges
4. Lecture 3 followed by discussion: Overview of Covid-19 pandemic and introduction to some research projects from China
5. Discussion of topics for student presentations
In the week between the first and the second part the students will develop their presentations and have the opportunity for exchange with the teacher via e-mail or videoconference (upon appointment).
Student presentations should be related to public health and social impact of Covid-19. Otherwise, topics depend on the students’ interest and can focus on a particular aspect and/or country/region etc.
Possible topics are for example stigma and its public health impact; mental health of responders, patients, those quarantined etc.; social inequality in infections, mortality, disease severity, gender; infodemics/disinfodemics; economic impact; pollution; impact on treatment and outcomes in other health conditions/people with disability; attitudes towards vaccination, and many more. |
| E-Learning |
Teaching material will be provided via the e-learning platform Moodle and plenary and videoconferences will be held via Zoom. |
| Lernziele |
The students gain overview of the public health and social impact of epidemics using the example of the recent Covid-19 pandemic as a case in point and elaborate on a particular aspect of this topic (alone or in a small group) and present the results to the plenary.
In particular, they will learn:
1. To appreciate the social ‘nature’ of disasters in general and epidemics in particular
2. To distinguish the concepts epidemic, endemic, and pandemic as well as tasks and basic methods of epidemiology.
3. To differentiate types of infectious disease including water-borne, vector-borne, and air-borne and related environmental factors associated with epidemics.
4. To appraise the specifics of Covid-19 and the role of social and cultural inequality on the macro- and micro-level in the spread of the disease as well as mortality, morbidity, and functioning.
5. To understand the impact of epidemics on different social settings and systems including economy, culture, education, labor, and international relations. |
| Voraussetzungen |
Overall grade of 4.0 or better |
| Sprache |
Englisch |
| Begrenzung |
The course is limited to 30 participants. The limit will be administered via Moodle according to the chronological order of registration. From 31st August 2026, 12:00 p.m. (noon), it will be possible to register via Moodle. As soon as 30 participants are registered, the registration window will close automatically. |
| Anmeldung |
Moodle: https://elearning.hsm-unilu.ch/course/view.php?id=1031
|
| Leistungsnachweis |
Actively participate in class and make a presentation on a selected topic related to public health and social impact of epidemics as individual or member of student group.
Presentations are evaluated against the following criteria
1. Structure and didactic value (for audience, i.e. other students)
2. Presentation style (looks of slides, way of presentation such as speaking freely vs. reading from slides, understandability, etc.)
3. Scientific accuracy
4. Diversity of perspectives (e.g., different countries, populations; possibly controversial)
5. Audience involvement
6. Formal criteria (such as keeping time)
IMPORTANT: In order to earn credits and participate at the exam registration via Uni Portal within the exam registration period is MANDATORY. As this is a block course the registration and deregistration runs from October 29 - December 9, 2026 Further information: www.unilu.ch/en/study/courses-exams-regulations/health-sciences-and-medicine/exams/ |
| Abschlussform / Credits |
presentations of student teams / 3 Credits
|
| Hörer-/innen |
Nein |
| Kontakt |
jan.reinhardt@doz.unilu.ch |
| Material |
Power-point presentations, literature, videos, etc. will be provided on e-learning platform. |
| Literatur |
Noji EK: Disaster Epidemiology: Challenges for Public Health Action. J Public Health Pol. 1992; 13: 332-340.
Reinhardt JD, Gosney JE: Natural disaster, health-related aspects. In: James D. Wright (editor-in-chief), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. 2015, 2nd edition, Vol 16. Oxford: Elsevier: 315–319.
Emanuel EJ. The lessons of SARS. Ann Intern Med 2003;139:589. 10.7326/0003-4819-139-7-200310070-00011
Pierce M, Hope H, Ford T, et al. Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal probability sample survey of the UK population. Lancet Psychiatry 2020;7:883–92. 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30308-4
Bambra C, Riordan R, Ford J, et al. The COVID-19 pandemic and health inequalities. J Epidemiol Community Health 2020;74:964–8. 10.1136/jech-2020-214401
Long E, Patterson S, Maxwell K, Blake C, Bosó Pérez R, Lewis R, McCann M, Riddell J, Skivington K, Wilson-Lowe R, Mitchell KR. COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on social relationships and health. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2022 Feb;76(2):128-132. doi: 10.1136/jech-2021-216690. Epub 2021 Aug 19. PMID: 34413184; PMCID: PMC8380476.
Alizadeh H, Sharifi A, Damanbagh S, Nazarnia H, Nazarnia M. Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social sphere and lessons for crisis management: a literature review. Nat Hazards (Dordr). 2023 Apr 10:1-26. doi: 10.1007/s11069-023-05959-2. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37360799; PMCID: PMC10088618
Okereke E. From crisis response to country control: Restoring agency and sustainability in global health. PLoS Med. 2026 Mar 3;23(3):e1004961. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004961. PMID: 41774681; PMCID: PMC12956096 |