Health Service Delivery Systems

Catalog description

This course presents theory, practice, and research applicable to understanding the health service delivery system. This includes an advanced discussion of the professional psychologist as a change agent in the larger social, political, and economic contexts, and the professional psychologist’s roles within private and public sectors. An experiential approach will be utilized in order to provide students with ‘hands on’ opportunities as a way to achieve students’ learning objectives. Initially the course will focus on an overview of the current National Health Service delivery system. This will include exploration of the influence of culture and society on mental health, the effects of public policy on the delivery of mental health services, the impact of managed care on systems of service delivery, ethical and moral issues associated with managed care. In addition, students will form learning teams based upon their personal interests and passions. Learning teams will research their areas of interest and develop a program (i.e., a method of service delivery) in response to an existing funding source. Included in this section are issues involving assessing community need, program design and development, program evaluation, service outputs, outcome management, evidence-based practices, staff resources and budgets.