This module is designed to equip students with the necessary research and academic skills to achieve in the final year of their degree.  They will critically reflect on their own capabilities and needs as independent learners in higher education, be supported in the use of academic language and communication to produce clear, critical written work, with skills in referencing a variety of academic sources appropriate to the level of study.  They will also develop a greater understanding and appreciation of research towards the development of their own piece of independent research, including search, retrieving and using academic sources and skills for undertaking quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research.

This module will give students a knowledge and understanding of key components of public health, taken from the stance of working with communities.  With a focus on well health and prevention it will explore the health of populations as opposed to the health of the individual. Students will define, critically analyse and apply the principles of collaborative working with diverse communities and a range of agencies.  This module offers students a knowledge of epidemiology, evidence based practice, building partnerships and alliances for health and the ethical and philosophical basis of public health.

This module will set in context the issue of safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.  Exploring the history and social policy of safeguarding adults and children, offering classifications of abuse, providing definitions of who might become a vulnerable adult, exploring types of abuse, how to recognise abuse, reporting and monitoring abuse in various settings. The module will offer opportunities to critically debate and discuss issues such as risk and resilience, mental health, disability and aging, record keeping and confidentiality.

This course will provide students with the skills to manage and lead effectively in complex, dynamic and interprofessional/multidisciplinary organisations. It will develop students both personally and professionally ensuring they have the tools they need to support future development and empower them to achieve their potential for career progression. Students will advance their knowledge of recent health and social care policy developments and consider the current and future health and social care needs of clients in order to ensure that the views of service users and carers are fully represented in the management of care processes.

This module builds on prior learning and offers students the opportunity for further development of skills and knowledge learnt throughout the course with the opportunity to further develop a topic in health and social care that has been of particular interest. The dissertation involves the development of an independent research project.  There are two ways of conducting the project: a piece of primary research involving the collection of data and analysis of a specific topic in health and social care or a literature based project involving the analysis of secondary data. The project must include the critical analysis of relevant literature, the application of theoretical principles and must have include research appropriate for a science based degree, with the use of quantitative or mixed methods research.