Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
Public Health on the March!
Students from the Health and Social Care Foundation Degree and Public Health Masters programmes were amongst those who explored London’s iconic tourist sights recently for a series of walks which highlighted the relationship between health and the city. Staff from the Centre for Primary Health and Social Care pounded the streets from Westminster to Soho, revealing the major nineteenth century public health initiatives that shape the city to this day.
Visiting health students from Bremen University were the first to experience this in July. This visit was organized through our partner CityLit – who are a leading provider of adult education further education in London. One benefit of the walk is that international students are introduced to their new home city. These students have come from all over the world: Bangladesh, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, India, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, USA and of course the UK. Further walks are planned for our programmes for Specialist Community Public Health Nurses.
Each walk was preceded by an introductory lecture. Students hear about how the father of epidemiology—John Snow—began his ground-breaking work. They learn about the ‘Great Stink’, and the factors that led to the introduction of an extensive sanitation system created by Joseph Bazalgette, a visionary Victorian engineer. The walk concludes with posing by the replica of the Broadwick Street pump and students could choose to continue their research in the John Snow pub!
