Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitPrerequisites
Nil
Unit rationale, description and aim
The Australian health system is complex, involving multiple tiers of government responsibility and funding, a mixture of public and private financing, multiple providers with different interests and resources, diverse health programs, services and projects, and a variety of regulatory regimes. This unit will introduce students to the key structural components and interrelationships of the Australian health system. It will examine the health status of Australians, government (departmental and interdepartmental) structures, system inputs (finance, workforce, and technological resources) and outputs (participation in prevention and promotion activities, early intervention program rates, and program reach), and institutional arrangements and interrelationships (public health, primary health, community and acute health). The unit will also explore the roles and functions of government, non-government and private sectors, and the role of consumers together with issues of health system equity, inclusion, and access for specific population groups: rural communities, aged and disabled people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and people from culturally diverse backgrounds.
The aim of the unit is to develop students’ understanding of and ability to critically assess the components and interrelationships of a complex and multifaceted Australian health system.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Describe structural components of the Australian health care system: government arrangements, funding and institutional roles, functions, and relationships; | GC1, GC11 |
| LO2 | Critically review the organisation, coordination and delivery of health programs and services and how these arrangements protect and improve population health; | GC1, GC5, GC7, GC9, GC11, GC12 |
| LO3 | Assess the roles, functions and interactions of the various professions in practice that comprise the Australian health workforce; | GC1, GC2, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11 |
| LO4 | Examine how the organization, delivery and funding of the health system affects the health of specific populations: rural communities, people with mental health, older people and those with disabilities; Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. | GC1, GC2, GC5, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11 |
Content
Topics will include:
- Define concepts and components of the Australian healthcare system
- Governments’ (national, state, and local) roles and responsibilities in delivering and funding health care
- Population health (demography, health status, specific needs groups)
- Structures underpinning the healthcare system (Medicare, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme)
- Financing healthcare (public and private)
- Programs and services (public health, primary care, community and acute care, mental health, drugs and alcohol, aged care, oral health, complementary health care)
- Focus on public health: protection, disease prevention and health promotion
- Health workforce (education and training; regulation and accreditation)
- Health data and monitoring
- Health complaints and regulation
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Teaching and learning strategies addressing basic concepts and frameworks will involve lectures, tutorials, and small group discussions. Specialised topics will rely on videos, discussions with experts in various settings, and use of case studies.
The design of this unit is based on the constructivism approach, which supports active learning that encourages students to engage in a range of learning activities to facilitate the construction of new knowledge. This unit used a constructive alignment approach in the design process, ensuring learning activities and assessment tasks are designed to address the intended learning outcomes directly.
This unit has 24 hours of lectures/workshops in total and 24 hours of tutorials.
Assessment strategy and rationale
Assessment in this unit will comprise three assessment tasks, combining written, oral, and group activities. The assessment strategy allows students to progressively develop their knowledge and skills to a level of sophistication by first understanding structures, processes and institutions that underpin the Australian health care system, then applying this knowledge to a more comprehensive understanding of the organisation and delivery of programs and services, and the subsequent impacts on specific population sub-groups.
The first assessment task requires students to address structures, inputs-outputs, and processes that comprise the Australian health care system, with students describing elements and relationships of the Australian health care system. In this question and short answer assessment, three questions scheduled over five weeks, will tests students’ ability to identify various structures and interrelationships of the Australian health care system.
The second assessment task, building on the first, requires students to critically review a public health program or service that will enable students to gain insights into the organisation, delivery, and funding of a part of the health care system.
The third assessment task consolidates the learning of the previous two assignments, requiring students to analyse how the health of specific population sub-groups (e.g. rural communities, older people, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, etc.) are affected by the organisation, delivery, and funding of public health programs and services.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment 1: Questions/answers (x3) To provide short answers to questions, on topics drawn from weeks one to five, that will enable students to discuss different aspects of the health care system. (800 words) | 20% | LO1, LO2 |
Assessment 2: Group project/poster To critically review a selected public health program or service that will enable students to gain insights into the organisation, delivery, and funding of a part of the health system. (approx. 1,200 words) | 40% | LO1, LO2, LO3 |
Assessment 3: Written paper To discuss how the health of a specific population sub-group (e.g. rural communities, older people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, etc.) is affected by the organisation, delivery, and funding of public health programs and services. (1,500 words) | 40% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Representative texts and references
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2020). Australia’s health 2020: in brief. Australia’s health series no. 17 Cat. no. AUS 232. Canberra: AIHW.
Biggs, A. (2016). Medicare: a quick guide. Canberra: Department of Parliamentary Services.
Biggs, A. & Cook, L. (2018). Health in Australia: a quick guide. Canberra: Department of Parliamentary Services.
Department of Health (2019). The Australian health system. Canberra: Department of Health.
Duckett, S. & Willcox, S. (2015). The Australian Health Care System (5th ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.
Goddard, M. (2014). How the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme began. Medical Journal of Australia. 201 (1), 23-25. doi: 10.5694/mja14.00124
Health Workforce Australia (2014). Health Workforce Australia 2014: Australia’s Future Health Workforce – Doctors. Canberra: Department of Health.
Lin, V., Smith, J. Fawkes, S., Robinson, P. & Gifford, S. (2014). Public health practice in Australia: The organised effort (2nd ed.). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision. (2017). Report on Government Services. Volume E: Health.
Schwartz, S. (2019). Educating the Nurse of the Future - Report of the Independent Review into Nursing Education.
Somerset, S., Robinson, P. & Kelsall, H. (Eds). (2016). Foundation Competencies for Public Health Graduates in Australia. (2nd ed.) Canberra: Council of Academic Public Health Institutions Australia.
Willis, E., Reynolds, L. & Rudge, T. (2020). Understanding the Australian Health Care System. (4th ed.). Chatswood, NSW: Elsevier Australia.