Unit rationale, description and aim
Health is determined by many factors. Public health professionals must have a detailed understanding of these factors to improve population and individual health and wellbeing. Students will learn to critique the evidence on health determinants and the implications for creating a society conducive to health. Complex public health/social issues involving multiple health determinants will be explored. The unit will help students consolidate their critical analysis of health determinants, the interaction between determinants, and the promotion and maintenance of healthy social and physical environments. This unit aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop a critical understanding of the determinants of health, inequalities in their distribution within the population, and the ability to discuss approaches to addressing these inequalities critically
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.
Demonstrate advanced knowledge of health determina...
Learning Outcome 01
Critically evaluate the impact of health determina...
Learning Outcome 02
Critique key debates on determinants of health, in...
Learning Outcome 03
Critically reflect on the impact of social, politi...
Learning Outcome 04
Critically assess environmental health risks using...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topic will include:
Topics related to Determinants of Health will include:
Introduction
- Types of health determinants
- Historical aspects
- Correlational and causal pathways
Categories of influence
- Biological (e.g., age) and psychological (e.g., loneliness)
- Behavioural (e.g., diet, physical activity, substance use)
- Socio-economic (e.g., living and working conditions)
- Environmental (e.g., cultural, physical)
Considerations in creating a healthy society
- Ethical, scientific, and political considerations (e.g., individual responsibility vs structural influence)
- Interactions between determinants and levels of influence (including in relation to potential at-risk groups, e.g., Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples)
- Approaches to developing evidence-based intervention
- Assessment, management, and control of environmental-related health issue/s
Assessment strategy and rationale
Please note assessment is the same for students undertaking either multi-mode or online mode.
A range of assessments will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with university assessment requirements. In order to successfully complete this unit, students need to obtain an aggregate mark of greater than or equal to 50%.
For PUBH630, assessments will consider both theoretical and practical aspects relating to health determinants and environmental health. The assessment strategy allows students to progressively develop their knowledge and skills to identify health determinants and their implications for public health practice. In order to develop the knowledge and skills required to achieve the learning outcomes and Graduate Attributes, students first undertake an assessment task to demonstrate their understanding of determinants related to a specific disease in a selected population group. They will then progress to Assessment Task 2, where they will extend and apply their knowledge of health determinants in discussing pertinent evidence (e.g. key debates) on determinants of a specific health issue. Finally, students will further extend but also synthesise their understanding of evidence through an environmental health assessment and intervention plan.
Overview of assessments
Assessment 1: Critically examine determinants of...
Assessment 1:
Critically examine determinants of health related to conditions/diseases in at-risk groups
20%
Assessment 2: Demonstrate critical understanding...
Assessment 2:
Demonstrate critical understanding of the evidence and key debates on determinants of a specific health issue/s.
40%
Assessment 3: Apply skills through conducting a...
Assessment 3:
Apply skills through conducting an environmental health assessment and developing an intervention plan
40%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
PUBH630 is offered in both multi-mode and online mode.
Multi-mode
In multi-mode, this unit is delivered primarily via face-to-face sessions on campus. It comprises lectures and tutorials during the semester, using student-centred teaching and an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of determinants of health. Lectures are used to teach essential theory and concepts. This learning is reinforced through facilitated tutorial activities involving reading, writing, discussion, and problem-solving, which support students synthesising and applying knowledge and developing a thorough understanding of determinants of health. Online content via Canvas also supports this acquisition.
Online mode
In online mode, students acquire essential theoretical and practical knowledge of determinants of health in a flexible online learning environment, which involves a series of specifically designed learning activities. This learning is extended and reinforced through readings, online discussion forums and other interactive activities to develop an understanding of health determinants and their implications for creating healthy and equitable societies.