Determinants of Health

• • Introduction to health determinants
  • - Major types of health determinants, including prevalence and population distribution
  • - Historical aspects: discovery and debates over health determinants
  • - Causal processes and pathways
  • Key health determinants
  • - Biological determinants of health: genetics, body structure and function
  • - Behavioural determinants of health: risky behaviours (e.g. tobacco use), and protective behaviours (e.g. seatbelt use)
  • - Social and economic determinants of health: e.g. gender, cultural background, education, financial resources, and employment status.
  • - Environmental determinants of health: e.g. air quality, water quality, soil/land quality, climate, geography, built environment, and food environment
  • Implications for creating healthy societies
  • - Current ethical and political debates regarding social and behavioural determinants: e.g. individual versus collective responsibility
  • - Interactions between determinants and relationships to manifestations of ill-health
  • - Approaches to identifying key health determinants, and effective interventions
  • - Environmental health: assessment, management and control of specific environmental health issues
  • The need for inter-sectoral action on health determinants

In order to enrol in this subject, you must be accepted into one of the following degrees:

Core

• ACU-MPH-MAS-2021
• ACU-MPH-GDI-2022
• ACU-MPH-GCE-2022
• ACU-MPH-MAS-2022
• ACU-GHA-MAS-2022
• ACU-MPH-GCE-2021
• ACU-MPH-GDI-2021
• ACU-GHA-MAS-2021

Additional requirements

No additional requirements

Health is determined by many factors within and beyond the health sector, so public health practitioners must have a detailed understanding of these factors in order to improve population health and wellbeing. Students will learn to critique the evidence and participate in key debates on health determinants, and the implications for creating healthy and equitable societies. Complex public health/social issues involving multiple health determinants will be explored. The unit will help students to 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 critical understanding of the determinants of health, inequalities in their distribution within the population, and the ability to critically discuss approaches to addressing these inequalities

A range of assessment procedures 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 50%. For ACU-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 in identifying determinants of health 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 a written assessment task to demonstrate their understanding of the evidence and key debates on determinants of a specific health issue. They will extend and synthesise their understanding through an environmental health assessment and intervention plan. Assessment for this unit will conclude with a brief practice reflection task, enabling students to analyse how the knowledge gained in this unit will influence their future public health practice.

• Written Task - Determinants of health (20%)
• written Task - Responsibility for health (40%)
• Written Task - Environmental health risk assessment (40%)

Current study term: 27 Feb 22 to 27 May 22