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-GHA-MAS-2020
• ACU-MPH-GCE-2020
• ACU-MPH-GDI-2020
• ACU-MPH-MAS-2020

Special requirements

No special 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. This subject aims to teach students essential knowledge of the various biological, behavioural, economic, social and environmental determinants of health, inequalities in their distribution within the population, and approaches to addressing them.  Students will learn about the evidence and key debates on health determinants, and the implications for creating healthy and equitable societies. Complex public health/social issues involving multiple health determinants, such as rapid urbanisation, homelessness, poverty, and under-employment will be explored. The subject will then consolidate student understanding of health determinants by focusing on environmental health, examining the management of environmental determinants of health, their interaction with other determinants of health, and the promotion and maintenance of healthy environments.

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 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 - Responsibility for health (40%)
• Environmental health assessment & intervention simulation (50%)
• Practice reflection (10%)