Disease Prevention and Management

• • Communicable diseases
  • - Communicable diseases: aetiology, classifications (e.g. acute, chronic), models/means of transmission, global communicable disease burden, available treatments
  • - Case study – e.g. COVID 19: public health surveillance and emergency responses including the treatment strategies, and preventive strategies (e.g. case containment/transmission reduction through quarantine/physical distancing personal protective measures, contact tracing, vaccination)
  • - Communicable disease in indigenous Australians
  • Non-communicable diseases
  • - Non-communicable diseases: aetiology of common NCDs, classifications (e.g. acute, chronic), development and distribution throughout lifespan/population, global burden of disease
  • - Prevention: primary, secondary, tertiary prevention targets, approaches
  • - Management: integrated chronic disease management, management of specific conditions, contextual and other issues (e.g. multimorbidity, population ageing)
  • - Non-Communicable disease in indigenous Australians
  • Injury
  • - Common types of injury, burden of disease
  • - Particular injury-population pairs: older people and falls, young people and road traffic accidents
  • - Models of injury prevention and management, application to particular circumstances (e.g. workplace safety, return-to-work programs for injured workers)
  • Program planning, implementation and evaluation
  • - Fundamental concepts of program/project management
  • - Disease prevention/management programs as knowledge translation
  • - Needs assessment: methods, data collection, analysis and interpretation
  • - Planning and implementation: approaches, impact of contextual factors, integration into practice
  • - Evaluation: methods, internal/external validity, analysis and reporting
  • Public health and emergency management
  • - Emergency response: general principles and planning
  • - Specific public health issues associated with disaster and emergency management
  • - Response phases: short-term (e.g. triage, injury, sanitation issues) vs long-term (e.g. management of PTSD) responses and public health
  • - Case studies: disaster responses in Australia and internationally with short-/long-term consequences to public health

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

Additional requirements

No additional requirements

Disease prevention and management strategies constitute major areas of public health action and are key to reducing mortality and the population-level burden. COVID 19 has demonstrated that communicable diseases can very quickly become global pandemics, requiring public health emergency responses. Non-communicable diseases are also a cause of death and disability globally, including in low and middle income countries. Injuries, such as falls in older people and road traffic accidents in young people, also contribute substantially to the global burden of disease. This unit will equip students with the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to effectively prevent and manage communicable and non-communicable disease or injury in various settings, including public health emergencies. Students will learn about communicable disease using a case study (e.g. COVID 19). Areas covered will include public health surveillance and emergency responses including the treatment strategies, and preventive strategies (e.g. case containment through quarantine/physical distancing, contact tracing, vaccination). Students will also examine integrated models for non-communicable disease management. This unit aims to introduce students to disease prevention and management strategies with a focus on communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases and injuries.

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 complete and submit three graded assessment tasks and obtain an aggregate mark of greater than 50%. The ACU PUBH631 assessment strategy allows students to progressively develop their knowledge and skills to the level of sophistication where they are able to identify health risks and needs, and develop disease prevention and management strategies. In order to develop the knowledge and skills required to achieve the learning outcomes and Graduate Attributes, students first demonstrate knowledge through a written task, then assessing health risks in a specialised occupational setting . They will extend and synthesise their understanding through development and evaluation of a disease prevention and management plan.

• Letter to the editor (20%)
• Prevention and management in a specialised occupational setting. (40%)
• Planning, implementation and evaluation of a disease prevention initiative (40%)

For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).