Enrolments for 2021 have closed.
Disease Prevention and Management
Postgraduate | ACU-PUBH631 | 2021
Course information for 2021 intake
View information for 2022 course intake- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- Part of a degree
- Duration
- 13 weeks
FEE-HELP available
Disease Prevention and Management
About this subject
On successful completion of the Disease Prevention and Management unit, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate specialised knowledge of disease prevention and management strategies, and emergency/disaster responses, in the context of public health practice
- Distinguish between different types of prevention and management strategies and decide on their applicability to particular diseases or circumstances
- Critique specific policies, interventions and service models in relation to disease prevention and management strategies and emergency/disaster responses
- Evaluate the long-term impact of disease prevention and management strategies at a community or population level
- Apply program management approaches to disease prevention and management strategies used in public health
- Design a disease prevention or management strategy that appropriately responds to an assessed need and integrates knowledge of program management approaches
- Communicable diseases
- Communicable diseases: aetiology, classifications (e.g. acute, chronic), models/means of transmission, global communicable disease burden, available treatments o Prevention: preventive measures such as vaccination, transmission/vector reduction, personal protective measures, living conditions o Management: short/long term treatment, infection control, containment, other responses (e.g. contact tracing)
- Prevention: preventive measures such as vaccination, transmission/vector reduction, personal protective measures, living conditions
- Management: short/long term treatment, infection control, containment, other responses (e.g. contact tracing)
- 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)
- 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
Prevention and management strategies for communicable and non-communicable diseases constitute major areas of public health action, and are key to reducing mortality and the population-level disease burden. While communicable diseases continue to be an issue of global concern, non-communicable diseases are now the greatest cause of death and disability globally, including in low and middle income countries. This subject 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 public health frameworks and responses to these broad categories of diseases, and those for specific diseases, ranging from preventive strategies for communicable diseases (e.g. vaccination) through to integrated models for chronic disease management. Students will also learn practical skills in needs assessment, health impact assessment and program management to support the development, implementation, evaluation and sustainability of disease prevention/management programs. Theoretical, practical and program management issues will be integrated into detailed examination of case studies on prevention and management of disease and injury.
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%.
PUBH631 assessments are designed to simulate the work of a public health practitioner working as a planner or policy advisor, providing internal advice and policymaking in different organisational contexts. The 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 assessing health risks in a given scenario. They will extend and synthesise their understanding through development of a disease prevention and management plan. Assessment for this unit will conclude with a brief practice reflection task, enabling students to identify how knowledge gained in this unit will influence their future public health practice.- Infections disease prevention and management in a specialised setting (40%)
- Planning implementation and evaluation of a disease prevention initiative (50%)
- Practice reflection (10%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
Established in 1991 after amalgamating four eastern Australian Catholic tertiary institutes, Australian Catholic University now has seven campuses, from Brisbane to Melbourne and welcomes students of all beliefs. Specialising in arts, business, education, health sciences, law, theology and philosophy, ACU encourages its students to think critically and ethically and bring change to their communities and offer this online through Open Universities Australia.
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Entry requirements
To enrol in this subject, you must be admitted into a degree.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.