Enrolments for 2023 have closed.
Contemporary Issues in Public Health and an Introduction to Systems Thinking
Postgraduate | UND-MEDI5016 | 2023
Course information for 2023 intake View information for 2024 course intake
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- Part of a degree
- Duration
- 13 weeks
FEE-HELP available
Contemporary Issues in Public Health and an Introduction to Systems Thinking
About this subject
On completion of this subject, the student should be able to:
- Describe how the health of populations and individuals is shaped by the biological, social, cultural and environmental determinants of health.
- Describe how approaches to public health practice have evolved over the past 200 years in response to changing patterns of health and illness.
- Discuss concepts that are central to the practice of public health and their application to contemporary public health issues.
- Describe the emergence of systems thinking and how this is used to analyse the factors influencing the health of populations.
- Apply a systems approach to investigate and tackle complex public health issues.
- Public Health
- Systems Thinking
- Chronic Disease
- Causal Loop Diagrams
- Infectious Diseases
- System Dynamics Modelling
- Cynefin
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
- Critical Systems Heuristics
- Systemic Intervention
- Current and Emerging Public Health Issues
- Homelessness
- Environmental Determinants of Health
This subject introduces graduates to fundamental public health concepts through an analysis of contemporary issues in public health. Issues include: changing demography, Indigenous rights and health, environmental change and planetary boundaries, increasing chronic diseases, emerging infectious diseases, responding to social disadvantage, and public health activism. The subject will identify forces driving rapid change, such as globalisation and demands for social justice and human rights and global responses such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Learners will be provided with an introduction to the principles of systems thinking and their application to public health issues.
1. Small group presentation to the class
2. Small group presentations to the class
3. Individual Written submission- prepare a presentation to be given to the whole class that uses public health and systems thinking competencies to examine a contemporary issue related to an Australian public health success story of the last twenty years. (25%)
- Prepare and present to the whole class a critique of the Ottawa Charter. (25%)
- Students will complete a written report of 1400 words on the insights offered by systems thinking on the health problems caused by air pollution.. (50%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
The University of Notre Dame Australia is committed to delivering an excellent student experience, alongside a high standard of teaching, research, and training. As a leader in ethical education, Notre Dame aims to develop students’ critical reasoning and their ability to make ethical decisions—crucial skills to progressing their careers and leading purposeful lives. At Notre Dame, students navigate their future with an ethical education online.
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Entry requirements
Part of a degree
To enrol in this subject you must be accepted into one of the following degrees:
Core
- UND-PES-GCE-2023 - Graduate Certificate in Public and Environmentally Sustainable Health
Additional requirements
- Other requirements - Class is online in the evening, 6pm - 9pm.
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.
Related degrees
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
PostgraduateUND-PES-GCE
Graduate Certificate in Public and Environmentally Sustainable Health