Overview
At a global level, there are rising demands for health and social care, limited resources and increasing inequalities in health. Community health assets and needs assessments have a vital part to play, enabling practitioners, managers and policymakers to identify those in greatest need; the physical, economic, social and cultural assets available within the community; and to ensure that health care resources are used to maximise health improvement. For health promotion practitioners, the ability to conduct a community health assessment is a core skill. You will be introduced to the different types of community assets and needs assessments that can be undertaken with local communities. You will examine the history and role of community assets and needs assessments and review a range of methods that can be used to implement and evaluate assets and needs assessments in local communities. You will have the opportunity to complete a community profile and also undertake a community assets and needs assessment.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
48-credit unit pre-requisite
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2024
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student evaluation. Discussion with Head of Course.
Learning requirements are not clear and the volume of material and assessment is overwhelming for some students, particularly those with learning challenges.
Change the learning outcomes to be clearer. Provide fewer readings and some key optional readings. Refresh lectures to be shorter with key learning points. Refresh data collection and analysis modules.
Feedback from Student assessment. Discussion with Head of Course.
Some students rely heavily on exemplars for Assessment 1 and 2.
Provide suggested headings and a clear outline of what is expected in each of these sections. Be clearer about plagiarism and academic integrity.
Feedback from Student evaluation. Teaching reflection. Discussion with Head of Course.
First year students do not have sufficient skills, knowledge and experience to undertake the unit (particularly in research and teamwork).
Change to a 48-credit unit pre-requisite, to ensure that first year students cannot undertake the unit.
Feedback from Student feedback. Teaching reflection.
Some team members did not engage with Assessment 2 Part II A Team Project Plan/Team Charter or with data collection and analysis.
Change rubric so that there is the option to fail if students do not participate in team meetings or contribute to the group assessment. Instead of group submission, change to individual submission. Provide a clearer schedule and timing of what teams need to do in terms of a community assets and needs assessment.
Feedback from Teaching reflection. Discussion with Head of Course.
Student numbers could be increased through promotion to other disciplines.
Discuss the Public Health Minor with heads of relevant courses.
Feedback from Teaching reflection. Student evaluation.
The discussion board was useful for students but there are too many. Furthermore, some students do not post in a timely manner.
Decrease the number of compulsory discussion board topics. Close discussion board one week after the end of the related module to promote timely and useful discussion.
Feedback from Teaching reflection. Student feedback
The weighting of assessments does not reflect the amount of work undertaken.
Change Assessment 1: Community Profile to be shorter and worth 25% (from 30%). Change Assessment 2: Part I: Community Assets and Needs Assessment Individual Report to 35% (from 30%).
- Argue the importance of community assets and needs assessment as the foundation of effective health promotion.
- Examine how determinants of health are incorporated into community assets and needs assessments.
- Determine how various health promotion theories and frameworks influence different sources of information in community assets and needs assessments.
- Apply culturally appropriate methods and models to assess the assets and needs of a community and facilitate knowledge transfer and advocacy
- Implement different collaborative methods for the analysis and prioritisation of information obtained through community assets and needs assessments.
- Explain how ethical considerations are applied in a community assets and needs assessment context
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Presentation - 25% | ||||||
| 2 - Group Work - 40% | ||||||
| 3 - Report - 35% | ||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- PowerPoint
- Zoom capacity (web cam and microphone)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing styles below:
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
k.green2@cqu.edu.au
l.bricknell@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Defining and Understanding Community
Community assets and needs assessments: what are they and why do we do them?
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of narrated PowerPoints, journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online asynchronous tutorial/Discussion Board
Introductory Zoom Tutorial (week 1)
Module/Topic
Introduction to Community Profiles
Collecting, evaluating and using existing or secondary data
Identifying, characterising and defining the community's assets and needs (Asset mapping and strengths based approaches)
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of narrated PowerPoints, journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Zoom Tutorial on Assessment 1 and Assessment 2 (Part C) (week 3)
Online asynchronous tutorial/Discussion Board
Module/Topic
Steps to Undertake a Community Assets and Needs Assessment
Working Collaboratively with Communities and Teams
- Teamwork
- Prioritised communities
Ethical considerations for data collection
CQU Micro-credential: PDC87074: Human Research Ethics Training
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of narrated PowerPoints, journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
CQU Micro-credential: PDC87074: Human Research Ethics Training (Assessment 2 Part C)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online asynchronous tutorial/Discussion Board
Zoom Tutorial: Focus on Assessments 2 & 3 (week 6)
Teams formed for Assessment 2: Community Health Assessment (end of week 5)
Online collaborative teamwork for Assessment 2
Assessment 2 Part C: Due Friday 19 April 2024, 11.45pm (Week 6)
Community Profile Due: Week 6 Monday (15 Apr 2024) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Quantitative Data Collection
- Developing Surveys and Questionnaires (including using Qualtrics)
Quantitative Data Analysis
Qualitative Data Collection
- Interview Skills
- Observation
Qualitative Data Analysis
Tools for Conducting Community Needs Assessment (Optional)
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of narrated PowerPoints, journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online asynchronous tutorial/Discussion Board
Online collaborative teamwork for Assessment 2
Assessment 2 Part A: Team Workplan and Charter, due Friday 3 May 2024, 11:45pm. (Week 8)
Module/Topic
Prioritising health and social issues
Prioritising: SWOT technique
Assessment to Action: Designing programs from Community Needs and Assets Assessments
Evaluation of Needs Assessments (Optional section)
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of narrated PowerPoints, journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online asynchronous tutorial/Discussion Board
Online collaborative teamwork for Assessment 2
Module/Topic
Report writing
Reporting to the community
Receiving and implementing community feedback
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of narrated PowerPoints, journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online asynchronous tutorial/Discussion Board
Online collaborative teamwork for Assessment 2
Assessment 2 Part B: Evaluation of Teamwork and Needs Assessment Process Due Friday 31 May 2024, 11.45 (Week 12)
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Presentation
Provide a detailed community profile in the form of an individual oral presentation. A suggested format is outlined on the task description in the Moodle. Further information will be presented in the week 3 tutorial. This presentation will include:
- The definition and elements of community, as outlined by Issel & Wells (2018)
- Information about people, place, and interaction relevant to your chosen community
- Commentary about the assets available in the community
- Commentary about the strengths and limitations of the information/data presented
- Commentary related to what additional data could contribute to a comprehensive community needs assessment of your chosen community
- Commentary about how you would involve community members, key stakeholders, and/or local organisations in developing a community needs assessment
Students should upload their recording to the student 360echo.
In addition, a PDF version of their Presentation and a Word version of speaking notes should be uploaded to Moodle.
Week 6 Monday (15 Apr 2024) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 8 Monday (29 Apr 2024)
This presentation will be marked using criterion-referenced assessment. See assessment rubric for more details. Criterion includes the following:
- Demonstrated knowledge and considerable understanding of people, place, interaction and infrastructure within a community (30%)
- Ability to locate, analyse and evaluate basic data (30%)
- Ability to identify and discuss limitations of information/data presented within the community profile (15%)
- Ability to identity how to involve appropriate community members, key stakeholders, and/or local organisations in a community needs assessment (10%)
- Presentation skills (10%)
- Ability to reference using Harvard or APA (see referencing guides) (5%)
- Argue the importance of community assets and needs assessment as the foundation of effective health promotion.
- Examine how determinants of health are incorporated into community assets and needs assessments.
2 Group Work
Teams of students will undertake data collection and analysis for a comprehensive community health assessment of a chosen community. This community should be the same community profiled by one of the team members in Assessment One. As a team you will use a prioritisation technique to identify a health issue from the needs assessment data. Each team will consist of 4 or 5 members. Teams will be assigned by week 5.
The ability to work in project teams is an important attribute for any health professional particularly those involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of health promotion programs. Team work promotes the development of many of CQUniversity’s Graduate Attributes including teamwork, critical evaluation, feedback and communication skills as well as academic honesty. Furthermore, community needs assessments are usually conducted in multidisciplinary teams and in partnerships with communities.
Part A: Team Workplan and Charter
Weighting: 20%
Due Date: Week 8 Friday 3 May 2024, 11.45pm.
The purpose of Assessment 2 Part A is to allocate tasks and team member roles. The Workplan and Team Charter will be a useful tool for teamwork and project management throughout data collection and analysis. Teams will develop a team workplan, which outlines a) the tasks related to the process of the community assets and needs assessment b) the schedule of tasks related to the final report and c) the roles and responsibilities in relation to these. A team charter will be developed that outlines team goals, strengths and challenges and ground rules. A template and guide will be provided on the Moodle site. Students are encouraged to meet with the unit coordinator prior to finalising the team workplan and charter.
Part B: Evaluation of Teamwork and Needs Assessment Process
Weighting: 15%
Due Date: Friday 31 May 2024, 11.45pm
The purpose of Assessment 2 Part B is to evaluate the teamwork and project management process. Teams undertake evaluation of the process, which assesses a) the tasks related to the process of the community assets and needs assessment b) the schedule of tasks related to the final report and c) the roles and responsibilities in relation to these. A template and guide will be provided on the Moodle site.
Part C: Ethics Module
Weighting: 5%
Due Date: Week 6 Friday 3 May 2024, 11.45pm.
Individual students are required to undertake the CQU Micro-credential HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS TRAINING - PDC87074 on ethics before data collection commences. Instructions are available on the Moodle site. Students commence the module at any time during the term however will need to have completed the module and upload the PDF completion certificate by the Friday of week 6. Data collection cannot commence until all team members have completed the module.
Part A: Week 8 Friday 3 May 2024, 11.45pm. Part B: Friday 31 May 2024, 11.45pm Part C: Friday 19 April 2024, 11.45pm
2 Week after submission
Part A: Team Workplan and Charter (20%)
This assessment will be marked using criterion-referenced assessment. See assessment rubric for more details. Criterion includes the following:
Relevance (40%)
Validity (40%)
Organisation (10%)
Presentation (10%)
Part B: Evaluation of Teamwork and Needs Assessment Process (15%)
Relevance (40%)
Validity (40%)
Organisation (10%)
Presentation (10%)
Part C: Ethics Module (5%)
5 marks will be awarded for completion of the module.
- Argue the importance of community assets and needs assessment as the foundation of effective health promotion.
- Examine how determinants of health are incorporated into community assets and needs assessments.
- Determine how various health promotion theories and frameworks influence different sources of information in community assets and needs assessments.
- Apply culturally appropriate methods and models to assess the assets and needs of a community and facilitate knowledge transfer and advocacy
- Implement different collaborative methods for the analysis and prioritisation of information obtained through community assets and needs assessments.
- Explain how ethical considerations are applied in a community assets and needs assessment context
3 Report
Using the data collection, data analysis and health issue prioritisation process from Assessment 2, present an individual community assets and needs assessment report (Assessment 3).
The report will include:
- An executive summary
- An introduction
- An outline of data collection and analysis methods, including ethical and community engagement considerations
- A critical discussion of the findings of the assets and needs assessment including community description and demographics, health and community services, etc.
- A description of the group process of identifying a health priority and an outline of relevant recommendations
- An outline of an effective and culturally sensitive health promotion intervention that addresses this health issue in the community
- A discussion of strengths and limitations of the report (e.g. the data collection and analysis)
- A conclusion
- Evidence based recommendations for practice, policy and further research
An example report will be discussed in the week 6 tutorial.
Review/Exam Week Friday (7 June 2024) 11:45 pm AEST
Two weeks after submission.
This assessment will be marked using criterion-referenced assessment. See assessment rubric for more details. Criterion includes the following:
Executive summary (5%)
Report Writing Format (10%)
Knowledge of a strengths based approach and knowledge and understanding of ethical and community engagement requirements of a needs assessment (15%)
Knowledge and understanding of types of data that can be utilised for a community health assessment, including primary and secondary date and quantitative and qualitative data (15%)
Data analysis and presentation skills (15%)
Identification of strengths and limitations of the needs assessment (10%)
Use of data to prioritise a health need and design an appropriate health promotion intervention using an appropriate prioritisation tool/technique (15%)
Clear recommendations which are consistent with the health assessment (10%)
Referencing skills (5%)
No submission method provided.
- Argue the importance of community assets and needs assessment as the foundation of effective health promotion.
- Examine how determinants of health are incorporated into community assets and needs assessments.
- Determine how various health promotion theories and frameworks influence different sources of information in community assets and needs assessments.
- Apply culturally appropriate methods and models to assess the assets and needs of a community and facilitate knowledge transfer and advocacy
- Explain how ethical considerations are applied in a community assets and needs assessment context
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
