Unit Synopsis
Understanding Public Health introduces you to ways of thinking and perspectives that form the foundations of public health. These include examining the received wisdom of public health from the last 200 years such as different models of health and theoretical frameworks, and critiquing the approaches used in the past. You will be introduced to the social-ecological model of health that forms the basis of community-based and community-led public health. As such, you will consider the different types of leadership required for various approaches to public health practice and consider your own positionality. You will explore the differences between evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence and how these types of evidence can apply to the various approaches in public health. Finally, you will be introduced to strengths-based and disease prevention approaches as they are applied in public health.
Details
| Level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 8 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
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). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2026
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Term 3 - 2026 Profile
Term 1 - 2027 Profile
Term 2 - 2027 Profile
Term 3 - 2027 Profile
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 Postgraduate 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.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 40% |
| 2. Group Work | 40% |
| 3. Reflective Practice Assignment | 20% |
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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web 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.
Source: Student feedback
Students valued the use of current public health issues, news stories and real-world examples throughout the unit. Students also responded positively to the weekly contextualisation of content within contemporary public health practice.
Continue to utilise contemporary public health examples and current events to demonstrate the real-world application of public health concepts. This approach will be retained in future offerings of the unit.
In Progress
Source: Self reflection/ Staff feedback
Teaching team feedback indicated that the embedded Academic Learning Centre (ALC) support was valuable in assisting students with academic writing, assessment preparation and academic integrity.
Continue the partnership with the Academic Learning Centre and maintain embedded academic skills support throughout the term.
In Progress
Source: Student feedback
Students requested clearer assessment feedback and greater flexibility for distance students, particularly regarding access to learning materials, assessment support and submission arrangements.
Review assessment support materials and opportunities to improve flexibility and communication for distance students. Additional assessment guidance and support resources will be considered for future offerings. Learning and teaching practices will continue to be reviewed to enhance the experience of distance students.
In Progress
Source: Self reflection/ Staff feedback
Unit coordinator and teaching team reflection identified that several lecture resources require updating to better reflect current public health systems, policies and contemporary practice examples.
Lecture materials will be reviewed and updated prior to the next offering of the unit, with particular attention to contemporary Australian and global public health issues.
In Progress
Source: Self reported
Updates needed within unit content to reflect contemporary Public Health practice.
Review and update unit content, learning resources, and case studies to ensure alignment with current public health priorities, emerging evidence, contemporary practice standards, and workforce expectations. Incorporate recent examples and policy developments to maintain the currency and relevance of the unit.
A comprehensive review of unit materials was undertaken to ensure alignment with contemporary public health practice. Learning resources, weekly content, assessment tasks, and case studies were updated to incorporate current evidence, policy developments, and emerging public health challenges, thereby improving the relevance and currency of the unit for students.
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Analyse the history of public health and its changing philosophical, theoretical and practice models over the last 200 years
- Critique the ethics associated with different scales and approaches to public health, particularly in relation to First Nations Peoples
- Discuss the impact of a social ecological model of health on public health practice
- Differentiate between transactional and collaborative leadership and the related implications for public health practice
- Reflect on own positionality regarding approach to health practice and relationships with others, especially those from different backgrounds
- Distinguish between practice-based and evidence-based approaches used in public health and relate each to different models of health and approaches to practice
- Justify taking a strengths-based or disease prevention approach to public health practice.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | ||||
| 2 - Group Work | • | • | • | ||||
| 3 - Reflective Practice Assignment | • | ||||||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | • | • | • | ||||
| 2 - Communication | • | • | |||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | • | • | |||||
| 4 - Research | • | ||||||
| 5 - Self-management | • | ||||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | • | • | • | ||||
| 7 - Leadership | • | ||||||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | ||||||
| 2 - Group Work | • | • | • | • | • | ||||
| 3 - Reflective Practice Assignment | • | • | • | ||||||