Unit Synopsis
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, mental health, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, are among the leading cause of premature death and disability globally including in Australia. The causes of NCDs are complex and multiple, they disproportionately affect groups with low socio-economic status, culturally and linguistically diverse populations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Our behaviour and lifestyles, which are influenced by the commercial and social determinants of health, are major contributors to the increased burden of NCDs and multimorbidity is also an emerging public health challenge. This unit explores the knowledge, principles and skills required to address NCD prevention and management in the Australian context as well as in low- and middle-income countries. In this unit, you will learn about current knowledge of the causes of NCDs and best practices in public health management. You will also gain the capacity to develop and evaluate NCD interventions and healthcare services leading to improved service delivery and a reduced burden of disease.
Details
| Level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 9 |
| 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 1 - 2026
Term 1 - 2026 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. Case Study | 50% |
| 2. Report | 50% |
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.
Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 88.68% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 24.77% response rate.
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: SUTE
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In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Define and appraise major non-communicable diseases (NCDs) affecting populations in general, and in particular groups with low socio-economic status
- Critically analyse the common NCD risk factors from a public health perspective and using a socio-ecological model
- Evaluate the trends of NCD burden across low and middle- and high-income countries
- Apply a system approach to prevention and management of NCDs
- Appraise and apply the roles of public health professionals in terms of prevention and management of NCDs.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Case Study | • | • | • | ||
| 2 - Report | • | • | • | • | |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Communication | • | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | • | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Research | • | • | • | • | • |
| 5 - Self-management | • | • | • | • | • |
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | • | • | • | • | • |
| 7 - Leadership | • | • | • | • | • |
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | • | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |