Principles & Practice of Public Health

Subject 505-111 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 9 (Graduate/Postgraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

Classroom
For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: One 1-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Total Time Commitment: Approximately six hours of private study per week
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Contact

Dr Emma Miller, School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University

School of Population Health, University of Melbourne

Subject Overview:

This unit provides students with an integrated overview of the ways in which different theories and disciplinary perspectives have informed public health principles and practices both in the past and present. The unit provides the foundations for a contextual understanding of the specific methods of public health research, policy development and program planning and implementation. Principles and Practice of Public Health is a “glue” unit for the study of public health, drawing linkages between areas that may at first sight appear quite disparate.
Objectives: At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
  • Discuss the historical underpinnings of contemporary public health theory and how these events have shaped current theory and practice of public health;
  • Understand how political movements and events have shaped public health including human rights, imperialism, wars, famines and the development of global health organisations;
  • Describe the diversity of public health, its sources of knowledge, policies and regulations;
  • Identify the key influences of different disciplinary perspectives on public health theory and practice.
Assessment:

Two 1,000-word minor assignments (20% each) one 3,000-word major assignment (60%)
Prescribed Texts: Lin, V. Smith J and Fawkes S (2007) Public Health Practice in Australia: The organized effort. Allen & Unwin.
Beaglehole, R. & Bonita, R. (2004). Public Health at the Crossroads. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Baum, F. (2002) The New Public Health 2nd Ed. Melbourne, Oxford University Press.
Recommended Texts: None
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Links to further information: http://www.sph.unimelb.edu.au
Notes: This subject is a Master of Public Health Consortium subject.

Related Course(s): Master of Public Health

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