Health in Resource-constrained Settings

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

170 hours per 12.5 credit point subject

To enrol in this subject, you must be admitted in the Graduate Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. This subject is not available for students admitted in any other courses.

For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this course are articulated in the Course Overview, Objectives 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 course are encouraged to discuss this matter with the Student Equity and Disability Support Team: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Tropical disease mostly occurs in low and middle income countries where health resources are generally constrained. Practitioners of tropical health must be equipped to meet the many challenges of practising in resource constrained settings and be ready to engage in innovative and effective responses.

This 12.5-point subject is a core subject of the Postgraduate Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H). A range of presentations and interactive activities will cover:

• disease surveillance, prevention and control,
• outbreak investigation and response,
• measuring health status of communities,
• helping health workers learn,
• district health systems and district services management,
• management of small health facilities,
• management of vaccine programmes,
• issues of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH),
• maternal and newborn care (MNCH), and
• management of undernutrition.

This subject will be taught on campus in block mode over 5 days.

By the end of this subject students will be able to:

• design and implement strategies for disease monitoring, surveillance, prevention, investigation and control.
• facilitate training and other methods to build capacity of health workers in resource-constrained settings.
• describe systems of health specific to low and middle income countries.

1. Group oral presentation of 30 minutes: tropical health project designed for a resource-constrained setting. Groups of 4 – 5 students. Each student is to make equal contribution to the presentation - 25%
2. MCQs and/or short answer questions – 1.5-hour examination - 25%
3. Written assignment 2500 words - 50%

Students will be issued key readings for this subject.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Upon completion of this subject, students will have developed skills in:

• Critical thinking and analysis
• Working with others and in teams
• Initiative, autonomy and organisation
• Problem-solving
• Oral communication
• Finding, evaluating and using relevant information
• Written communication
• Decision-making
• Leadership
• Persuasion and argumentation
• Using computers and relevant software