Foundations in Public Health & Health Care Systems (PHCM9041)
This course will introduce students to public health and health care systems providing foundational knowledge for future studies and practice.
This course will introduce students to public health and health care systems providing foundational knowledge for future studies and practice.
In this course, your understanding of contemporary public health problems and approaches will be enhanced through an introduction to:
Students will have the opportunity to discuss contemporary issues in public health with their peers and hear from a range of experts.
Face-to-face classes on-campus for Internal students & fully online for Distance External students
A/Prof Sally Nathan
Course Convenor
+61 (2) 9385 1061
s.nathan@unsw.edu.au
A/Prof Anthony Newall
Course Convenor
+61 (2) 9385 8716
a.newall@.unsw.edu.au
This is a core course for the Master of Public Health (MPH) program contributing 6 units of credit towards the total required for completion of the MPH program and is an elective in the Master of Global Health, Master of Infectious Diseases Intelligence and Master of Health Leadership and Management programs.
This course aims to provide you with a solid foundation in the field of public health. This foundation will form the basis for your further study in the Public Health and International Public Health programs.
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
Our approach to learning and teaching is based on adult learning principles. When you are introduced to new material it is expected that as postgraduate students you will be able to integrate prior knowledge, draw on your own experience and formulate new understandings at a theoretical and practical level. It is also expected that you will engage actively with the course material, carefully reflect on the lectures and actively participate in the online tutorials which will provide you with a strong foundation in public health.
Our course participants come from diverse backgrounds, with varied forms of professional training and experience. Participants come from Australia and a number of other countries. The design of the course aims to ensure that every student can benefit by understanding the relevance of the concepts to their own setting, research interests and experiences. In order to do this, we draw on Australian and international examples wherever possible and encourage you to compare and contrast systems and approaches.
In 2022, PHCM9041 will run in a very similar way for both internal and external students with all content delivered online, however there will be an opportunity for face-to-face interaction via two optional Q&A sessions in a classroom or online versions of the same sessions via webinars. There are a total of 14 modules in this course. Each module addresses different aspects of public health at a foundation level. Some of the topics you are introduced to in this course will be covered in more detail in other core courses, or may be available to you to study, in-depth, as elective courses.
Assessment Task 1 – Quiz on public health
Weighting: 15%
Length: Multiple Choice
Assessment Task 2 – Critical assessment of journal article
Weighting: 25%
Length: 1000 words
Assessment Task 3 – Participation in online tutorial groups
Weighting: 15%
Length: 400 words
Assessment Task 4 – Public health issues in practice
Weighting: 45%
Length: 2000 words
Learning resources for this course consist of the following, available in Moodle: