This course is focused on population approaches to the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, selected cancers and their risk factors (diet, exercise, tobacco, alcohol), which are responsible for considerable morbidity and premature adult mortality globally.
The course will provide students with an understanding of the evidential basis for the cause of these diseases from epidemiological and bio-medical studies, followed by detailed analysis of contemporary population health risk factors and the challenges they pose for population approaches to prevention and management. The course aims to provide students with the ability to critically evaluate the evidence for causation and (cost)-effectiveness of interventions for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and selected cancers in populations. The strengths, weaknesses and challenges of different population approaches to prevention and management, and their record of success and failures, will be critically evaluated.
This course is an elective available to participants in all stages of the Public Health, Global Health, and Health Leadership and Management programs, comprising 6 units of credit. It can be taken by people doing other courses at UNSW or studying at other institutions by arrangement.
External (fully online)
Dr Christine Linhart
Course Convenor
+61 (2) 9385 8686
c.linhart@unsw.edu.au
There are no prerequisites for taking this course, however, understanding of basic epidemiological measures of disease and risk factors (incidence, prevalence, relative risk, odds ratio, population attributable fraction), and how they are calculated, would be a strong advantage.
This course aims to equip students with an insight into the realities and challenges of population-based and high-risk approaches to the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and selected cancers, as well as the wide range of strategies to manage such challenges. The course aims to provide students with the ability to analyse and critically appraise the evidence for causation and effectiveness of prevention and control interventions in populations at community, national and global levels using real case scenarios and examples.
By the end of the course you will be able to:
This course is based on a model of adult learning where all participants are responsible for actively contributing to the course and drawing on and sharing their depth of knowledge on their own health contexts. It is envisaged that there will be international students within the course who will, no doubt, know more about the domestic situation in their home country than the presenters, so the presenter’s role will be to provide the tools, insights and concepts that students can apply to their own situation. Furthermore, there may be domestic and international students who have direct experience in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and selected cancers in the developed or developing country setting, and this background will be utilised during the course.
Assessment Task 1 – Online Quiz
Length: 20 questions
Weighting: 10%
Assessment Task 2 – Minor Essay
Length: 1500 words
Weighting: 40%
Assessment Task 3 – Major Essay
Length: 2000 words
Weighting: 50%
There are no required textbooks for this course. Learning resources consist of the following, posted on Moodle: