Evaluating Chronic Disease Programs (PHCM2009)
Students will learn how to plan an evaluation strategy through using a series of chronic disease case studies representing a range of population settings.
As global populations grow, age and transition away from traditional ways of life, the causes of ill health and death are also changing. Chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer are now the largest causes of death and disability in nearly all countries today. Therefore, it has become vitally important to ensure that health programs to address chronic diseases are effective at improving and protecting the health of the population so that precious resources and effort is not wasted. Monitoring and evaluation of chronic disease health programs enables us to learn about how we can make improvements in order to improve people's health.
Successful completion of this course will provide students with foundational skills in program evaluation. Students will learn how to plan an evaluation strategy through using a series of chronic disease case studies representing a range of population settings. These case studies have been selected as they represent the main disease burdens currently afflicting global populations.
This is a core course in the Bachelor of International Public Health (3880) comprising 6 units of credit towards the total required for completion of the study program.
Mode of study
Fully online
Key contact
Dr Sophia Lin
Course Convenor
+61 (2) 9385 8682
sophia.lin@unsw.edu.au
- Who should do this course?
- Course outcomes
- Learning & teaching
- Assessments
- Readings & resources
Who should do this course?
Students who have completed 48 UOC are eligle to enrol in this course.
Course outcomes
The course aims to help students understand the importance and relevance of undertaking program evaluation in modern public health practice. Using chronic diseases and their risk factors as case studies, students will be guided and supported in developing a basic program evaluation plan.
- Describe the broader social determinants that underpin the relationship between changes to ways of life, the occurrence of risk factors, and their relationship to chronic disease development.
- Accurately explain the epidemiological transition and how this theory can be used to inform the development of population health programs, especially in lower resourced populations.
- Describe the purpose and process of program evaluation in modern public health practice; accurately identify the types of evaluation and explain the context in which each of these types of evaluation are used.
- Demonstrate the use of an evaluation framework and producing an evaluation plan.
Learning & teaching
Assessment Task 1 - Discussion Forum Participation
Length: 200-300 words for initial post; 100-200 words for response post
Weighting: 20% (5% each)
Assessment Task 2 - Presentation on the epidemiological transition
Length: 10-12 minutes
Weighting: 25%
Assessment Task 3 - Logic model
Length: 1000 - 1200 words
Weighting: 20%
Assessment Task 4 - Evaluation plan
Length: 2500 words
Weighting: 35%
Assessments
Assessment Task 1 - Discussion Forum Participation
Length: 200-300 words for initial post; 100-200 words for response post
Weighting: 20% (5% each)
Assessment Task 2 - Presentation on the epidemiological transition
Length: 10-12 minutes
Weighting: 25%
Assessment Task 3 - Logic model
Length: 1000 - 1200 words
Weighting: 20%
Assessment Task 4 - Evaluation plan
Length: 2500 words
Weighting: 35%
Readings & resources
There is no compulsory textbook for this course. The readings required to complete the activities in the interactive lectures are included in the lectures via weblinks. These readings may be a journal article, a report, videos, podcasts or news articles. Some lectures will also include recommended resources for optional further reading.