Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
NilIncompatible
PUBD102 Foundations of Health Promotion
Teaching organisation
150 hours of focused learning
Unit rationale, description and aim
Health promotion creates supportive conditions for health, enabling people to have control over, and improve their health and wellbeing. Health promotion officers need to have a good understanding of health promotion approaches and behaviour change models in order to engage community and enable people to address their own health needs and issues. This unit helps students to obtain fundamental knowledge and understanding of health promotion concepts and issues. It provides an introduction to the principles and practices of health promotion, with an emphasis on the factors that determine health and health inequities, including economic, social and environmental influences. Key health issues and strategies for addressing health risk behaviours and optimising the health of populations are explored. Where appropriate students will develop an awareness of the impact of colonisation on Indigenous health and the implications for health promotion planning and practice. The aim of this unit is to support students to be able to plan, carry out and assess health promotion activities in different settings and will apply this knowledge in developing health promotion campaign.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Explain health promotion principles and practices | GC1, GC2, GC9, GC11, GC12 |
| LO2 | Analyse the range of factors that influence the health of populations, including social determinants of health | GC1, GC2, GC5, GC7 |
| LO3 | Advocate for approaches to prevent disease and promote health | GC1, GC5, GC6, GC8, GC9 |
| LO4 | Design a health promotion strategy that applies key principles and theoretical models of health promotion | GC1, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC11 |
Content
Topics will include:
- Health promotion from historical perspective
- Determinants of health
- Inequity and disparities in health
- Emerging issues in health promotion
- Theoretical models in health promotion: the Ottawa Charter in Action
- Health education and behaviour change
- Settings for health promotion
- Community engagement for effective health promotion
- Health promotion with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
- The environment and health promotion
- Globalisation in relation to health promotion
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit fosters student-centred active learning and accommodates diverse student needs. It includes a combination of self-paced, online learning and real-time classes. Early and additional feedback on learning, and tailored support, are provided to facilitate students’ transition to university. This unit comprises weekly tutorial preparation activities, followed by interactive tutorials using student-centred teaching and active learning approach to support students in the exploration of health promotion principles and practices. The unit uses recorded material, readings and interactive activities to teach essential theory and concepts. This learning is then reinforced through facilitated tutorial activities that support students to synthesise knowledge and develop a deep understanding of how to identify health determinants and plan, implement and evaluate health promotion initiatives.
Assessment strategy and rationale
A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. In order to successfully complete this unit, students need to obtain an aggregate mark equal to or greater than 50%.
Assessment in this unit will comprise a quiz and two written assessments. The assessment strategy allows students to progressively develop their knowledge and skills to the level of sophistication where they can apply key health promotion principles to the analysis and development of health promotion strategies. The assessment strategy commences with a quiz to test knowledge and application of key health promotion principles and concepts. A second task requires students to advocate for the need to address particular determinants of health. They will extend and synthesize their understanding through development of an evidence-based health promotion plan.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1: Quiz To assess knowledge of health promotion principles and concepts | 15% | LO1, LO2, LO3 |
Assessment Task 2 : Addressing Health Determinants (written task) To assess ability to articulate a population health issue. | 35 | LO1, LO2, LO3 |
Assessment Task 3: Health promotion program (written task) To assess ability to design and evaluate health promotion interventions for specific groups. | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO4 |
Representative texts and references
Baum, F. (2015). The New Public Health. An Australian Perspective. (4th ed.). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Naidoo, J. & Wills, J. (2016). Foundations for Health Promotion. (4th Ed.). Elsevier.
Keleher, H. & MacDougall, C. (Eds) (2016). Understanding Health: a determinants approach (4th ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Marmot, M., Wilkinson, R. G. (2006). Social Determinants of Health. (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.