Overview
This unit will develop student understanding of public health nutrition, which encompasses the biological, social and environmental dimensions of health in promoting and maintaining the nutritional health of populations. Nutritional issues facing population groups in Australia and the role of public health practitioners in promoting health and preventing disease will be considered. Frameworks, policies and legislation relating to nutrition and health promotion practice will be explored along with practical aspects of public health nutrition practice.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: BMED19006 or NUTR12002
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2021
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Unit coordinator
This unit is offered by distance mode only and managing delivery of asynchronous journal club meetings and oral presentations with all students is sometimes difficult.
Online delivery of the asynchronous journal club meetings and oral presentations can be difficult.
- Examine ecological issues of food supply and food policy.
- Interpret government policy on nutrition guidelines, food standards and food regulation legislation.
- Describe food consumption trends and nutrition related problems of at-risk Australian groups and communities.
- Demonstrate understanding of public health nutrition concepts and how they relate to the health of our populations and communities.
- Undertake research which illustrates systematic analysis of a current issue in public health nutrition.
- Demonstrate skills in data collection, analysis and reporting of public health nutrition data.
- Demonstrate skills in group education for public health nutrition promotion.
Per NPC1118
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
1 - Practical and Written Assessment - 70% | |||||||
2 - Group Work - 30% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
1 - Communication | |||||||
2 - Problem Solving | |||||||
3 - Critical Thinking | |||||||
4 - Information Literacy | |||||||
5 - Team Work | |||||||
6 - Information Technology Competence | |||||||
7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||||||
8 - Ethical practice | |||||||
9 - Social Innovation | |||||||
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures |
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
1 - Practical and Written Assessment - 70% | ||||||||||
2 - Group Work - 30% |
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing styles below:
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.p.williams@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Public Health Nutrition - Concepts, Perspectives and Policies
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Tutorial: Introduction and orientation to Public Health Nutrition
Monday 10-11.30am (Online Zoom session)
Module/Topic
Public Health Nutrition - Issues and Epidemiology
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Tutorial: Group work and assessments tasks 2021
Day and time to be confirmed in consultation with enrolled students
Module/Topic
Public Health Nutrition - Principles, Theories and Frameworks
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Tutorial: Public health nutrition - issues and epidemiology
Day and time to be confirmed in consultation with enrolled students
Module/Topic
Assessment and Measurement
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Tutorial: Principles, Theories and Frameworks
Day and time to be confirmed in consultation with enrolled students
- FORMATIVE ASESSMENT TASK: Data collection on food costs and availability - should be completed this week. Please notify unit coordinator if delays in data collection are experienced
- FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT TASK: Choice of journal article for critique - should be finalised this week
Module/Topic
Food Environments and Public Health Nutrition Interventions
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Tutorial: Assessment and measurement
Day and time to be confirmed in consultation with enrolled students
- FORMATIVE ASESSMENT TASK: Data entry for food costs and availability due end of this week. Please notify unit coordinator if delays are experienced.
- SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT TASK: Online Journal Club meeting #1 will be held this week (day and time will be confirmed in consultation with enrolled students)
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
No lectures or tutorials this week
Module/Topic
Data Collection, Analysis and Interpretation
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Tutorial: Data analysis and interpretation
Day and time to be confirmed in consultation with enrolled students
- SUMMATIVE ASESSMENT TASK: Policy brief - Communication in Public Health Nutrition due for submission 9.00am Friday 23rd April
COMMUNICATION IN PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION Due: Week 6 Friday (23 Apr 2021) 9:00 am AEST
Module/Topic
Food and Health Literacy and Community Education
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Tutorial: Report writing
Day and time to be confirmed in consultation with enrolled students
- SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT TASK: Online Journal Club meeting #2 will be held this week (day and time will be confirmed in consultation with enrolled students)
Module/Topic
Telehealth, eHealth and mHealth in Public Health Nutrition
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Tutorial: Food and health literacy and community education
Day and time to be confirmed in consultation with enrolled students
Module/Topic
Communication in Public Health Nutrition
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Tutorial: Telehealth, eHealth and mHealth in Public Health Nutrition
Day and time to be confirmed in consultation with enrolled students
Module/Topic
Public Health Nutrition - Future Perspectives
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Tutorial: Communication in public health nutrition (including oral presentations)
Day and time to be confirmed in consultation with enrolled students
Module/Topic
Review Week
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- SUMMATIVE ASESSMENT TASK: Report on Food access and affordability due 9.00am Friday 28th May
Food access and affordability in our communities Due: Week 11 Friday (28 May 2021) 9:00 am AEST
Module/Topic
Presentation Week
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- SUMMATIVE ASESSMENT TASK: Online Oral Presentations will be scheduled this week (days and times to be confirmed in consultation with enrolled students)
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Your Unit Coordinator and Lecturer this term is: Dr. Susan Williams, Room LG1.13/Building7, CQUniversity Bruce Highway, North Rockhampton. You may contact the Unit Coordinator via Moodle, telephone 07 4923 2213 or email (s.p.williams@cqu.edu.au).
- Public Health Nutrition - is a third year unit which encompasses the biological, social and environmental dimensions of health in promoting and maintaining the nutritional health of populations. Nutritional issues facing population groups in Australia and the role of public health practitioners in promoting health and preventing disease will be considered. Frameworks, policies and legislation relating to nutrition and health promotion practice will be explored along with practical aspects of public health nutrition practice.
- This unit is a core unit in the Bachelor of Medical Science (Nutrition specialisation) and Public Health (Nutrition specialisation) courses, and an elective for the Bachelor of Health Science.
- This unit is based on the concept of experiential learning (learning through reflection and 'doing') where you are expected to play an active role in your learning. Your assessment tasks provide the framework for your learning, but it is expected that you will explore learning topics beyond the basic concepts provided and develop an appreciation for how your learning can be applied to different contexts. By way of professional development and shared learning, it is also expected that you will share your learning experiences and exploration of subject content within the group.
- The learning content for this unit has been developed around key concepts related to public health nutrition practice in Australia. Your learning will be supported by prescribed weekly learning activities, weekly pre-recorded lectures, and regular tutorials and group meetings held throughout the term.
1 Group Work
Effective communication with different audiences is essential to effective practice in public health nutrition. As health practitioners we must use an evidence-based approach to our practice (including our communication) and develop confidence and competence in understanding what we read, conducting further investigation of issues/topics when we do not understand what is written/read; and developing written information or reports that can be understood by a member of the general public. This task will provide you with opportunity to develop:
- skills and competency in using, interpreting and communicating scientific information,
- understanding and appreciation for public health nutrition concepts, and
- skills in group education and communication.
Task Details
To complete this assessment task, you are required to complete Parts 1 and 2.
PART 1. JOURNAL CLUB MEETINGS (no word limit) (10 marks)
To complete PART 1, you will be required to:
- attend and engage in two (2) online journal club meetings held online via Zoom, in weeks 5 and 7 of the term. (NOTE: The specific days and times for each meeting will be determined upon consultation with all students at the commencement of term), and
- critique one (1) journal article that will be presented for discussion during one (1) of the two (2) meetings..
Each student will:
- choose one (1) article from a list of journal articles that will be provided at the start of term.
- be asked to nominate which meeting they will 'present' discussion of their critique (NOTE: you can use your journal article and Journal Club Evaluation template to guide your presentation i.e. you are NOT required to develop slides (e.g. PowerPoint).
- have approximately 15 minutes during a meeting to present their critique and lead discussion of their article.
- be expected to read all other articles being presented during a meeting, to be able to contribute informed discussion of each of the articles.
Critiquing your journal article:
- Read your chosen journal article (probably several times),
- Consider the journal article against the evaluation criteria included in the Journal Club Evaluation template (available via the ASSESSMENT RESOURCES TILE on Moodle),
- Document your responses (can be handwritten or typed) on the Journal Club Evaluation template,
- Present and lead discussion of your article during an online journal club meeting with other students in our unit, and
- Upload your completed Journal Club Evaluation template to Moodle within 24 hours of your presentation at a journal club meeting.
PART 2. DEVELOP A POLICY BRIEF (maximum 1000 words) (20 marks)
To complete PART 2, you will be required to:
- Develop a policy brief that could be used to share evidence and inform public health decisions by local government and non-government decision makers/stakeholders. The policy brief should provide:
- a summary of the best available evidence of one (1) public health nutrition issue/problem facing Australians, and
- evidence-based best practices or policy options available to address the issue/problem.
NOTE: The development of your brief will be underpinned by your completion of learning activities prescribed for weeks 1 through 5. These learning activities are designed as formative tasks that will help you to develop your own understanding and appreciation of public health nutrition issues and concepts. You are not required to submit specific answers or responses to any of the learning activities.
Your policy brief must include:
- A title that quickly communicates the contents of the brief in a memorable way,
- Context or scope of one (1) public health nutrition issue facing a population in Australia, (this should convince the reader of the necessity of policy action and including definitions and explanation of any unfamiliar terms and epidemiology of the issue),
- A summary of best available evidence on the issue including how the issue has been assessed or measured (in any population),
- A summary of evidence-based best practices or policy options for addressing the issue, and
- A bibliography that includes consulted and/or recommended reliable sources that you used to guide development of your brief.
Your policy brief should be:
- Organised into 'chunks' of information with headings,
- Use clear language without unnecessary jargon (i.e., understood by a layperson/non-specialist reader),
- Include bulleted or numbered lists to break up text in the body of the brief,
- Include at least one graph or infographic that supports your main message, and
- Be concise, compelling and visually appealing to your audience.
Week 6 Friday (23 Apr 2021) 9:00 am AEST
PART 1: The journal club meetings will be held in weeks 5 and 7. During week 2 of term, all students will be consulted to arrange specific days and times that each journal club meeting will be held. PART 2: Your POLICY BRIEF will be due for submission by 9.00am on Friday 23rd April (week 6).
Week 8 Friday (7 May 2021)
PART 1: Marks for your presentation and attendance to JOURNAL CLUB MEETINGS will be uploaded to the Moodle gradebook one week following completion of the last meeting. PART 2: Marks and feedback for your POLICY BRIEF will be uploaded to Moodle by the end of week 8.
Part 1. Journal Club Meetings (total 10 marks):
- Presentation to peers during a journal club meeting of critique of a journal article (5 marks)
- Participation in a second journal club meeting (5 marks)
Part 2. Policy brief (total 20 marks):
- A title that quickly communicates the contents of the brief in a memorable way (2 marks)
- Context or scope of one (1) public health nutrition issue facing a population in Australia (5 marks)
- A summary of best available evidence on the issue including how the issue has been assessed or measured (5 marks)
- A summary of evidence-based best practices or policy options for addressing the issue (5 marks)
- A bibliography that includes consulted and/or recommended sources (3 marks).
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Team Work
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
- Examine ecological issues of food supply and food policy.
- Interpret government policy on nutrition guidelines, food standards and food regulation legislation.
- Describe food consumption trends and nutrition related problems of at-risk Australian groups and communities.
- Demonstrate understanding of public health nutrition concepts and how they relate to the health of our populations and communities.
- Demonstrate skills in data collection, analysis and reporting of public health nutrition data.
- Demonstrate skills in group education for public health nutrition promotion.
2 Practical and Written Assessment
The food intakes of Australians are influenced by a range of individual, community and societal factors. Public health nutrition (PHN) focuses on issues affecting whole populations rather than individuals and to develop effective PHN strategies, it is important to understand the impact of population/community level factors on the behaviours and intakes of individuals.
This assessment task requires your engagement in formative and summative activities to develop your understanding and appreciation of public health nutrition issues in context. You will be required to conduct research of Australian communities and food security (in particular food access and affordability) and collaborate with other members of our PHN 'group' (i.e., all students enrolled in the unit).
Task details:
To complete this task, you will be required to complete all the following:
- Choose a community or group at-risk of food insecurity in Australia (Formative).
- Conduct a literature review of food security (including food access and affordability) in Australia with specific consideration for your chosen at-risk group/community (Formative).
- Collect data related to food access and affordability in your community (Formative).
- Complete entry of food access and affordability data collected from your community, into a shared group datasheet (Formative).
- Conduct basic analysis of this group data (Formative).
- Develop a final evidence-based report (approximately 2000 words (+/-10%) that is underpinned by your completion of each of the tasks above (50 marks).
- Develop and deliver a ten (10) minute online oral presentation to your peers to provide insight into food security, and access and affordability issues affecting Australian communities.
Your final report will:
- Identify, evaluate, and synthesise relevant literature related to food security and food access and affordability in Australia,
- Describe the methodology used to collect your data and analyse the group data collected on food costs and availability,
- Outline key results from your data analysis, and
- Discuss implications of the results in relation to current evidence for your at-risk group/community (i.e., evidence from your literature review).
Your report should include:
- At least one (1) table that supports discussion of your results. The table should be presented in APA table format,
- At least 10 references from peer-reviewed journal articles (references are not included in word count).
Week 11 Friday (28 May 2021) 9:00 am AEST
Written Report is due for submission on Friday 28th May. Oral presentations will be scheduled to occur in week 12 (specific days and times will be established in consultation with enrolled students at the start of term).
Marking of your Written Report will be completed within 2 weeks of your submission.
For the WRITTEN REPORT (50 marks) criteria will be based on:
- Quality of writing.
- Competence in addressing all aspects of the task.
- Formulation of arguments, critical analysis, interpretation and explanation.
- Relevance of discussion; Accuracy in use of supporting evidence.
- Organisation of report.
NOTE: A detailed marking rubric for your written report will be available on the unit Moodle site (See ASSESSMENT RESOURCES TILE).
For the ORAL PRESENTATION (20 marks) criteria will be based on:
- Background information.
- Confidence and competence in delivery of presentation.
- Clarity and flow of presentation.
- Body language, diction and pace of presentation.
- Content and organisation of slides.
- Engagement with content of presentation.
NOTE: 50% of marks (i.e. 10 marks) for the Oral Presentation will be contributed by peer review. A template for peer review, will be available in the ASSESSMENT RESOURCES TILE on the unit Moodle site.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
- Examine ecological issues of food supply and food policy.
- Interpret government policy on nutrition guidelines, food standards and food regulation legislation.
- Describe food consumption trends and nutrition related problems of at-risk Australian groups and communities.
- Demonstrate understanding of public health nutrition concepts and how they relate to the health of our populations and communities.
- Undertake research which illustrates systematic analysis of a current issue in public health nutrition.
- Demonstrate skills in data collection, analysis and reporting of public health nutrition data.
- Demonstrate skills in group education for public health nutrition promotion.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.