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:

1. A title that quickly communicates the contents of the brief in a memorable way,
2. 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),
3. A summary of best available evidence on the issue including how the issue has been assessed or measured (in any population),
4. A summary of evidence-based best practices or policy options for addressing the issue, and
5. 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.

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).

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:

1. Choose a community or group at-risk of food insecurity in Australia (Formative).
2. 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).
3. Collect data related to food access and affordability in your community (Formative).
4. Complete entry of food access and affordability data collected from your community, into a shared group datasheet (Formative).
5. Conduct basic analysis of this group data (Formative).
6. Develop a final evidence-based report (approximately 2000 words (+/-10%) that is underpinned by your completion of each of the tasks above (50 marks).
7. 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).

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.