Overview
There is an enormous body of health data and information that is relevant to public health and the ability to locate, interpret and communicate health information is a fundamental skillset required by all public health professionals. In this unit you will be introduced to the concepts of measurement and data relating to public health. You will explore potential sources of data, how to identify and interpret appropriate measurements and data for public health, and how to communicate measurements and data with confidence to inform public health decisions.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
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 2 - 2017
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 Head of Course reflection
Tutorials to increase student ability appear to be working well.
Continue to deliver structured tutorials to support content delivered in lectures and directed reading.
- Assess the source and quality of health information and data as related to public health.
- Identify and interpret appropriate measurements and data for public health.
- Communicate health information using a range of information technologies.
- Reflect on individual, cultural, and ethical perspectives relating to health measurement and data.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Group Discussion - 20% | ||||
| 2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | ||||
| 3 - Project (research) - 50% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 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 - Group Discussion - 20% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Project (research) - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
There is no assigned text book for this subject. Prescribed readings will be available through Moodle.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Blackboard Collaborate (through Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing styles below:
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
e.langham@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction and Critical Thinking
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Foundations of Data & Measurement and Self Awareness
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Measuring Mortality & Morbidity and Self Management
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Measuring Other Health Outcomes and Social Awareness
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Measuring Exposures and Social Management
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Qualitative Data
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz opens Friday 26 August at 9am
Module/Topic
Sources of Data for Public Health
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz closes on Friday 1 September at 5pm.
Module/Topic
Interpreting Research Findings
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Cultural Differences in Concepts of Data
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Communicating and Describing Data Part 1
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The Concept of Evidence
Chapter
Prescribed learning activities - combination of journal articles, chapter readings and online activities
Events and Submissions/Topic
Friday, 6 October Contributions to discussion forums closes at 5pm for grading.
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Reflective essay due on Monday 9 October at 5pm.
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Report due on Monday 16 October at 5pm.
1 Group Discussion
Each week as part of the course learning materials, students are asked to contribute to discussions or activities using online forums. Students' contributions and interactions withe their colleagues will be assessed. This assessment is worth 20% of the overall grade.
Contributions for consideration must be posted by 5pm, Friday 6 October.
Students will be advised of their final contribution grade by Friday 19 October
Students will be assessed on the quality of their input to forum discussion activities across the semester. Contributions will be assessed on the following criteria:
1. Comprehension and understanding of the topic
2. Relevance
3. Critical thinking and depth
4. Quality of expression
5. Engagement and interaction with colleagues
For each criteria, students will be given a grade ranging from 0 (poor), 2 (sufficient), to 4 (outstanding).
At the start of week 6 students will be given an indicative grade of their contributions to discussion activities and feedback to improve their performance where appropriate.
- Assess the source and quality of health information and data as related to public health.
- Identify and interpret appropriate measurements and data for public health.
- Communicate health information using a range of information technologies.
- Reflect on individual, cultural, and ethical perspectives relating to health measurement and data.
- Communication
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Online Quiz(zes)
The quiz is a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions that will test your understanding of the core concepts for the unit covered in weeks 1 - 6. You will be allowed one attempt at the quiz and will have 2 hours to complete it once it has been opened. The questions for each student will be drawn randomly from a pool of questions.
Students will complete the quiz in Moodle.
1
Other
The quiz will open at 9am Friday 25 August and close at 5pm on Friday 1 September
Results and feedback will be available after the quiz closes.
Each question will be assessed on whether it is correct or not.
- Identify and interpret appropriate measurements and data for public health.
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
3 Presentation and Written Assessment
There are two parts to your written assessment. The first is a report and the second is a reflective essay.
Report: The report is worth 30% of your overall grade. It should be 2000 words long and include data visualisation. It will draw on appropriate sources to outline the impact of a particular health outcome or behaviour over the last 20 years in Australia. You should use devices, such as headings and subheadings, where appropriate to guide your reader. Suggested topics include:
1. Gambling
2. HIV
3. Suicide
You can discuss your topic, and how you might like to approach it during the tutorials.
Reflective Essay: The reflective essay is worth 20% of your overall grade. It should be between 1000 and 1500 words long. We will discuss reflective essays, and how to achieve a critical approach in your tutorials. There will be weekly prompts to guide you on aspects of the course that you may care to reflect on. Your essay use a thesis statment that brings together your reflections from throughout the term in a cohesive way.
The reflective essay is due Monday 9 October at 5pm. The report is due Monday 16 October at 5pm.
Each assessment piece will be returned 2 weeks after submission.
A full rubric for each assessment item will be available on the course moodle site.
- Assess the source and quality of health information and data as related to public health.
- Identify and interpret appropriate measurements and data for public health.
- Communicate health information using a range of information technologies.
- Reflect on individual, cultural, and ethical perspectives relating to health measurement and data.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
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.
What can you do to act with integrity?
