CQUniversity Unit Profile
PBHL11002 Public Health and Chronic Disease
Public Health and Chronic Disease
All details in this unit profile for PBHL11002 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

Chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma and heart disease are the leading causes of death and disability in Australia. From a public health perspective, the prevention of chronic disease is of fundamental importance and is a core skill set for any public health professional. This unit provides an introduction to public health and chronic disease. It will examine biological determinants, the influence of social factors on incidence and prevalence, and behavioural and environmental factors found to be conducive to the development and growth of chronic disease in Australia. Students will also explore individual and population level interventions aimed at reducing chronic disease.

Details

Career Level: Undergraduate
Unit Level: Level 1
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 8
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

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 - 2023

Online

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).

Class and Assessment Overview

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

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Group Discussion
Weighting: 20%
2. Online Quiz(zes)
Weighting: 30%
3. Written Assessment
Weighting: 50%

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.

Previous Student Feedback

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 Student unit evaluation, unit coordinator reflection

Feedback

Provide additional content within lectures that describe the impact of chronic disease on the Australian population

Recommendation

New content will be added to the weekly lectures for 2023 regarding the impact of chronic diseases on the Australian population, including public health action to address these.

Feedback from Student unit evaluation

Feedback

Well-structured unit with a reasonable and manageable weekly learning workload

Recommendation

Continue with the current level of support offered to students to help them with meeting unit milestones and assessment deadlines.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Describe risk factors and aetiology for lifestyle related chronic diseases.
  2. Collaborate with others to explain the impact of chronic diseases in the context of individual and population health.
  3. Identify and analyse primary, secondary and tertiary prevention approaches for lifestyle related chronic diseases.
  4. Identify and analyse upstream determinants of health impacting on lifestyle related chronic diseases.
Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

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 - Written Assessment - 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 - Written Assessment - 50%
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

Supplementary

Pathophysiology made incredibly visual

Edition: Third (2016)
Authors: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Philadelphia Philadelphia , PA , USA
ISBN: ISBN 9781496321671
Binding: Paperback

Additional Textbook Information

This textbook is recommended as a supplementary textbook for the unit. Students may purchase this textbook if they wish to however, any other textbook or online resource that adequately covers the pathophysiology of preventable chronic diseases will be sufficient for the unit.

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
  • ZOOM
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing styles below:

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Anthea Oorloff Unit Coordinator
a.oorloff@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 10 Jul 2023

Module/Topic

Introduction to unit: understanding chronic diseases from biological, social, economic and political perspectives

Chapter

Refer to week 1 eReading list via Moodle

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 2 Begin Date: 17 Jul 2023

Module/Topic

History of chronic diseases becoming medically and politically relevant

Chapter

Refer to week 2 eReading list via Moodle

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 3 Begin Date: 24 Jul 2023

Module/Topic

Cardiovascular diseases

Chapter

Workbook Chapter 1

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 4 Begin Date: 31 Jul 2023

Module/Topic

Cancer

Chapter

Workbook Chapter 2

Events and Submissions/Topic

Quiz related to cardiovascular diseases

Week 5 Begin Date: 07 Aug 2023

Module/Topic

Type 2 Diabetes

Chapter

Workbook Chapter 3

Events and Submissions/Topic

Quiz related to cancer

Vacation Week Begin Date: 14 Aug 2023

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 6 Begin Date: 21 Aug 2023

Module/Topic

Asthma and COPD

Chapter

Workbook Chapter 4

Events and Submissions/Topic

Quiz related to Type 2 Diabetes

Week 7 Begin Date: 28 Aug 2023

Module/Topic

Arthritis and musculosketal conditions

Chapter

Workbook Chapter 5

Events and Submissions/Topic

Quiz related to asthma and COPD

Week 8 Begin Date: 04 Sep 2023

Module/Topic

Mental health

Chapter

Workbook Chapter 6

Events and Submissions/Topic

Quiz related to arthritis and musculosketal conditions

Week 9 Begin Date: 11 Sep 2023

Module/Topic

Dementia

Chapter

Workbook Chapter 7

Refer to week 9 eReading list

Events and Submissions/Topic

Quiz related to mental health

Week 10 Begin Date: 18 Sep 2023

Module/Topic

Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention and upstream determinants of health

Chapter

Refer to week 10 eReading list

Events and Submissions/Topic

Group Discussion Due: Week 10 Monday (18 Sept 2023) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 11 Begin Date: 25 Sep 2023

Module/Topic

Common lifestyle behaviours targeted in prevention schemes

Chapter

Refer to Week 11 eReading list

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 12 Begin Date: 02 Oct 2023

Module/Topic

Policy approaches to prevention of chronic diseases

Chapter

No readings this week

Events and Submissions/Topic

Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 09 Oct 2023

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Written Assessment Due: Review/Exam Week Monday (9 Oct 2023) 11:45 pm AEST
Exam Week Begin Date: 16 Oct 2023

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Tasks

1 Group Discussion

Assessment Title
Group Discussion

Task Description

Submit your four (4) best discussion board posts from weeks 3-9 (up to 2000 words in total). Each post must be from a different week and demonstrate how you have contributed to the learning of others regarding the impact of chronic diseases.


Assessment Due Date

Week 10 Monday (18 Sept 2023) 11:45 pm AEST

Submit all four posts in a word document, plus a cover page and reference list.


Return Date to Students

Week 12 Tuesday (3 Oct 2023)

2 weeks from submission


Weighting
20%

Minimum mark or grade
50%

Assessment Criteria

Your discussion posts will be marked according to their relevance to the content in weeks 3-9 and to their consistency to the conversation within the discussion board to promote learning of self and others. At least 2 of your 4 discussion forum posts must be completed and posted to the discussion forums by Friday of week 7. See the Moodle site for a detailed marking rubric.


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Describe risk factors and aetiology for lifestyle related chronic diseases.
  • Collaborate with others to explain the impact of chronic diseases in the context of individual and population health.
  • Identify and analyse primary, secondary and tertiary prevention approaches for lifestyle related chronic diseases.
  • Identify and analyse upstream determinants of health impacting on lifestyle related chronic diseases.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Team Work
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Cross Cultural Competence
  • Ethical practice

2 Online Quiz(zes)

Assessment Title
Online Quiz(zes)

Task Description

There are six (6) quizzes conducted throughout the term related to content in weeks 3-8. Each quiz is open-book and contains ten (10) multiple-choice questions. Completion of each quiz is done online. Each quiz contributes a possible 5 marks (5%) towards the final grade for the unit.

Only one attempt is possible on each quiz.

Quiz 1 - closes Friday of week 4

Quiz 2 - closes Friday of week 5

Quiz 3 - closes Friday of week 6

Quiz 4 - closes Friday of week 7

Quiz 5 - closes Friday of week 8

Quiz 6 - closes Friday of week 9


Number of Quizzes

6


Frequency of Quizzes

Other


Assessment Due Date

Friday at 11.45pm in Weeks 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9


Return Date to Students

Results will be released immediately after the close of each quiz.


Weighting
30%

Assessment Criteria

Each multiple choice question will be worth 0.5 mark.


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Describe risk factors and aetiology for lifestyle related chronic diseases.


Graduate Attributes
  • Problem Solving
  • Information Literacy
  • Information Technology Competence

3 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Written Assessment

Task Description

Undertake a Fact Check on a current Public Health issue. Details of this issue will be provided on the unit Moodle site.

Your Fact Check needs to include answers to the following questions:

- What evidence is there for the claim?

- What evidence disputes the claim?

- What are alternative explanations?

- Is it true, false or possible/plausible?

Your Fact Check should be 1500-2000 words (references excluded from the word count).


Assessment Due Date

Review/Exam Week Monday (9 Oct 2023) 11:45 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Exam Week Tuesday (17 Oct 2023)

Two week return to students.


Weighting
50%

Assessment Criteria

Your Fact Check will be marked according to the level of critical analysis of relevant sources; consistency of argument in regards to alternative explanations and conclusions. See the Moodle site for a detailed marking rubric.


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Identify and analyse primary, secondary and tertiary prevention approaches for lifestyle related chronic diseases.
  • Identify and analyse upstream determinants of health impacting on lifestyle related chronic diseases.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Team Work
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Cross Cultural Competence
  • Ethical practice

Academic Integrity Statement

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?