The first assessment task is a written assignment of about 1000 words that you will complete on an individual basis. For this assignment, you will choose one of the topics from the list below and write about its significance in Public Health. The assignment will require some very focused research, so it is important to begin early and seek help from the Academic Learning Centre or advice from your lecturer or tutor if you need it.

The topics for this assignment are:

1. The recognition of AIDS as a new disease;

2. The spread of dengue into northern Australia;

3. The identification of metabolic syndrome;

4. The development of mRNA vaccine technology;

5. The use of telehealth in providing health care;

6. The ‘Health in All Policy’ approach to governance;

7. The rise of ‘Dr Google’ (use of the internet to research and self-diagnose health issues by members of the public);

8. Social distancing as an approach to disease control.

Each of these topics is a fairly new phenomenon. For your chosen topic, you will need to research the scholarly literature as well as information available from organizations like the AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) to understand the background of your topic. However, you are not to write about the clinical aspects of the topic. Your assignment must address the following issues in separate sections: 1) Introduction -- outlines the issue and gives an indication of its Public Health significance; this section must include the population affected or at risk, if relevant; 2) Public Health Implications – describes how has your topic affected thinking and practice in the field of Public Health and what are some important issues that came to attention because of your topic;; 3) Historical Context – discusses how your topic fits into the Public Health context that came before and the broader history of Public Health; 4) Future Context– discusses your personal view on the future of your topic and how you believe it will change or affect Public Health thinking and practice into the future.

This assignment must be written in a formal, academic style (not first person) and must be fully referenced. Harvard referencing is preferred for this unit. You will need to have BOTH in text references and a complete, properly formatted reference list. If you need help with referencing, please consult the ALC as soon as possible.

This assignment is worth 40% of the marks for the unit, and you must achieve a mark of 50% on this assignment to pass the unit.

This assignment is due by 5:00pm on Friday of Week 6.

The following assessment criteria appply:

1. The assessment contains the required sections and discussion;

2. The public health aspects of the topic are explicitly discussed;

3. Accurate referencing is provided with all material from sources fully cited;

4. A formal writing style conforming to academic convention is used;

5. There is evidence of the student's own thnking, analysis and opinion.

The second assessment task for this unit is a presentation. This is a group assignment. You will be assigned to a group by your lecturer.

The aim of your presentation is to answer the question, “what is Public Health?” To address this, you and your group members will identify some object, scene, practice, etc that you feel reflects some principle of practice of Public Health. This example must exist in your own environment and must be documented in a photograph which will appear as part of your presentation. For example, waste management is an important aspect of public health management, so you might choose to discuss this and represent it with a picture of a garbage can located on street corner outside the University. It is important to think broadly about all the aspects of daily life with a Public Health element and use your ingenuity to choose a topic that may not be recognized generally as part of Public Health.

Your group will give a presentation, either in class or online, as directed by your lecturer. You will need a set of Powerpoint slides with speaker notes. If you are doing an online presentation, you will need to record yourself giving the presentation on the Powerpoint. It is not necessary for every member of the group to speak in the presentation -- you may choose one or two people to do this. However, each student in the group must be responsible for at least one slide, and the slides must indicate who made each one. You will also need a cover slide that contains the name of the assignment and the names and ID numbers of all the members of the group. Your references, as required, must be on the final slide(s) of the presentation.

Your presentation must: 1) explain what aspect of Public Health you are discussing; 2) present the picture(s) you took to represent it; 3) explain how the picture symbolizes the issue; 4) discuss the public health implications of the issue; and 5) explain how the issue is managed or addressed in the context of public health practice.

This assignment is worth 40% of the mark for the unit, and you must achieve a mark of 50% on this assignment to pass the unit.

This assessment task is due by 5:00pm on Friday of week 9. The Powerpoint presentation must by submitted through Moodle by ONE member of each group.

1. Presentation contains the required slides and content;

2. Any material taken from other sources is fully cited;

3. Language is original, formal and academic in nature, and reflects contribution by all group members;

4. Content shows evidence of original thinking, analysis, and creativity on the part of the groups.

The third assessment task for this unit is a reflective practice assignment of about 2000 words that describes your growing understanding of Public Health as a discipline. This is an individual assignment. You are strongly encouraged to work on your reflection throughout the term and to make notes of ideas that occur to you or issues that interest you that you can include when you write your assignment.

Your reflection should focus on how your understanding of Public Health changed over the course of the term, and you should compare your knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes at the beginning of this unit with how you feel at the end. You should also reflect specifically on the following questions:

1. How does an understanding of the history of Public Health contribute to professional practice?

2. How important are the non-health factors that are part of public health practice?

3. What are some of the ethical issues associated with public health practice?

4. How will the things you have learned as part of this unit affect your own practice in the future?

This reflective assignment is an essay. A less formal writing style may be used, and references are not required. If you do use any source material, however, each item must be identified in an in text reference and also appear fully cited on a reference list.

This assignment is worth 20% of the mark for the unit, and you must achieve a mark of 50% on this assignment to pass the unit.

This assessment task is due by 5:00pm on Friday of week 12.

1. Assessment shows real reflection and consideration on professional practice in Public Health;

2. The assigned questions are considered and discussed;

3. Any sources used are fully cited;

4. All language is original and reflects the stduent's own work;

5. Personal learning has been documented.