NSB105 Wellness Across the Lifespan

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2026, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

This foundational unit aims to develop knowledge, skills, and attributes to work in partnership with people to promote and maintain health across the lifespan. This unit focuses on developing an understanding of the importance of person-centred care and partnerships in nursing practice using wellness across the lifespan as an organising principle. Health promotion strategies are explored in all healthcare settings, with a focus on primary health care. National Health Priority Areas (NHP) are introduced and examined with a strong focus on prevention. The impact of social determinants of health and health promotion strategies are explored. The importance of empathic communication skills in professional interactions is also a key focus. This knowledge is foundational to professional practice and enables effective health assessment and clinical decision making.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Explain key concepts and issues in relation to health and illness and National Health Priority Areas across the lifespan, including the influence of social determinants of health
2. Apply knowledge and skills in health promotion to work in partnerships with consumers to provide person-centred care across the lifespan
3. Analyse and demonstrate health promotion principles and communication strategies to support health and wellbeing of consumers across the lifespan, relevant to the global and national context.

Content

Learning Approaches

This unit will use a blend of face to face and online activities geared towards developing inquiry skills; therapeutic and professional interpersonal communication skills; and collaboration skills. You will develop and practice these skills through analysis of real world health promotion strategies. Case studies, role-plays, oral presentations, and online modules will be used to further develop key skills.

To appreciate the value of peers and the knowledge and experience they bring, small group tutorials will use structured exercises, evidence, and resources to support collaborative learning and inquiry. The unit coordinator and tutors are available for consultation throughout the semester in on-campus and online contexts.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Feedback on your performance in assessment tasks will be provided in class and on an individual basis as required for each assessment.

Assessment

Overview

There are three summative assessments in this unit that progressively build your knowledge and applied skills in health promotion. This includes an invigilated exam covering key concepts and issues, followed by an individual oral presentation on health promotion and a case study focused on motivational interviewing.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: In class exam

This in-class invigilated assessment requires you to demonstrate understanding of key concepts related to health and illness, including National Health Priority Areas across the lifespan. It also assesses your ability to apply knowledge of determinants of health and health promotion principles and communication strategies to deliver person-centred care in partnership with consumers.

Assessment: Individual oral presentation

As an individual student, you will prepare a health promotion PowerPoint presentation designed to effectively communicate age specific health promotion information on a given health priority and target consumer group. 

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Assessment: Health Promotion Case Study

This assessment assesses your ability to analyse and apply health promotion principles and communication strategies to a selected National Health Priority Area relevant to a specific life stage, with a focus on the influence of the key determinants and health risk factors.

You will choose a case study (from those provided) and locate at least two research articles on the effective communication strategies for engaging with consumers. Using this evidence, you will prepare and record a 3-4 minute video demonstrating motivational interviewing in response to your chosen case study. In addition, you will submit a 500-word written justifications discussing how the selected articles informed your approach in the video.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.

The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit. You will be made aware of evacuation procedures and assembly areas in the first few lectures. In the event of a fire alarm sounding, or on a lecturer's instruction, you should leave the room and assemble in the designated area which will be indicated to you. You should be conscious of your health and safety at all times while on campus. More information on health and safety can be obtained from http://www.hse.qut.edu.au/.

Standards/Competencies

This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.

Registered Nurse Standards for Practice

1: Thinks critically and analyses nursing practice.

1. The RN accesses, analyses, and uses the best available evidence, that includes research findings, for safe, quality practice
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study

2: Engages in therapeutic and professional relationships.

1. The RN establishes, sustains and concludes relationships in a way that differentiates the boundaries between professional and personal relationships
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study
2. The RN communicates effectively, and is respectful of a person’s dignity, culture, values, beliefs and rights
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study
3. The RN recognises that people are the experts in the experience of their life
   Relates to: Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study
4. The RN provides support and directs people to resources to optimise health-related decisions
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study
5. The RN actively fosters a culture of safety and learning that includes engaging with health professionals and others, to share knowledge and practice that supports person-centred care
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study

3: Maintains the capability for practice.

1. The RN provides the information and education required to enhance people's control over health
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study

4: Comprehensively conducts assessments.

1. The RN works in partnership to determine factors that affect, or potentially affect, the health and wellbeing of people and populations to determine priorities for action and/ or for referral
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study

5: Develops a plan for nursing practice.

1. The RN uses assessment data and best available evidence to develop a plan
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study
2. The RN collaboratively constructs nursing practice plans until contingencies, options priorities, goals, actions, outcomes and timeframes are agreed with the relevant persons
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study

6: Provides safe, appropriate and responsive quality nursing practice.

1. The RN provides comprehensive safe, quality practice to achieve agreed goals and outcomes that are responsive to the nursing needs of people
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study

7: Evaluates outcomes to inform nursing practice.

1. The RN evaluates and monitors progress towards the expected goals and outcomes
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study

Course Learning Outcomes

NS42 Bachelor of Nursing

1. Apply scientific knowledge and skills from nursing and related disciplines to the provision of safe, person-centred, evidence-based nursing care across the lifespan
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study
2. Apply critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and digital literacy skills to make evidence- based decisions and evaluate outcomes
   Relates to: In class exam, Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study
3. Practice as an ethical, socially inclusive, and culturally safe practitioner, reflective of your professional nursing identity across a range of health service settings.
   Relates to: Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study
4. Enact and sustain effective communication skills, therapeutic relationships, and professional capabilities to practice independently and in inter and intra professional teams, to ensure safe, person-centred care
   Relates to: Individual oral presentation, Health Promotion Case Study
5. Demonstrate developing socially informed leadership capabilities to achieve positive individual and community outcomes in dynamic healthcare contexts.
   Relates to: Health Promotion Case Study