PUB565 International Health and Social Justice

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

We live in a rapidly changing and increasingly globalised world with inequities and social justice challenges for achieving better health and wellbeing outcomes. We see movement of people for business, tourism, migration and political refuge at historically high levels. These changes have prompted the United Nations to develop Sustainable Development Goals to 2030, and created new challenges for public health in controlling infectious diseases, chronic disease, and environmental health challenges. Health systems change rapidly too. Global and national health agencies must adapt and refocus energies to deal with new challenges. Health professionals are moving throughout the world as the market for skilled people becomes more fluid and, in many ways, more exciting than ever before. This unit provides the core knowledge essential for all public health practitioners to meet future challenges in global health.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Critically analyse existing literature to inform collaborative situation analyses of health problems in international settings.
2. Justify innovative health improvement strategies based on current case studies of international health development and cultural dimensions.
3. Plan ways to evaluate health interventions in international settings.
4. Interpret the international health indicators to describe the health of diverse populations through text and data visualisations.
5. Critique international health issues by considering health systems, policies, community participation and key stakeholders.

Content

Learning Approaches

In this unit, you will learn by engaging in the following:

• lectures - delivered on-campus and offered synchronously online. Recordings are available.
• tutorials (separate online and on-campus offerings)
• online readings and learning materials
• online discussion spaces in Canvas
• case studies of international health
• team learning

In order to maximise your learning experience in this unit, preparation in advance of tutorial sessions and active participation is expected of you.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Formative quizzes will be embedded into modules to support your learning progress in this unit, and will inform your final examination. Feedback is provided across the semester with further discussion in tutorials for deeper learning. You will gain peer and tutor feedback on the activities conducted in tutorials. You will also receive written feedback on your first assessment, which will prepare you for the second and third assessments and meeting unit learning outcomes.

You are encouraged to include the first assessment, Situational Analysis, in your e-Portfolio to demonstrate your analytical and communication skills.

Assessment

Overview

There are three assessments in this unit:

1. Situation Analysis Report - This will draw on your understanding of actors, concepts, frameworks and measurements of relevant international health indicators including critically analyse existing literature and relevant health policies and programs on the selected case study. You will demonstrate your written skills in a group for a professional audience (manager). 

2. Digital Poster Presentation - This will develop your communication skills through a digital poster presentation to justify why you have prioritised a specific strategy over others that were identified in the situation analysis report. You will also demonstrate your understandings of the cultural dimensions on the selected strategy as part of evaluating health interventions in the international settings. 

3. Examination (non-invigilated) - This will draw your understanding of all four modules in this unit particularly for critiquing international health issues using the lens of health systems, policies, communities and stakeholders and interpreting the international health indicators.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Situation Analysis Report

Working in a group, you will adopt the role of a public health intern working for a government, not-for-profit organisation or international agency. Your group will undertake a situation analysis of an important public health problem in a diverse cultural and geographic setting and produce a report for your manager to disseminate the findings to the community and policy makers. Your report will identify and address sustainability development goals, including relevant indicators. You will need to recommend some culturally appropriate strategies for moving forward and resolving the issue. Your report should clearly depict the need for an international response to the health crisis for your particular group.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Assessment: Digital Poster Presentation

Following on from Assessment 1, you will develop a digital poster about one of the recommended strategies identified in the situation analysis report. The poster should include relevant infographics and data visualisations. You will record yourself presenting the poster to the relevant organisation or agency in order to open broader discussions about the implementation of the culturally appropriate strategy. The presentation will need to justify why you have prioritised this strategy over others that were identified in the report.

Assessment: Examination (non-invigilated)

This final assessment contains a variety of question types, including short and long answer responses. You will have a set time window to complete the questions on the Unit Site (online). It assesses your analytical skills and knowledge obtained through the study program.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

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.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties 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.

Course Learning Outcomes

PU52 Bachelor of Public Health

1. Apply public health principles and evidence to improve population health outcomes.
   Relates to: ULO3, ULO4, ULO5, Situation Analysis Report, Digital Poster Presentation, Examination (non-invigilated)
2. Critically analyse scholarly literature and effectively conduct research to inform evidence based public health practice.
   Relates to: ULO1, Situation Analysis Report
3. Communicate with professional, non-professional and community audiences about public health using diverse technologies.
   Relates to: ULO4, Situation Analysis Report, Examination (non-invigilated)
4. Apply culturally safe and inclusive approaches to work with diverse individuals, groups and communities, including Indigenous Australians.
   Relates to: ULO2, Situation Analysis Report, Digital Poster Presentation
5. Collaborate and negotiate with key stakeholders to advocate for the health and wellbeing of communities and populations.
   Relates to: ULO1, Situation Analysis Report