SWB202 Health, Wellbeing and Social Work

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

Social workers frequently work in the health system and when working in other fields of practice, the health and wellbeing of clients, families and more broadly the community, remains of central importance. This unit is placed in the second year of the social work course, providing opportunity for you to build upon existing knowledge and self-awareness to enable critical exploration of theories and systems relevant to health and wellbeing and living a 'good life'.

In this unit a social justice and anti-oppressive perspective is applied to the health of communities not just individuals. This means considering health and wellbeing in its many dimensions (social, psychological, cultural, structural and spiritual), and their historical and political context. It also means understanding the way that burden of disease and social determinants of health are related to oppressed populations; how colonisation and neoliberalism affect health and wellbeing.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Critically analyse the social influences on health and wellbeing to determine an appropriate set of responsive health improvement strategies
2. Critically examine and identify key structures, processes and relationships within contemporary health care, including formal and informal service systems that address health and wellbeing in the community
3. Critically apply appropriate health and wellbeing concepts and evaluate theoretical frameworks for integration into critical social work policy and practice
4. Discuss the ways health policy and practice are influenced by Indigenous knowledges and cultural diversity and impact Indigenous, CaLD and other diverse communities
5. Plan and appropriately document a report and evaluation that promotes inclusion, social justice, and ethical practice based on a contemporary health policy issue to impact health policy and practice

Content

Learning Approaches

The unit is underpinned by critical social work pedagogies, adult learning principles and dialogic inclusive of opportunities to advance your application of knowledge and skills. There is a mix of face to face, on-campus lectures and tutorials with an online flexible option focussing on the health and wellbeing of diverse populations. A key principle of the approach to teaching and learning will be to focus you on the social work role within the health system reflecting real world environments and to facilitate your critical reflection on your potential contributions within this role.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives: Indigenous health perspectives from Australia but also internationally are considered in unit's class activities and case studies.

Diverse cultural perspectives: Cultural perspectives are defined broadly beyond ethnicity. An intersectional perspective is used that considers injustice on the basis of race/ethnicity, age, sexuality, gender, class and geographical location. Diverse cultural perspectives related to health are woven through the unit, for example, rural health services and how work in alliance with others to understand their definitions of and goals for 'the good life'.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You will receive feedback through:

• Teaching staff and other students during case study and health systems learning exercises undertaken during class; and
• Teaching staff feedback on marking criteria sheets provided for the two summative assessments.

Formative activities such as in-class tasks, self-reflection exercises, and critical discussions will support the development of your understanding of key concepts and scaffold your learning in preparation for summative assessment. Summative feedback is given via written comments on marking rubrics/criteria sheets. This feedback will help you progress towards the successful completion of both assessment pieces. 

Assessment

Overview

There are two assessments in this unit:

1. AASW Report - This will draw on your understanding of health system and health oriented critical social work practice to identify and analyse health issue in practice and pose an approach for change.
2. Case Study and Systems Analysis - This will develop your skills to translate health assessments and cases study into interventions for supporting people’s health and well-being. It will also support the development of your understanding of the way individual experiences are structurally contextualised within the wider health system. You can discuss the ways Indigenous knowledges, cultural safety or other structural influences can inform practice for change (individual agency and health systems).

Both assessments contribute to developing and honing your critical social work practice approach for work in the field

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: AASW Report

You will perform the role of a social worker and individually prepare an evidence-based submission in the form of a report. This report will require you to identify relevant issues and approaches to health social work and respond to these issues. You will prepare the report on behalf of the AASW, and it will be submitted hypothetically to a Federal ministerial taskforce which has recently been established to address concerns experienced by social work health practitioners in the field. A list of health issues will be provided and will reflect topics discussed in lectures. The submission will draw upon relevant contemporary literature, include assessment of the efficacy of different approaches, and adopt a critical social work perspective.

This report provides a real-world learning experience, including undertaking a social work role, interactions with audience and advocacy through developing a health policy submission.

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

Assessment: Case Study and Systems Analysis

Assuming the role of a health social worker, you will produce a detailed case study assessment and a critical analysis of a related health system to address complexities at both an individual level (case study analysis) and a structural level (health system analysis). Both of these sections will adopt a critical social work perspective. A series of case studies will be discussed weekly in tutorials. You will need to choose a specific case study (from one of the tutorial weeks) for this assessment. This assessment is undertaken in two parts, which are both due on the same date:

Part A: Case Study Assessment (25%)

In your assumed health social worker role, undertake an in-depth written case analysis of a case study. 

Part B: Health System Analysis (25%)

You will identify a health system that interacts with the case study and construct a written critical analysis that described, analyses and highlights the impacts that the system has one the service user presented in the case study.

Part A and Part B will be complied into a report style document for submission to a hypothetical agency for an upcoming staff case consultation. 

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

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.

Requirements to Study

Requirements

Nil

Resources

Resource Materials

Prescribed text(s)

Beddoe, L., & Maidment, J. (Eds.). (2014). Social work practice for promoting health and wellbeing: Critical issues. New York: Routledge.

Recommended text(s)

Gehlert, S., & Browne, T. (Eds.). (2019). Handbook of health social work (3rd ed.). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Other

Web based resources:

You will have access to material on the Resource Clearinghouse and to Databases including Social Work Abstracts, Australian Public Affairs, Family and Society Plus, Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Current contents connect.

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no particular risks associated with this unit.

Course Learning Outcomes

SW04 Bachelor of Social Work

1. Critique and apply coherent theoretical, practical and contextually relevant social work knowledge, skills and values, and cultivate a commitment toward meeting diverse clients and community needs. [Knowledge, Practice, Values and Disposition]
   Relates to: AASW Report , Case Study and Systems Analysis
2. Construct and implement strategies for engaging in critical thinking and decision-making, utilising advanced research knowledge and skills to inform culturally safe practice, and promote social justice from diverse perspectives. [Practice, Knowledge, Values and Disposition]
   Relates to: AASW Report
3. Access, evaluate, and utilise relevant social work information that informs and assists in intra- and inter-professional communication in a range of contexts, through effective oral, written and digital interactions. [Practice, Knowledge]
   Relates to: AASW Report , Case Study and Systems Analysis
4. Critically examine tenets of diversity and diverse perspectives in social work, and advocate for a socially just society and the promotion of human dignity that reflect different social, political, cultural and historical circumstances, on the beliefs, values and aspirations of various groups, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. [Values and Disposition, Knowledge, Practice]
   Relates to: AASW Report , Case Study and Systems Analysis

SW05 Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)

1. Critically evaluate theoretical, practical and contextually relevant social work knowledge, skills and values and, as a change facilitator, meet diverse client and community needs that promote social justice
   Relates to: AASW Report , Case Study and Systems Analysis
2. Formulate and implement strategies using advanced knowledge and research skills to analyse, consolidate and synthesise social and practice evidence to generate solutions and to inform professional practice and decision-making
   Relates to: AASW Report , Case Study and Systems Analysis
3. Access, evaluate and utilise social work information to advocate for a socially just society and the promotion of human dignity and worth that reflect different social, political, cultural and historical circumstances, on the beliefs, values and aspirations of various groups, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations
   Relates to: Case Study and Systems Analysis