This unit of study offers a critical review of the field of bioethics. The course canvasses different ways that bioethics is 'made-up' in discourse, thought and practice, and the meaning of 'bioethics' historically and in contemporary society. Mapping some of the key literature on current on-going debates and contentions, the seminars explore different perspectives that people have of bioethics from points within and outside of the discipline and why bioethics and bioethical dilemmas have become important objects of popular and professional concern. Topics include the moral and ethical dimensions of advances in biomedical science and biotechnology, the virtuous bioethicist, narrative in bioethics, going public in bioethics, bioethics across cultures, feminist bioethics, bioethics and non-human animals, and, climate change and environmental bioethics. Learning activities will include seminars and small group discussion.

In this unit of study students gain the background in ethical philosophy necessary to engage in advanced analyses of issues in bioethics. Introduction to Ethical Reasoning familiarises students with classical theoretical frameworks such as virtue ethics, Kantian deontology, and utilitarianism that have been influential in the history of Western philosophy. The unit also examines more contemporary approaches to ethics, such as the capabilities approach, feminist ethics, human rights doctrines, and poststructuralist approaches. Across these different theoretical frameworks, discussions will focus on topics such as cultural relativism, universalism in ethics, difference and power.
All assessments must be completed to pass this Unit.

This unit of study introduces some philosophical questions and debates concerning medicine and the biomedical sciences. It is divided into three sections. The first explores basic concepts and distinctions such as health, disease, mental illness and disability. The second section deals with topics that lie at the heart of a scientific approach to medicine, namely, causation, experimentation, evidence and clinical reasoning. The final section of the course invites students to reflect critically on the preceding section by exploring the rationality claims of non-orthodox approaches, by inquiring closely into the meaning of medical terms, and by taking a broad view of the notion of risk. All assessments must be completed to pass this Unit.

How does biomedicine both influence and reflect the broader society of which it is a part? This unit of study addresses this general question by examining a set of issues relating to sex and drugs. A key theme in the course is the "medicalisation" of human experience in the domains of gender, reproduction and sexual behaviour. The course aims to widen the scope of bioethical inquiry through readings that explore the issues from a range of different perspectives including history, sociology, politics, health policy, philosophy, religion, feminism, public health, and personal experience. Each topic introduces specific concepts which students are encouraged to apply. Students are also encouraged to draw on their own disciplinary and/or professional background. Seminars, online discussions and coursework will provide opportunities to learn from other students, and apply learning from other units of study in bioethics.
All assessments must be completed to pass this Unit.

This unit of study begins by introducing students to intersections amongst health care practice, ethics, and the law. In particular students will explore the ethical and moral bases of law as well as how the law, in turn, influences moral norms, clinical practice, and health policy. Students learn how to critically read and analyse primary sources of law relevant to bioethics. Students will then examine a number of areas of law that have particular significance for bioethics and society including consent, tort law, competence, maternal-foetal conflicts, abortion, reproduction, mental health, end-of-life-decision-making, and genetics.

This unit of study introduces students to the ethical, social and legal issues that underlie a wide range of biotechnologies, including: genetics, genomics, human reproduction, stem cell research, nanotechnology and emerging biotechnologies. Key concepts influencing debates in this area are covered, such as 'procreative beneficence', personhood, risk, consent, public engagement, and property in the body (including gene patenting). Topical case studies are included to keep up with recent developments in the field. Students will explore the ethical limits to research and knowledge in biotechnology.

This unit of study critically examines research ethics in its wider context, from how research is structured to its dissemination. It explores the ethical underpinnings of a variety of research methods and their uses in humans and non-human animals including the justifications for engaging in research, key concepts in research ethics and research integrity. The unit also briefly examines the history of research and the impact of research abuse on participants, both human and non-human animal.

This unit provides students with an overview of the ethical and political issues that underlie public health and public health research. The unit begins with some fundamentals: the nature of ethics, of public health (and how it might be different to clinical medicine) and of public health ethics. It introduces key concepts in public health ethics including liberty, utility, justice, solidarity and reciprocity, and introduces students to different ways of reasoning about the ethics of public health. A range of practical public health problems and issues will be considered, including ethical dimensions of communicable and non-communicable diseases in populations, and the ethical challenges of public health research. Throughout, the emphasis is on learning to make sound arguments about the ethical aspects of public health policy, practice and research. Most learning occurs in the context of five teaching intensives, which are highly interactive and focus on the development and application of reasoning skills.

This unit will facilitate students to critically review the ethical issues that underlie the delivery of healthcare. Students will explore: major conceptual models for ethical reasoning in the clinical context; key ethical concepts in the clinical encounter (such as consent, professionalism and confidentiality); major contexts in which ethical issues arise in clinical practice; and the role of clinical ethics consultation. The unit will also consider specific issues and populations within clinical practice, such as ethical aspects of healthcare at the beginning and end of life.

Mental health and mental illness are unique in the field of health care and bioethics. The very nature of psychiatric disorder and its relationship with prevailing social and cultural factors, in addition to the unique status of the mental health patient, necessitate a specific discourse in biomedical ethics in the area of mental health. This course will provide participants with a broad perspective of issues in bioethics applied to mental health and mental illness. Students will examine the history of the psychiatric profession and consider the adequacy of current safeguards against the abuses of power seen in the history of the profession. Other areas considered in the course include the current ethical dilemmas in mental health care, the implications of technological advances in the neurosciences, the philosophical basis of the concept of mental disorder, the relationship between power and the psychiatric profession and the complex relationship between morality, mental health and the law. The course has been designed to focus on topical areas of contemporary relevance and each week contains a podcast with a person of relevance to the topic. The course aspires to inform future decision makers in health, public policy, clinical settings and academia in the unique aspects of biomedical ethics in the field of mental health.

The nature/culture distinction is under pressure today as relations to our bodies, the world and each other are transformed by technology, ecological crisis, gender practices and new forms of consumption. Thinking beyond this distinction by examining the practices of bodies, this unit combines theoretical reflection with case studies to give students new tools for cultural analysis.

This unit aims to develop a critical and comparative understanding of the history, theory and practice of health policy. It gives an overview of the political choices and frameworks - national and global - that shape policymaking.
Learning objectives: By the end of this unit students will be able to: (i) Define the boundaries and key features of health policy; (ii) Understand the basic history and features of the Australian health system; (iii) Identify policy instruments and how they function; (iv) Understand the main frameworks used for analysing policy; (v) Understand the factors influencing how policy issues are prioritized in health; (vi) Demonstrate the capacity to apply these understandings in particular settings through case studies.
Content: This unit explores the main structures and institutions that make health policy. The unit examines debates over policy frameworks, and the evidence and advocacy in setting priorities. Conflicts over health policy will be placed in broader contexts - comparing different health systems and assessing global influences. Case studies will be used to examine the relationships between policy and practice.

This unit aims to develop skills for undertaking policy research and analysis. The unit takes a multidisciplinary approach to familiarise students with fundamental frameworks and methodologies that can be applied to analyse policy from public health, social and political sciences, public policy and history.
Learning outcomes. By the end of the unit students will be able to: (i) Apply a critical analysis to questions of policy success or failure; (ii) Understand and explain the different methodological approaches that can be applied in policy research; (iii) Identify appropriate research methodologies, data collection methods and analysis for specific policy research questions; (iv) Design a health policy research project.

This unit explores major episodes in the history of science from the 18th century until the present as well as introducing students to historiographic methods. Special attention is paid to developing practical skills in the history and philosophy of science.

A work of history may range in scope from a single life to the forces of internationalism, from a single moment to the span of human history, from a single locality to the globe. Why, and how, do historians tell such different stories? In this unit we explore the ideologies and social perspectives that underpin the historian's craft. Examining trends in historical scholarship, we consider how engagement with different methodologies has contributed to the social, cultural, intellectual and political 'turns'.

Language is a symbolic currency: mastery of the standard language can buy institutional power, mastery of urban teenage slang can buy street cred. This course introduces students to key issues in sociolinguistics and language sociology such as the political economy of language, language variation and change, and critical discourse analysis. Members of the class will undertake empirical research.

This unit of study introduces students to current research in the theory of genre and register with a focus on English. It will explore how choices in grammar and discourse (e.g. speech function, conjunction, cohesive devices, methods of development and argumentation, schematic structure) impact on the ways in which people engage with different types (genres, registers) of texts. The framework for the unit derives from a variety of linguistic approaches, including corpus linguistics and functional linguistics.

In today's globalised and multicultural societies, cross-cultural communication is common enough. Even so, it continues to be a challenge, both for people who engage in cross-cultural communication on a daily basis, and for researchers trying to describe and understand it. In this unit of study we will consider a variety of discourse-analytic approaches to studying cross-cultural communication, including conversation analysis, speech act theory, interactional sociolinguistics, the ethnography of communication, and critical discourse analysis. In our analyses of actual samples of cross-cultural communication we will pay particular attention to the social positioning of participants in an interaction, and the ways how social relationships (particularly of power and intimacy) between participants are reflected in their linguistic practices. The unit will end with exploring applied perspectives, particularly on cross-cultural communication in educational, courtroom and workplace interactions.

"Sexy, healthy and 100% Australian-owned!" This unit examines linguistic approaches to media discourse. The language of news texts and television series will form a special focus of the unit, along with how images are used to construe meaning. We will explore general aspects of media institutions (news and television), the ways in which social identities are constructed in the media, differences between the language of various types of media texts, the rhetoric of persuasion and the discourses of popular culture.

This unit will focus on Halliday's functional grammar, including coverage of transitivity, mood, theme, clause-complexing and nominal group and verbal group structure (including functional structures and introductory accounts of the systems from which they derive). The unit will focus on English but include exemplification from other languages where appropriate. In addition the place of grammar in functional models of language will be considered, and critical aspects of system/structure theory introduced.

This unit aims to provide an overview of common health issues and emerging travel-related diseases, with a general look at prevention and control of these problems for travellers or those intending to work in tropical or resource-poor settings for a significant period of time. Travel/public health regulations associated with outbreaks and disasters are also addressed. During the short course, students will also explore issues such as pre-travel preparations, protection from vector-borne diseases and vaccinations. The teaching method is face-to-face teaching only. Attendance is compulsory.

This unit of study aims to provide students with an understanding of the principles, values/ethics, theories and methods that are employed in health promotion and prevention.. The unit will critically examine diverse characteristics of disese prevention and health promotion programs, including behaviour change programs, community-based, environmental and policy-based programs. It will have a strong practical and methodological focus, with the objective of enabling students to develop knowledge and skills for planning, implementing and evaluating health promotion programs. Models and methods that are commonly used in health promotion and disease prevention will be described and discussed by using real life examples. Among the major issues examined are the health impact of social and economic development at the national and global levels, prevention and control of non-communicable and communicable diseases, including cigarette smoking, hygiene practices, capacity building and workforce development for health promotion and prevention.

This unit gives an introduction to the health status of women and children in low and middle income countries and highlights the interconnectedness of women's and children's health. It presents some of the major causes of mortality and morbidity and interventions and approaches to improving outcomes from a public health perspective. Issues covered include perinatal mortality, contraception, nutrition, HIV, cancer, diarrhoeal disease, vaccine preventable diseases and childhood disability.

This unit aims to provide an integrated and interpretive approach to an understanding of health-related behaviours of populations in international settings, by synthesizing anthropological knowledge and methodology, and the interactions of culture, biology, psychology and environment. The teaching process is by student-led, lecturer-guided, discussion based review and critical analysis of relevant topics. During the unit, students will explore a range of issues in global and multicultural health from an anthropological perspective. Methodological approaches will encompass ethnography and other anthropological data collection methods. The issues covered will include cultural influences on health, illness and healing, such as indigenous and traditional beliefs and systems, gender and cultural change and the impact of modernization and development on illness and healing. The impact examines disease and illness patterns - their distribution and persistence, mental illness and culture and attitudes towards the use of medications; and the provision of culturally sensitive and appropriate services. The emphasis will be on covering a range of topic areas relevant to the students enrolled, and those of particular importance in contemporary international and multicultural health contexts.

This unit aims to provide candidates with an understanding of the causes and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) with a focus on low and middle income countries (LMIC). These diseases are associated with social and economic development and the demographic and health transitions. Topics covered in the unit include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, primary health care in relation to NCDs, health promotion for NCDs and approaches to NCD research in developing countries. Lectures are given by health professionals with direct experience of NCD control in LMICs.

This unit offers a detailed and evidence-based assessment of the global HIV situation to equip students with the latest understanding of HIV distribution and trends globally, its social and economic implications, the measures being taken to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, the gaps that need to be addressed in HIV control, and the politics around global HIV issues. Examples from different parts of the world, particularly less developed settings, are used to illustrate key issues influencing the HIV control agenda globally. Emphasis is placed on developing a critical and analytical approach to assessing the HIV situation and developing interventions for its control.

Health systems are complex and multi-faceted. Successful health systems require attention to political economy, governance, institutions, and local context. This unit will cover health systems in developing countries to equip students with a conceptual understanding and a set of tools to address major public health challenges from a health systems perspective. With a focus on evidence-based decision making, the unit will provide an understanding of health systems including specific topics such as health workforce, financing, service delivery, information systems and policy, and how these impact health interventions and health status in less developed countries. A multi-sectoral, integrated model will be used to understand the varied aspects of development challenges related to health systems. A case study approach will then provide students with concrete examples of health systems challenges and will strengthen students' ability to view health problems in a holistic, multi-faceted manner. The unit will provide students with the tools needed to make a practical difference in health systems in less developed countries with emphasis on implementation of health projects and bringing interventions to scale.

When patients talk to healthcare providers, they tell a story, they offer a narrative. Narratives are key tools for community organisers and health promoters. Narrative writing changes lives. For example, it is the pathway to the future for the indigenous and disadvantaged children served by Sydney's The Story Factory. Aristotle, and more recently, Martha Nussbaum, argued that literature is a unique and crucial way to do ethics and to live ethically. Understanding how narratives work and produce their effects is a critical skill in health and medicine. In this unit of study, students will use the tools of literary and cultural studies to get to grips with connections between literature, narrative and health and medicine. From writings by Leo Tolstoy, Franz Kafka, and Virginia Woolf, to contemporary texts by Vincent Lam, Brian Lobel and Karen Hitchcock, students will encounter and analyse a wide range of literary and non-literary narratives concerned with illness, embodiment and healing. The unit will provide a space for informal discussion and reflection on the texts we encounter, while also introducing students to influential theories of narrative and modes of cultural, literary and linguistic analysis that can further enrich our understandings of these texts. Topics or themes covered during the course include: narrative theory (narratology); narrative competence; literary/cultural representations of health practitioners; language and embodiment; medico-literary 'genres' (e.g. autopathography and the medical antibildungsroman); narrative research; and the limits of narrative in narrative medicine.

From Black Death, syphilis, fevers, and venereal disease to Truvada whores and complex dynamic systems, this unit of study requires students to systematically explore the major critical perspectives on public health by examining its history. Most public health policy and practice is in fact determined by the traditions, ideas, values and practices that developed in the past. Students will gain an understanding of how how different forms of evidence have been constructed for different public health policies, and able to identify the social and cultural correlates of shifts in medical and health concepts over time. They will also learn to situate developments in public health in relation to macro political and economic determinants, as they explore how public health and colonial and State power co-developed and how these alliances and power structures continue to be reflected today in the Emerging Infectious Diseases worldview. Students will be able to offer explanations both of what drives change and paradigm shifts in public health policy and practice and of the effects of underlying long term continuities in approaches to public health. Students will be required to use their knowledge to develop self-reflexive critical assessments of the ethical commitments they want to guide their own practice and that of contemporary public health policy.

In this unit of study students will consider health communication in the context of the health professional-patient relationship and in the public sphere. This unit of study seeks to develop a critical awareness of the determinants of effective communication, particularly in relation to health risks to the individual and society. The unit of study will investigate: theories of health communication, including patient centred care and shared decision making; evidence regarding the impact of good and poor communication on patient and health professional outcomes; research paradigms in this area including interaction analysis; cross-cultural communication issues in health care; risk communication in the context of informed consent to clinical trials, discussing prognosis and responding to public health risk events; and theories of risk perception and communication. The aim of this unit of study is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the key issues related to communication in health care and health policy settings.

This course aims to describe the interrelation between our environment and human populations, local communities and individuals and the potential impact on health of environmental agents/contaminants. The unit will explore the major categories of environmental health hazards including air quality, water quality, chemical hazards (eg soils and contaminated sites), physical hazards (eg noise and radiation), microbiological hazards (eg Legionnaires' disease) and food safety. Regional and global issues of sustainability, climate change and land use planning will also be covered. The disciplines of epidemiology, toxicology and ecology will be applied within a risk assessment framework to characterise health risks associated with environmental hazards and determine risk management options and risk communication strategies. Students completing this unit will appreciate the multi-disciplinary nature of environmental health, the application of a risk assessment to characterise environmental health risks and inform risk management and risk communication, and the need to work closely with a broad range of stakeholders including commonwealth and state health, environment and planning agencies, local government, industry and the community.

This unit aims to assist students in developing an evidence-based understanding of the epidemiology of alcohol and drug use and its impact on health, and the effectiveness of methods for prevention and management of related problems. This fuller drug and alcohol elective covers all the content of PUBH5115 and goes on to assist the student to develop more advanced skills in research and in management of clinical services in relation to alcohol and drug use disorders, and to examine the needs of special populations.

This unit aims to assist students in developing an evidence-based understanding of the epidemiology of alcohol and drug use and its impact on health, and the effectiveness of methods for the prevention and management of related problems.

Health promotion in urban, regional and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities requires working collaboratively with each community to develop human capital and capabilities within a paradigm of hope and respect for alternate worldviews. In this unit, you will acquire an understanding of health promotion in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contexts, and examine the distal, medial and proximal determinants of health and subsequent risk factors that have resulted in high rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander morbidity and mortality. You will learn how to ethically engage and work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and invest in relationships that enable genuine partnerships to develop. You will also identify and challenge neo-colonial policies and practices, and learn how to navigate around other barriers that hinder Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination. And you may end up questioning some of your own assumptions and behaviours as part of this process.
Later in the unit you will choose and explore a particular community and health issue, then work with an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health promotion professional and/or leader from that community to apply your skills and understanding in a compulsory workshop. The outcome will be a draft health promotion plan that addresses a specific priority health issue in a specific urban, regional or remote Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community. The conceptual and technical tools learned may then be built upon and applied to any health issue in any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander setting.

Injury is the leading cause of death and disability in children, adolescents and people of working age in Australia and globally. This unit aims to provide students with a clear understanding of the magnitude of the injury burden, both in higher and lower income countries, and the strategies that are required to address this burden. During the 2 day workshop, guest speakers will outline issues relevant to the general injury prevention field and students will participate in interactive small group work which will focus on issues relevant to cause-specific injuries, in collaboration with guest contributors. Topics covered include road injury, occupational injury, fall injury, drowning, suicide, injury in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, burns, and injury in resource poor settings.

The unit consists of learning topics, each of which is supported by extensive Web based resources, and 4 moderated online discussion forums, each focusing on a problem related to tobacco use and control. Lecture topics include: history of tobacco use and control; the burden of illness from tobacco use; secondhand smoke: the research evidence; measuring tobacco use, uptake and cessation in communities; international trends in tobacco consumption; the tobacco industry; the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and new forms of tobacco advertising and promotion. Problem focused discussion forums include: Harm reduction and tobacco control, regulation of tobacco, improving and implementing pack warnings; promoting smoking cessation, prevention of uptake (youth programs); denormalisation of the tobacco industry; controlling advertising; and controlling exposure to tobacco smoke, making news on tobacco and influencing political policy on tobacco.

This fully online unit aims to teach students about the principles of falls prevention in the older person with an emphasis on the application of these principles in the field. This unit will focus on risk factors for falls and the development, implementation and evaluation of fall prevention programs. Students will learn about and discuss research methods for the understanding of, prediction of, and prevention of falls, critically evaluate journal articles, and discuss the development of fall prevention programs using case studies.

Students will have the opportunity to critique and analyse case studies from a variety of both successful and unsuccessful public health advocacy examples. There will be an emphasis on how online environments and social media tools are contributing to public health advocacy debates and campaigns. Recent examples of how online media have influenced health policy and programming will be presented. Students will examine and prepare writing for online media such as news, blogs, and social media. The lectures will include guest speakers from non-government organisations, government and other experienced stakeholders from across the public heath sector.

This unit of study provides a comprehensive introduction to qualitative inquiry in health. It is designed for beginners and people who want an advanced-level introduction. Over the course of the unit we will address: What is qualitative research? How is it different from quantitative research? What is its history? What research problems can it address? How do I design a qualitative study? What are the different (and best) ways to generate data? How do you analyse qualitative data? Is methodology different to method? What are ontology and epistemology? What is reflexivity (and aren't qualitative researchers biased)? What are the ethical issues? What is good quality qualitative research? Can I generalise qualitative findings? You will get practical experience and skills through carrying out an observation, participating in a focus group, conducting an interview, analysing data, arguing for qualitative research in health, and appraising the quality of published literature. In both workshops you will meet working qualitative researchers and hear about their projects. This advanced unit will show you a new way of thinking critically about research and researching, and give you the skills and confidence to begin evaluating and doing qualitative research for yourself.

Qualitative methodologies are historical traditions and systems for planning and justifying research methods. This intermediate unit assumes a basic understanding of qualitative research and focuses on qualitative methodologies. Qualitative methodologies are informed by theories from sociology, anthropology, philosophy and other disciplines. They shape the research questions, objectives, design and outcome of a qualitative study. This course begins with general principles of qualitative methodology and study design. We examine several qualitative methodologies in detail, including: narrative inquiry, community based participatory research, ethnography, grounded theory, arts-based, and qualitative synthesis. We consider their historical and theoretical roots, the research practices they encourage, and their current status. The final session considers how we can use methodologies as resources rather than recipes, maintaining both flexibility and coherence in our study designs.

In this Unit you will analyse and write about qualitative data. This intermediate unit assumes a basic understanding of qualitative research and focuses on qualitative analysis and writing. Across the first three workshop days we will explore the principles of qualiative analysis, learn about different analytic strategies and key analytic tools. You will learn how to develop codes and themes, use memos and analytic maps, and interpret data through the process of writing. The final workshop day focuses on writing; you will learn methods for starting writing, structuring articles, and editing your own work. Most importantly, we will practice thinking in genres, asking the question: who is going to read this, and how should I write for them? Between workshops, you will work to analyse a portfolio of qualitative data. After completing this Unit you will have a wider range of analytic techniques at your disposal, and will have experience in shaping your writing to make it appropriate for its intended audience.

This Unit of Study is only for students in the Qualitative Health Research program. It will draw together what you have learned over the course of your studies, and culminate in the production of a research plan, and a Human Research Ethics Committee application. You should come to the first workshop day with a problem that is appropriate to research qualitatively. Ideally the problem you work on will be either an intended PhD project, workplace project or a project for which you will be seeking grant funding. Day one of the Workshop will be spent learning about the research funding process, developing aims and formal research questions, exploring methods and methodology, and reviewing successful qualitative grant applications. Day two will be spent working through a funding proposal and learning about issues of ethics. Across the semester, you will refine and document your research plans and ethical reasoning and receive support from peers and the unit coordinator through regular meetings. The Unit of Study aims to ensure that as a graduate of the QHR program you are well-prepared to commence a qualitative PhD or qualitative research project.

The research capstone experience supports MQHR students to put into practice what they have learnt during their candidature, by planning and executing a substantial qualitative research project. The project may be pilot work for a future PhD or to seek grant funding, or a standalone piece of work. Students should identify an academic staff member with relevant content knowledge to supervise the project. Students should only enrol in this unit after they have developed a research proposal in QUAL5004 and secured ethical approval. Students will use QUAL5101 to generate data for their capstone project. After completing this Unit students will have demonstrated skills in refining data collection tools, sampling and recruitment strategies; describing and justifying data collection decisions; data generation; and project management. For this six credit point unit, students will spend at least 126 hours on completing the work required, including generating data, writing draft methods section, and attendance at supervisory meetings.

The research capstone experience supports MQHR students to put into practice what they have learnt during their candidature, by planning and executing a substantial qualitative research project. The project may be pilot work for a future PhD or to seek grant funding, or a standalone piece of work. Students should identify an academic staff member with relevant content knowledge to supervise the project. Students should only enrol in this unit after they have developed a research proposal in QUAL5004 and secured ethical approval. Students will use QUAL5102 to conduct data analysis for their capstone project. After completing this Unit students will have demonstrated skills in refining data analysis strategies; conducting data analysis; describing and justifying data analysis strategies, and project management. For this six credit point unit, students will spend at least 126 hours on completing the work required, including generating analysis, writing draft methods section, and attendance at supervisory meetings.

The research capstone experience supports MQHR students to put into practice what they have learnt during their candidature, by planning and executing a substantial qualitative research project. The project may be pilot work for a future PhD or to seek grant funding, or a standalone piece of work. Students should identify an academic staff member with relevant content knowledge to supervise the project. Students should only enrol in this unit after they have developed a research proposal in QUAL5004 and secured ethical approval. Students will use QUAL5103 to conduct research dissemination for the capstone project. After completing this Unit students will have demonstrated skills in identifying an appropriate target journal for publication; writing for an identified audience; formatting according to the guidelines of the target journal; developing an alternative research output for the purposes of research communication. For this six credit point unit, students will spend at least 126 hours on completing the work required, producing two research outputs and attendance at supervisory meetings.

This unit explores a series of issues of controversy and debate in social theory. These include debates over: the information age; new information and communication technologies; the new capitalism and changing work practices; the cultural sphere; new forms of power and surveillance; shifting claims to insight in knowledge societies; the role of education in social inequality; the bases of making knowledge claims; and globalisation. The unit involves both face-to-face seminars and online discussions.

This unit will explore determinants of sexuality from a societal perspective, with particular reference to their potential impacts on public health. Social science theories of sexuality will be considered, and cross-cultural and historical accounts of sexual practices will be reviewed. Particular emphasis will be placed on the impact of diversity, culture, society, environment, life experiences, personal beliefs and health on sexual activity and potential Public Health impacts such as the spread of STIs and HIV. Course content will include diversity; adolescent sexual development; sex education; sexual assault, gender; sexual orientation and sexual behaviour.

This unit aims to provide a public health perspective of the population impact of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). On completion of this unit, students should be able to: (i) Understand the underlying principles of the surveillance systems used to monitor STIs; (ii) Understand the core risk activity groups involved in the transmission of STIs; (iii) Understand how the epidemiologies of STIs vary within and between societies; (iv) Understand the public health impacts of STIs; and (v) Understand effective preventative strategies at individual and community levels. Course content will include an introduction to the basic biology of STIs; epidemiology and surveillance methods; STI service delivery considerations; STI/HIV interactions, impact of vulnerable at-risk populations; health promotion for STIs; policy approaches; and ethical and legal issues.

This unit aims to provide a public health perspective of the impact of HIV infection. It is available in both online and face to face modes. On completion of the unit, students should be able to: (i) Understand the underlying principles of the surveillance systems used to monitor HIV infection; (ii) Understand the core risk activity groups involved in the transmission of HIV; (iii) Understand how the epidemiology of HIV infection varies within and between societies; (iv) Understand the public health impacts of HIV infection; and (v) Understand the effective prevention strategies. Course content will include an introduction to the basic science of HIV infection; epidemiology and surveillance; sexual blood borne and mother to child transmission; STI/HIV interactions; other methods of transmission; health promotion for HIV prevention; government perspectives; and ethical and legal issues.

This unit aims to introduce the constructs of adolescent sexuality, explore the determinants of adolescent sexual health and to discuss the personal and public health implications of adolescent sexuality, with additional emphasis on a deeper exploration of an area of adolescent sexual health that is of particular interest to the student. The mainareas of learning are: adolescent sexuality, adolescent sexual health, reproductive health issues in adolescence, diversity, legal and ethical issues and sexual health promotion. On completion of this unit of study, students should be able to: (i) Describe the biological, developmental and socio-cultural contexts of adolescent sexual health as well as the constructs, challenges and diversities of adolescent sexuality. They will learn techniques used to optimise communication with adolescents and explore legal, ethical and public health implications of adolescent sexuality; and (ii) Understand and describe one area of adolescent sexual health that the student chooses to study in depth from a list of suggestions.