This unit provides students with core skills in epidemiology, particularly the ability to critically appraise public health and clinical epidemiological research literature regarding public health and clinical issues. This unit covers: study types; measures of frequency and association; measurement bias; confounding/effect modification; randomized trials; systematic reviews; screening and test evaluation; infectious disease outbreaks; measuring public health impact and use and interpretation of population health data. In addition to formal classes or their on-line equivalent, it is expected that students spend an additional 2-3 hours at least each week preparing for their tutorials.

This unit introduces students to statistical methods relevant in medicine and health. Students will learn how to build datasets and basic data management procedures, summarise and visualise data, choose the correct statistical analysis, conduct this analysis using statistical software, interpret its results, and report statistical findings in a format suitable for inclusion in scientific publications. Students will also learn to consider the difference between statistical significance and practical importance, and how to determine the appropriate sample size when planning a research study. Specific analysis methods covered in this unit include: descriptive methods; hypothesis tests for one sample, paired samples and two independent groups for continuous and categorical data; correlation and linear regression; power and sample size estimation for simple studies. All these topics are introduced with an emphasis on practical application and interpretation and are supported using statistical software. The general principles developed in this unit can be easily extended to more advanced methods; students who wish to continue with their statistical learning after this unit are encouraged to take PUBH5217 Biostatistics: Statistical Modelling.

This core unit of study introduces students to evidence-based health promotion as a fundamental approach to promoting and improving health and wellbeing, preventing disease and reducing health inequalities in populations. The unit is divided into three modules: (i) the building blocks of disease prevention and health promotion, (ii) using evidence to develop disease prevention and health promotion interventions, and (iii) evaluating disease prevention and health promotion programs to inform policy and practice. This unit will give students an understanding of disease prevention and health promotion and their relationship to public health, introduce design, implementation, and evaluation of disease prevention and health promotion interventions, and develop and refine students' research, critical appraisal, and communication skills.

This unit introduces you to the theoretical and practical underpinnings of public health via a diverse range of case studies. Together we will critically analyse what public health is and what it seeks to achieve. We will explore key concepts that will be taken up in more detail in other core and elective units, challenge current orthodoxies, and seek to develop a reflective and analytical approach to public health practice and research. We will have a particular focus on exploring the health and well-being challenges experienced by indigenous peoples, migrants and other disadvantaged groups, in Australia and globally. We will do this through considering the meaning of evidence and the historical and contemporary public health context, with the aim of working together to identify ethical, innovative and effective solutions. Throughout this unit you will be encouraged to interact with your unit coordinators, tutors and fellow students, ask questions, and respectfully debate answers to questions such as: What is public health? What does it mean to think beyond the social determinants? What is equity and why does it matter?
Integration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges and perspectives: This unit pays particular attention to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander public health challenges and solutions. The Sydney School of Public Health is committed to graduating public health professionals who have the competence and confidence to work effectively and respectfully with Australia's First Peoples. This unit will help prepare you for this work and provide important foundational knowledge that will be further advanced in concurrent and subsequent Master of Public Health units of study.

This unit of study introduces you to qualitative research in health. It is designed for beginners and people who want an advanced level introduction. We will examine core concepts like methodology and reflexivity; consider approaches to research design (including sampling and developing research questions), data collection (including interviewing, focus group, observation, visual methods) and analysis; and discuss frameworks for thinking about research ethics and research quality. You will get practical experience in research design, data collection, data analysis and evaluating published qualitative literature. Throughout we will consider the value of qualitative approaches for constructing knowledge about health and hear from working qualitative researchers about how they use qualitative methods in their work.

This unit aims to develop a critical and comparative understanding of the history, theory and practice of health policy as well as provide students with an understanding of the main concepts and analytical methods of health economics and political economy. It gives an overview of the political choices and frameworks that shape decision making in health. By the end of this unit students will be able to: Define the boundaries and key features of health policy; Identify policy instruments and how they function; Understand the main frameworks used for analysing health policy, and different approaches and perspectives regarding setting priorities in health policy; Apply methods and principles of health economics e.g. resource scarcity, opportunity cost, efficiency and equity to practical real-life examples; Critically analyse the role of economic evidence in informing policy decisions in health decision-making in Australia.

This unit gives high-achieving students who have an average weighted mark of 75% or more in their first 48 credit points of coursework the opportunity to undertake a supervised work placement in a Public Health institution. Places are limited and selection of candidates will be based on academic merit. During this placement you will undertake a project which will make a useful contribution to the workplace. Your project proposal, the final report based on your project or portfolio and your supervisor's report will constitute your assessment for the unit. The placement will consist of a minimum of 216 hours' work, that is approximately six weeks' full-time (or equivalent part-time) work. Placements are intended to be in Australia but it may be possible to allow placements in other countries in specific circumstances. The Public Health institutions would normally be located outside university environments. Examples include NSW Department of Health Public Health Units or Health Promotion Units, government supported agencies such as the Sax Institute and Family Planning NSW, and non-government organisations such as NSW Cancer Council or advocacy groups.

This unit gives high-achieving students who have an average weighted mark of 75% or more in their first 48 credit points of coursework the opportunity to undertake a supervised work placement in a Public Health institution. Places are limited and selection of candidates will be based on academic merit. During this placement you will undertake a project which will make a useful contribution to the workplace. Your project proposal, the final report based on your project or portfolio and your supervisor's report will constitute your assessment for the two related units (PUBH5041 and PUBH5042). The placement will consist of a minimum of 216 hours' work, that is approximately six weeks' full-time (or equivalent part-time) work across 12 credit points. This unit (PUBH5041) is designed to cover six of these credit points to allow the placement to be undertaken over two semesters. Initially placements will only be possible in Australia, although this may change in the future. The Public Health institutions would normally be located outside university environments. Examples include NSW Department of Health Public Health Units or Health Promotion Units, government supported agencies such as the Sax Institute and Family Planning NSW, and non-government organisations such as NSW Cancer Council or advocacy groups.

This unit gives high-achieving students who have an average weighted mark of 75% or more in their first 48 credit points of coursework the opportunity to undertake a supervised work placement in a Public Health institution. Places are limited and selection of candidates will be based on academic merit. During this placement you will undertake a project which will make a useful contribution to the workplace. Your project proposal, the final report based on your project or portfolio and your supervisor's report will constitute your assessment for the two related units (PUBH5041 and PUBH5042). The placement will consist of a minimum of 216 hours' work in a practice placement, that is approximately six weeks' full-time (or equivalent part-time) work across 12 credit points.This unit (PUBH5042) is designed to cover six of these credit points to allow the placement to be undertaken over two semesters. Initially placements will only be possible in Australia, although this may change in the future. The Public Health institutions would normally be located outside university environments. Examples include NSW Department of Health Public Health Units or Health Promotion Units, government supported agencies such as the Sax Institute and Family Planning NSW, and non-government organisations such as NSW Cancer Council or advocacy groups.

This unit is intended for students nearing the end of their MPH/GradDipPH. The Special Project is a self-directed unit focussed on a specific MPH-related topic of interest to the student. The project is supervised by an academic within the School. An external person can act as the main supervisor but a School academic would also be required. This project may be developed by the student, or the student could develop a project in consultation with an intended supervisor. The student needs to meet with the supervisor during the semester. Preferably this would be at least three times but the frequency will depend on the project and the preference of the supervisor. As the project is self-directed, there is not an expectation that the supervisor would have close involvement, although they can have if they want to. The student would be expected to undertake approximately 120 to 150 hours of work for this unit. The format of the final report or other output can be whatever is appropriate, as agreed with the supervisor(s).

This unit provides students with an opportunity to draw together and integrate their learning in the four key aspects of public health as reflected in their degree program - knowledge, values, actions and outcomes - and apply these to a project. The key aim is for students to undertake the sort of set of tasks they are likely to be required to do during their public health career - research a topic, prepare a summary of it and communicate their findings to a knowledgeable but not expert audience. Students will undertake a focused assessment on a public health topic. This may be as part of a practical public health project or on area investigated primarily for the purposes of the capstone unit. The work will culminate in a presentation of the work at a School seminar attended by other capstone unit students and School academics, or the on-line equivalent of this.

Students will do an independent research project in an area of interest relevant to public health. The student will work with a supervisor, who will help the student select a topic and then guide the student through the process of conducting a research project. The project may be a systematic review of the literature, analysis of an existing dataset, a quantitative or qualitative research study, a policy analysis or some other project acceptable to the dissertation supervisor.

Students will do an independent research project in an area of interest relevant to public health. The student will work with a supervisor, who will help the student select a topic and then guide the student through the process of conducting a research project. The project may be a systematic review of the literature, analysis of an existing dataset, a quantitative or qualitative research study, a policy analysis or some other project acceptable to the dissertation supervisor.

Students will do an independent research project in an area of interest relevant to public health. The student will work with a supervisor, who will help the student select a topic and then guide the student through the process of conducting a research project. The project may be a systematic review of the literature, analysis of an existing dataset, a quantitative or qualitative research study, a policy analysis or some other project acceptable to the dissertation supervisor.

This unit of study offers a critical review of the field and methods of bioethics. The course explores the meaning of 'bioethics' as a concept and practice, both historically and in contemporary discussions. The seminars critically explore a diverse range of different methods used in bioethics. Topics include what ‘bioethics’ is, the use of moral theory, liberal and conservative approaches, employing arguments and thought experiments, epistemic justice, empirical bioethics, reflective equilibrium, Indigenous and environmental bioethics, global bioethics and the role of compromise in bioethics debate. Learning activities will include seminars and small group discussion.

Participants in this Unit of Study (UoS) will develop the foundational knowledge of moral theory necessary to
engage in advanced analyses of issues in health ethics. This course is arranged around three types of moral thinking: consequentialist, non-consequentialist, and theory-neutral positions. We will explore each of these. In so doing, we will read a combination of classic texts and recent articles that provide an introduction to theoretical frameworks such as virtue ethics, deontology, and utilitarianism. We will also become familiar with critical and contemporary approaches to ethical thinking, such as egalitarianism, the capabilities approach, feminist ethics, and principle-based ethics. In addition to gaining an understanding of these theories and approaches, students in this UoS will consider a variety of topics pertinent to current ethical debates, including cultural relativism, universalism in ethics, difference, power, and oppression.

This unit of study introduces some philosophical questions and debates concerning health, medicine and the biomedical sciences. We will begin by exploring some basic concepts and distinctions such as health, disease, mental illness and disability. We will then explore topics that lie at the heart of a scientific approach to health and medicine, such as causation, experimentation, evidence and clinical reasoning. Towards the end of the course, students will be invited to reflect critically on the preceding sections by exploring the rationality claims of non-orthodox approaches to health and medicine, by inquiring closely into the meaning of medical terms, and by taking a broad view of notions like health, disease or risk. This unit will appeal to students who want to take a deep dive into ideas and commitments that make the health professions and the health sciences distinctive. It will encourage you to question deeply-held assumptions; it will help you feel confident to draw on philosophical scholarship, and it will equip you to evaluate reasons, evidence and arguments with the kind of rigor that philosophy demands.

As the capstone, this Unit of Study will allow Masters of Bioethics students to draw together their learning and reflect on the place that bioethics should have in society. Students will critically engage in issues including the relationship between bioethics and advocacy; the contribution of bioethics to policy; the role of bioethics researchers in multi-disciplinary collaborations; how bioethics issues are discussed in the media, popular culture and literature; and the role that the public should play in discussions of bioethics issues. Students will respond to a range of topical examples throughout the semester. They will also have the opportunity to determine their own assessment topic.

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 policy and practice. The unit begins with some fundamentals about the nature of public health. We then explore key concepts in public health ethics including equity, liberty, utility, justice, and solidarity, and consider different ways of reasoning about the ethics of public health. A range of current public health problems and issues are presented and discussed, including ‘lifestyle’ diseases, screening, public mental health, health communication, and pandemics. Throughout, the emphasis is on learning to make sound arguments about the ethical aspects of public health policy, practice and research. Students will be encouraged to ask questions, and to compare and debate competing answers to those questions. What is public health? To what extent should we each be free to engage in practices that harm our health? What is the proper role of the state in attempting to change the health of populations? What is equity and why does it matter (and why aren’t we doing more about it)? Most learning occurs in the context of five teaching interactive intensives and the assigned course readings, which 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: dominant theoretical approaches relevant to ethical reasoning in the clinical context; key ethical concepts in the clinical encounter (such as autonomy, professionalism and confidentiality); major contexts in which ethical issues arise in clinical practice (such as the start and end of life); and the role of clinical ethics consultation. The unit will also consider specific issues and populations within clinical practice, such as healthcare in underserved populations. This Unit is taught predominantly online. Depending on student interest, periodic interactive workshops will also be offered. These can be attended in person, or via Zoom (synchronously or asynchronously).

This unit of study introduces students to human research ethics in its wider context It explores the ethical underpinnings of the research endeavour including the justifications for engaging in research and research integrity The unit also briefly reviews the history of research and the impact of research abuse on human participants

Medicines save lives but they can be costly and can have serious adverse effects. Value-laden decisions are continuously being made at individual, institutional, national and international levels regarding the medicines we need, want and can afford. In this unit of study, we will explore and critique global and national policies and processes related to medicines, examining how research and development agendas are set; how medicines are assessed and evaluated; and how new technologies are translated into practice. We will also explore broader trends such as globalisation, commercialisation and changing consumer expectations. By the end of the course, students will understand the forces shaping the development, regulation, funding and uptake of medicines both nationally and internationally, and the political, ethical, legal and economic issues that are at stake. This course is designed to appeal to a wide range of students from ethics, law, public health, health care, policy, communications, economics, business, politics, administration, and biomedical science.

This unit examines a range of ethical issues within neuroscience and mental health, and how our understanding of these issues is important for research, diagnosis, treatment, and policy making. Students will not only examine how contemporary scientific practices have ethical, social, cultural and legal implications, they will also examine how ethical, social, and cultural factors can affect our understanding of neuroscience and mental health, and the underlying assumptions of researchers in these fields. The course aspires to inform future decision-makers in health, public policy, clinical settings and academia of the unique contributions and skills that biomedical ethics provides to the fields of mental health and neuroscience. Topics may include the nature of psychiatric disorders and their relationship with prevailing social and cultural factors, the implications of new technology for treatment and enhancement, the philosophical basis of the concept of mental disorder, the extent to which neuroscience can or cannot help us understand and treat mental illnesses, the relationship between researchers and public understanding of the research, the relationship between power, the psychiatric profession, and the categorisation of patients, the complex relationship between morality, mental health and the law, and whether scientific research can help us answer philosophical questions.

This course is specifically designed for health professionals working in health care. It will equip participants with underpinning knowledge about patient safety. The course modules cover quality and safety principles, professionalism and ethics, the blame culture, risk information, health care as a system, the impact of adverse events, methods to measure and make improvements in health care. The modules, tools and the discussions are designed to enable participants to change behaviour by understanding the main causes of adverse events. The course provides foundation knowledge about quality and safety. Governments around the world are concerned to address unsafe care. The course will prepare health professional to understand the complexity of health care and take steps to minimise the opportunities for errors and address vulnerabilities in the system.

This project unit provides an opportunity to apply skills learnt in other units and further develop knowledge and skills by undertaking a systematic review (ideally including a meta analysis) in a topic area nominated by the student. The unit is student-driven with no direct supervision, but the student will have three chances to interact with the unit coordinator, to define the research questions, to discuss the selected methodology, and prior to submission. The assessment task is to undertake a systematic review of randomised trials and present the review in the form of a paper suitable for submission to a peer reviewed scientific, academic or professional journal.

This unit of study will appeal to anyone wanting to write medical papers for conferences or journals, or to improve their paper writing skills. Students will work at their own pace through 9 modules covering research integrity, medical style, abstracts, presentations and posters, constructing a paper, data visualisation, manuscript submission, responding to reviewers' comments, post-publication research dissemination, and peer- reviewing a paper. This unit aims to teach students the principles of research integrity in writing for medical journals, typical issues they may face, and link to resources to help them maintain integrity through their publishing careers. It will guide them to reliable evidence-based resources to improve their conference abstract, presentation and poster design, and manuscript style and writing. Students will learn about reporting guidelines, common pitfalls in writing and presenting research, choosing a journal, keywords, improving tables and figures for manuscripts through open source software, copyright, writing cover letters and response letters to reviewers. Students will learn about measuring research impact and ways to improve research reach, dealing with the media and press releases, using social media in dissemination, digital archiving and basic skills needed to act as a peer-reviewer. This is an online unit, but those needing to study in block mode will do online study as well as a workshop.

In this unit of study, the student will develop his/her own research proposal, to a standard suitable for a peer-reviewed granting body. Each section of a grant proposal (Abstract, Aims, Background, Significance, Methods) will be discussed, with the student presenting and refining the corresponding section of his/her own proposal in a synchronous online workshop setting. This will be complemented by online presentations from experienced researchers on the practical aspects of clinical research. Topics include: observational studies, randomised controlled trials, diagnostic test evaluation, qualitative studies, economic evaluation, and process evaluation. The unit will conclude with a one-day, face-to-face, mandatory workshop where students will learn about budgeting, qualitative research, strategies and grant administration, research ethics and peer review of research grants.

This unit of study introduces the student to basic concepts behind diagnostic and screening tests, including: test accuracy, sources of bias in test evaluation, critical appraisal of test evaluation studies, application of test results to individual patients, place of tests in diagnostic pathways, impact of tests on patient outcomes, principles and use of evidence in population screening, overdiagnosis, systematic review of diagnostic tests and meta-analysis. After completing this unit of study, the student should have a comprehensive understanding of contemporary issues and the methodology underlying, diagnostic and screening test evaluation and application.

In this unit of study, we aim to introduce you to systematic reviews and meta-analyses of relevance to healthcare with a particular focus on systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials. Students can choose to learn in online or normal day (on-campus) mode. All students will work through four online modules, delivered over twelve weeks, addressing the following topics at an introductory level: What and why systematic reviews (and meta-analysis); How to formulate answerable healthcare questions and searching for systematic reviews; How a systematic review is conducted and understanding the principles of meta-analysis; and How to appraise, interpret and apply the results of systematic reviews (and meta-analyses). Students will have the opportunity to discuss unit of study learning materials in online tutorials or via weekly (on-campus) tutorials. Readings and other learning materials will be available via eLearning.

Information technology (IT) has significantly contributed to the research and practice of medicine, biology and health care. The IT field is growing enormously in scope with biomedicine taking a lead role in utilising the evolving applications to its best advantage. The goal of this unit of study is to provide students with the necessary knowledge to understand the information technology in biomedicine. The major emphasis will be on the principles associated with biomedical digital imaging systems and related biomedicine data processing, analysis, visualisation, registration, modelling, retrieval and management. A broad range of practical integrated clinical applications will be also elaborated.

This unit provides students with an understanding of the individual and societal risks of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) wherever they occur, including community settings, and the rationale for, and barriers to, their prevention and control. The unit builds on a basic understanding of medical microbiology, epidemiology and infectious diseases and explores important contemporary concepts to the science and practice of infection prevention and control. The unit examines contemporary definitions of HAIs, their significance to individual, societal and population health, how they are transmitted and the science and practice of interrupt this transmission using infection prevention and control. Topics include the use of standard and transmission-based precautions, outbreak management and the challenges that are associated with antimicrobial resistance and the management of emerging and high-consequence infectious diseases.

This advanced unit of study extends students' practical and theoretical knowledge of qualitative research to provide advanced concepts and skills in qualitative data analysis and writing. We will explore the principles of qualitative analysis, review 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. You will learn about starting writing, structuring articles, making analytic arguments, and editing your own work. Throughout, we will consider what it means to think and write 'qualitatively'. Students will conduct a Thematic Analysis on a portfolio of qualitative data and produce a results and discussion section for a journal article. After completing this unit, you will have increased your experience, skills and confidence in qualitative data analysis and writing.

This core unit for the Master of Global Health will give students insight into historical and contemporary issues in global health. The unit begins with a chronology of transformations in global health (from mid-twentieth century to present), by looking at global health as a system of individual and organisational actors on a quest for equity in health outcomes globally. The unit then explores the place of ethics and culture, and of measurement and metrics in global health. Designed as an introduction to contemporary debates in global health and development, students will engage actively and critically in discussions on the role of trade/capitalism, democracy/freedom, foreign aid/local initiative, securitisation/altruism, technological/social determinants of health et cetera – in creating and/or addressing inequities in global health. The unit will provide students with a broad but deep appreciation for big question and ideas, concepts and theories in global health, international relations, political economy, and development economics.

This core unit for the Master of Global Health will develop students’ awareness of the key practical skills for working in the field of global health. Skills developed will fall within the broad categories of Influence, Context, Communication, and Methods. This interactive unit will both teach principles of the skills and allow students to practise and hone these skills for themselves. The content will be grounded in global health concerns and aim to equip student with the core competencies to work in this complex field.

This unit gives candidates essential knowledge of prevention and control of communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries using country-specific examples. After successfully completing this unit of study, candidates will understand the key issues in communicable diseases and their control in developing countries, as well as gain the knowledge and insight on how prevention and control mechanisms and programs are developed for these diseases in resource-poor settings. The unit covers disease emergence, respiratory tract infections (including TB), vector-borne infections, food- and water-borne infections, neurological infections, neglected tropical diseases, bloodborne and sexually transmitted infections (including HIV) and drug-resistant infections.

Women and children’s health are critically important for the health of a population. If women are healthy, they have healthy babies, and healthy babies and children grow up to be healthy adults. This unit gives an introduction to the health status of women and children in resource-poor settings, and highlights the interconnectedness of women's and children's health, and why it is important to monitor and report women and children's health outcomes. This unit presents some of the major causes of morbidity and mortality for women and children around the world, with an overview of the interventions and approaches to improving outcomes from a public health perspective. Each week an expert describes a major issue related to the health of women and children. In the tutorials you facilitate a weekly discussion and thus get a deeper understanding of one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality.

This unit gives students an overview of global health aspects of forced migration and humanitarian emergencies. This includes considering problems faced by government and non-government organisations in humanitarian emergency relief efforts as well as the increasing pressures of forced migration resulting from these. Topics covered in the unit include international and human rights law, the role of donor agencies, refugee health, nutritional emergencies, site planning for refugee camps, water and sanitation, sexual violence, protection of vulnerable groups, and communicable disease surveillance and control.

Health systems and the delivery of healthcare are complex and multi-faceted, even more so in resource-limited settings. Successful health systems and healthcare delivery require attention to political economy, governance, institutions, and local context. It is also important to be able to identify and prioritise cost-effective interventions, engage communities and equip health workers. This unit will cover health systems and healthcare delivery in low-income countries to equip students with a conceptual understanding and a set of tools to address major public health challenges from a health systems and delivery perspective with an explicit focus on building effective primary health care.
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. We will also explore healthcare delivery in a novel integrated course design to highlight the perspectives of both health administrators and policymakers as well as health workers, patients and communities. 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, knowledge translation and bringing interventions to scale.

This unit aims to provide students with insights into the major nutrition-related public health problems in low- and middle-income countries; knowledge and practical skills about nutritional assessment; and the design and evaluation of nutritional interventions. The content areas include an overview of nutrition as a major determinant of health and disease; methods to assess community nutritional status; the impact of maternal and child under-nutrition on mortality and overall disease burden; design and evaluation of effective interventions; issues surrounding food security; agriculture and nutrition; and nutrition policies and resources. The unit has three major segments with the first focusing on nutritional assessment, the second on prioritizing nutrition-related public health problems in low- and middle-income countries, and the third on design and evaluation of interventions. On completion, students should be able to recognise key nutritional problems facing low- and middle-income countries; have acquired knowledge and practical skills as to how to assess these problems, and have gained insights into different multi-sectoral approaches to address these problems.

Effective health project design and management contribute to improving health and achieving health equity for people worldwide. The unit aims to give students a good understanding of the concepts and key elements of project design and evaluation, and to demonstrate tools and techniques used in effective project management. A detailed step by step application of the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) in project design will be presented. The Unit also gives students an opportunity for hands-on practice through the design of a project in a global setting and allows them to consider the challenges and practical issues faced by people involved in international health project management. The key topic areas covered include: concepts and principles of global health project management; context and situation analysis; the LFA for project design; project management functions including managing information, resources, risk, quality and change; and project monitoring and evaluation. At the end of the course, students should be able to: apply the Logical Framework Approach for project planning and design in global settings, apply principles and skills you have learnt in the MGH course in project design; recognise challenges and practical issues and be able to take those issues into considerations in the development of a project proposal.

This unit aims to equip students with operational knowledge of the structures and financing of health systems. The focus will be on Australia and comparable countries. However, we will also look at particular issues around lower income and aid dependent health systems. Topics covered include funding priorities and mechanisms, the debates over the public-private mix, governance and accountability. The unit addresses questions such as: Who makes decisions about funding priorities? To whom should decision makers be held accountable and for what aspects of their work? How does health financing shape universal health coverage? By the end of this unit students will be able to: Apply a critical understanding of the basic history and features of the Australian and comparable health systems; Debate the main models and principles of health system funding, including principles of insurance, risk-pooling, equity, delivery and governance; Undertake a cross-country comparative analysis of health system features and outcomes, including low and middle income countries; Critically analyse national health budgets and funding programs; Locate finance policy in the wider context of health systems and economies.

Health policy analysis involves examining the components of health policy and the health policy process – it is the study of both the causes of policy decisions and the consequences of these decisions. Health policy analysis requires us to consider the complexity of policy making, and the political, economic, social, cultural and historical context within which this occurs. This unit aims to develop skills for undertaking health policy research and analysis and is underpinned by systems thinking principles to equip students with the skills to embrace complexity in researching and evaluating health policy. We take a multidisciplinary approach to familiarise students with fundamental frameworks and methodologies that can be applied to health policy research and analysis. By the end of the unit students will be able to: Define policy and formulate research questions that can be used to analyse policy and policy processes; Understand and apply systems thinking approaches to policy analysis; Understand and explain the different methodological approaches and research paradigms that can be applied in policy analysis; Apply a critical analysis to a case study of policy success or failure; Identify appropriate study designs, research methodologies, data collection methods and analysis frameworks for specific policy research questions; Design a systems thinking-informed analysis of a current policy issue.

Healthcare is now one of the largest employers and sectors in the Australian economy. Approximately two thirds of its funding comes from government, while two thirds of services are provided by the private sector. This unit explores this complex mix, building an understanding of the inter-relationships among the players in the industry, public and private. The course will explore the financial and regulatory environment in which providers operate and identify the main business models used by different players in the industry, including service providers, private insurers, employers, and government regulators. The unit draws on expert lecturers, international comparisons and case studies to give an understanding of the incentives and constraints that shape strategies to create value in health care. By the end of the unit students will: Have an understanding of the 'eco-system' of health care; Be able to navigate the regulatory and technological aspects of business in the health sector; Be able to identify and evaluate public and private business strategies and business plans in the main health care sectors.

The aim of this unit is to equip students with the knowledge and skills to identify and articulate political and policy processes at the global level, become familiar with institutions and actors involved in global health policy, and utilize strategies for influencing policy making at the global level. We analyse the influence and power of institutions and actors in the development and implementation of global health policy, and investigate the governance of global health policy responses. Teaching makes extensive use of current case studies from recognised experts in the field. By the end of this unit students will be able to: Explain the effects of globalization on health of populations; Demonstrate how events and trends in health and non-health areas affect global health policy; Identify and classify the different types of actors/institutions that influence health policy; Undertake a policy stakeholder analysis with reference to power, influence and interests; Develop strategies to influence global health policy development and implementation; Define global health governance and its role in structuring and regulating global health policy.

The aim of this unit is to increase students' understanding about the links between evidence and policy and planning and to build skills for making an evidence based case for change and implementing evidence based policy. The unit also advances conceptualisations of evidence for policy to include citizen, consumer and community experience as evidence. The teaching of this course will include: lectures, critical appraisal workshops, guest presentations from leading policy makers and student presentations of how evidence from research can assist them to address real world issues.. By the end of this unit students will be able to: Use evidence to identify areas that require policy change; Search for and critically appraise evidence for policy design and implementation; Understand key theories of the use of evidence in policy and practice; Critically analyse the role of evidence in policy and political processes; Understand citizen and community experience as evidence; Use evidence effectively in a case for policy change.

In this capstone unit students work independently to develop a complete proposal for a policy that could be implemented in the real world. This unit builds on the skills developed in HPOL5003 and HPOL5008 and enables students to apply the knowledge they have gained across their degree. Drawing on their work experience or interests, students will choose a topic for their policy project, which must be approved by the Unit Coordinator. By the conclusion of the project, students will have developed a complete policy document including: a clearly articulated policy problem; an appraisal of relevant evidence and possible options; identification of an appropriate policy solution; an analysis of the environment in which the policy will be introduced; and a plan for implementation and evaluation. The project will be presented at the final workshop or online via recorded video. By the end of this unit students will be able to: Identify and articulate a problem that is amenable to a policy solution; Identify factors and stakeholders supporting and resisting policy change, and strategies required to facilitate adoption of policy change; Identify policy options and advocate for a policy solutions; Develop a clear plan for policy implementation, evaluation and funding; Effectively research, write and communicate a new policy.

Many who come to assume leadership roles in health care often come to this responsibility without any exposure to leadership theory. Given this, HPOL5012 focuses on combining the development of an understanding of leadership theory with the personal development of students as health care leaders because ultimately leadership is about what you do, not what you know. Initially this is done by exploring the history of leadership theory and then taking this learning and applying it to the health care environment through a hierarchy that moves through ‘leading self’ then onto teams, organisations and ultimately society. The aim of this unit is to increase students' knowledge of leadership theory and their understanding of the connections between this theory and practice so as to assist their personal development as leaders in health care.

There is a need to improve the efficient and cost-effective use of health care technologies and services at all levels of the health system. This unit covers all aspects of the policy, assessment, monitoring and re-assessment of technologies and services, and techniques to support investment and disinvestment decision-making by public payers and funders. Students will work through key concepts in health technology assessment as well as the key institutions and processes for regulating and managing the use of health technologies. Students will work through real world scenarios as case examples.

Healthcare systems intimately coupled to ICT have been at the forefront of many of the medical advances in modern society in the past decade. As is already the case in many other service-driven sectors, it is widely recognised that a key approach to solve some of the healthcare challenges is to harness and further ICT innovations. This unit is designed to help fill a massive technology talent gap where one of the biggest IT challenges in history is in the technology transformation of healthcare.
The unit will consist of weekly lectures, a set of group discussions (tutorials) and practical lab sessions. The contents will offer students the opportunity to develop IT knowledge and skills related to all aspects of Enterprise Healthcare Information Systems.
Key Topics covered include: Health Information System e. g. , Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) and Radiology IS; Electronic Health Records / Personal Health Records; Health data management; Healthcare Transactions; Health Statistics and Research; Decision Support Systems including Image-based systems; Cost Assessments and Ethics / Privacy; TeleHealth / eHealth; Cases studies with Australian Hospitals.
Guest lecturers from the healthcare industry will be invited. The core of student's assessments will be based on individual research reports (topics related to the current industry IT needs), software / practical assignment and quizzes.

This is a compulsory unit for all postgraduate students who do not hold a law degree or equivalent from a common law jurisdiction entering the: Master of Administrative Law and Policy; Master of Business Law; Master of Environmental Law; Master of Environmental Science and Law; Master of Health Law; Master of Labour Law and Relations as well as Graduate Diplomas offered in these programs. The unit has been designed to equip students with the necessary legal skills and legal knowledge to competently apply themselves in their chosen area of law. Instruction will cover the legislative process; the judiciary and specialist tribunals; precedent; court hierarchies; legal reasoning; constitutional law; administrative law; contracts; and torts. Some elements of the unit will be tailored in accordance with the requirements of the particular specialist programs.

This unit is about legal and regulatory responses to tobacco use, obesity, poor diet, harmful use of alcohol and sedentary lifestyle - the leading causes of preventable disease in Australia, in high-income countries generally, and increasingly, in developing economies. Cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and tobacco-related diseases (known as 'non-communicable diseases' or NCDs) are society's greatest killers. But what can law do - and what should law be doing - to prevent them? Unlike other health threats, NCDs and their risk factors are partly caused by consumer choices that are lived out every day across the country. The challenge of encouraging healthier lifestyles cannot be separated, then, from the regulation of the businesses that all too often have a vested interest in unhealthy lifestyles. Law's relationship with smoking, alcohol and food is complex and contested. Nevertheless, governments around the world are experimenting with a wide range of legal strategies to encourage healthier lifestyles. This unit will focus on developments in Australia and the United States, placing legal developments in these countries in an international context. During the course, we will confront some important over-arching questions. What are the global determinants of NCDs, and to what extent are global solutions needed? What do global solutions look like? To what extent should law intervene to influence the behaviour of populations-as distinct from treating lifestyle-related risk factors as the personal responsibility of each individual? Does a regulatory approach to the prevention of NCDs imply coercion? Does it signal the emergence of the 'nanny state'? Does progress depend on motivating people to consciously improve their habits and lifestyles? Is it possible to regulate business without micro-managing or dictating commercial decisions and 'legislating the recipe for tomato ketchup?' Throughout the unit, students will be encouraged to explore the tension between personal responsibility and freedom, and the broader public interest in a healthy population and a productive economy. Key topics include: Frameworks for thinking about law, and environments that support healthier lifestyles; Global health governance and the prevention of non-communicable diseases; Tobacco control: where to from here? Personal responsibility for health, and law's role; Regulating alcohol; Obesity prevention; and Law's role in improving diet and nutrition, and encouraging active living.

This highly clinically based and practical unit of study is specifically ideal for clinicians looking to develop, update and advance their diabetes management skills. You will learn how to effectively manage diabetes mellitus. Current evidence and concepts in epidemiology, classification, pathogenesis and screening for diabetes and its complications will be addressed. The focus is on patient­centred management of diabetes, including patient engagement, lifestyle interventions, bariatric surgery, medication options and regimens, new technology and monitoring. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes as well as prediabetes and diabetes in pregnancy will be explored with a personalised, case­based approach. Different health care delivery methods in diabetes and team based approaches to care will be discussed.

This unit of study will develop students' understanding of how to effectively manage overweight, obesity and pre-diabetes. It will facilitate increased confidence in the prevention and practical medical management of these conditions. Current data and concepts in epidemiology and classification and pathogenesis of overweight and obesity and pre-diabetes and related public health issues are addressed. An intensive focus on state of the art patient-centred management of obesity and pre-diabetes follows, including patient engagement with behavioural and psychological approaches, lifestyle interventions in nutrition and exercise, bariatric surgery, medication options and regimens, new technology and sustainability of outcomes. New technology to enhance health is a focus. Overweight and obesity, as well as pre-diabetes is examined with a personalised, case-based approach. Differing health care delivery methods, commercial options and team based approaches to care are explored.

This unit introduces key concepts in health communication. Students will explore micro- and macro-level theories of health (behaviour) communication that inform the design and implementation of health communication campaigns, planned and unplanned effects of communication campaigns, and the evaluation of such campaigns. It aims to give students a critical and practical understanding of theory and research concerning the role of communication in health promotion efforts.

This unit of study introduces students to nutrition in health promotion to communities. In contrast to NTDT5307 (Medical Nutrition) which explores individual nutrition behaviour changes. This includes an understanding of the needs of populations across the lifespan and from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds and culturally and linguistically diverse groups. Students will learn how to plan, implement, and evaluate nutrition promotion and behaviour change programs in different contexts. Building from nutritional and food science in semester 1, current nutrition guidelines and policies to support healthy lifestyles will be explored, as well as health promotion in other lifestyle areas such as physical activity, alcohol, smoking and sleep. The scope and distribution of chronic diseases and the role of nutrition in the etiology of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity are examined. Learning is facilitated by interactive lectures, tutorials and workshops.

This unit introduces students to the concepts, methods and applications underpinning cancer prevention and control at the population level. It is designed to offer a broad-based perspective on public health approaches to cancer across the continuum from prevention through to screening, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and palliative and supportive care. We will critically appraise policies and interventions that have the potential to reduce cancer incidence and mortality, prolong survival and improve quality of life. Although each topic will be presented in the context of specific cancers and the Australian health care system, the principles and frameworks will be relevant for regional and global cancer control efforts. At the completion of the unit, students will be equipped with the basic tools to design, plan, implement and evaluate cancer control strategies and programs.

This course provides a systems-informed and high-level public health approach to examining the global issue of chronic diseases (e.g. cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, chronic lung disease) and their prevention. The course examines why chronic disease is a global problem, and describes WHO frameworks for chronic disease prevention. It also reviews the epidemiology of specific chronic diseases including trends in and surveillance of these conditions, and their antecedent risk factors and conditions, and discusses the global (and country level) burden of disease. The unit will include some discussion of clinical prevention, in particular, the role of primary care, other clinicians and allied health professionals in providing lifestyle advice for people with chronic disease (tertiary prevention) and for people without chronic disease (primary prevention). Students will be involved in evaluating the effectiveness of different prevention strategies and will examine the role of health policy and strategic planning in developing effective and sustainable chronic disease management programs and health services in different settings (in Australia and the region). This unit is complementary to PUBH5555 Lifestyle and Chronic Disease Prevention, which focuses on addressing each of the major individual behavioural risk factors.

The unit provides students with a deeper understanding of key public health nutrition practices and principles which will enable them to better understand and address population nutrition issues. There will be a strong focus on understanding dietary intake assessment and the use of data generated from nutrition surveys to improve the understanding of nutrition epidemiological studies and the relationship between diet and chronic disease. The concept of nutrition environments will be central to the exploration of community nutrition status and how dietary interventions are planned and evaluated. Global and local food and nutrition policy issues will be addressed and related to sustainability and environmental health concerns. The teaching approach involves class interaction and provides opportunities for self-reflection.

This unit gives high-achieving students who have an average weighted mark of 75% or more in their first 48 credit points of coursework the opportunity to undertake a supervised work placement in a Public Health institution. Places are limited and selection of candidates will be based on academic merit. During this placement you will undertake a project which will make a useful contribution to the workplace. Your project proposal, the final report based on your project or portfolio and your supervisor's report will constitute your assessment for the unit. The placement will consist of a minimum of 216 hours' work, that is approximately six weeks' full-time (or equivalent part-time) work. Placements are intended to be in Australia but it may be possible to allow placements in other countries in specific circumstances. The Public Health institutions would normally be located outside university environments. Examples include NSW Department of Health Public Health Units or Health Promotion Units, government supported agencies such as the Sax Institute and Family Planning NSW, and non-government organisations such as NSW Cancer Council or advocacy groups.

This unit gives high-achieving students who have an average weighted mark of 75% or more in their first 48 credit points of coursework the opportunity to undertake a supervised work placement in a Public Health institution. Places are limited and selection of candidates will be based on academic merit. During this placement you will undertake a project which will make a useful contribution to the workplace. Your project proposal, the final report based on your project or portfolio and your supervisor's report will constitute your assessment for the two related units (PUBH5041 and PUBH5042). The placement will consist of a minimum of 216 hours' work, that is approximately six weeks' full-time (or equivalent part-time) work across 12 credit points. This unit (PUBH5041) is designed to cover six of these credit points to allow the placement to be undertaken over two semesters. Initially placements will only be possible in Australia, although this may change in the future. The Public Health institutions would normally be located outside university environments. Examples include NSW Department of Health Public Health Units or Health Promotion Units, government supported agencies such as the Sax Institute and Family Planning NSW, and non-government organisations such as NSW Cancer Council or advocacy groups.

This unit gives high-achieving students who have an average weighted mark of 75% or more in their first 48 credit points of coursework the opportunity to undertake a supervised work placement in a Public Health institution. Places are limited and selection of candidates will be based on academic merit. During this placement you will undertake a project which will make a useful contribution to the workplace. Your project proposal, the final report based on your project or portfolio and your supervisor's report will constitute your assessment for the two related units (PUBH5041 and PUBH5042). The placement will consist of a minimum of 216 hours' work in a practice placement, that is approximately six weeks' full-time (or equivalent part-time) work across 12 credit points.This unit (PUBH5042) is designed to cover six of these credit points to allow the placement to be undertaken over two semesters. Initially placements will only be possible in Australia, although this may change in the future. The Public Health institutions would normally be located outside university environments. Examples include NSW Department of Health Public Health Units or Health Promotion Units, government supported agencies such as the Sax Institute and Family Planning NSW, and non-government organisations such as NSW Cancer Council or advocacy groups.

This unit is intended for students nearing the end of their MPH. The Special Project is a self-directed unit focussed on a specific MPH-related topic of interest to the student. The project is supervised by an academic within the School. An external person can act as the main supervisor but a School academic would also be required. This project may be developed by the student or the student could develop a project in consultation with an intended supervisor. The student needs to meet with the supervisor during the semester. Preferably this would be at least three times but the frequency will depend on the project and the preference of the supervisor. The project is meant to be self-directed so there is not an expectation that the supervisor would have close involvement, although they can if they want to. The student would be expected to undertake approximately 80 to 100 hours of work for this unit. The format of the final report or other output can be whatever is appropriate, as agreed with the supervisor(s). The report is due no later than the Monday of Week 13, or a later date as agreed with the supervisor(s) and the unit coordinator.

This unit is intended for students nearing the end of their MPH. The Special Project is a self-directed unit focussed on a specific MPH-related topic of interest to the student. The project is supervised by an academic within the School. An external person can act as the main supervisor but a School academic would also be required. This project may be developed by the student or the student could develop a project in consultation with an intended supervisor. The student needs to meet with the supervisor during the semester. Preferably this would be at least three times but the frequency will depend on the project and the preference of the supervisor. The project is meant to be self-directed so there is not an expectation that the supervisor would have close involvement, although they can if they want to. The student would be expected to undertake approximately 50 hours of work for this unit. The format of the final report or other output can be whatever is appropriate, as agreed with the supervisor(s). The report is due no later than the Monday of Week 13, or a later date as agreed with the supervisor(s) and the unit coordinator.

This unit will significantly advance your philosophical, theoretical and practical understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and societies within the context of public health. We will use case studies grounded in diverse urban, regional and remote communities and the life experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to explore key constructs. These include transgenerational psychic trauma, racism, political structures and systems, cultural determinants, ethics, and global indigenous epistemologies. Together we will investigate the reasons why Australia has so far been unable to close the gap across almost all indicators of health and wellbeing, and explore innovative, ethical and effective solutions. Throughout this unit you will be encouraged to interact with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander academics, health professionals and community members, and your unit coordinator, tutors and fellow students, and feel confident to ask difficult questions and debate the responses. Our aim is to give you the practical and conceptual knowledge and skills necessary to work respectfully and effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from across the nation.

This course aims to describe the interrelation between our environment and human populations, local communities and individuals and the health risks of environmental hazards. 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. Students completing this unit will appreciate: the multi-disciplinary nature of environmental health; the application of a risk assessment framework to characterise health risks due to environmental hazards, determine risk management options, and inform risk communication strategies; the need to work closely with a broad range of stakeholders including commonwealth and state health, environment and planning agencies, local government, industry, researchers and the community.

Environmental epidemiology studies the effects of environmental exposures on health and wellbeing in the human population. The unit has a strong focus on epidemiological and statistical methods and applications including time-series and spatial analysis. Taking an eco-social approach, we broadly define the environment as anything external to the person including the physical, social, psychological and aesthetic environment and their interactions. This unit will provide students with a practical understanding of the research methods used to assess the exposure-response relationship between environmental hazards and health outcomes. Building on students knowledge of the environment - for example air, water, soil, climate, the built environment, the unit will cover study designs and methods of exposure assessment and statistical analysis used in assessing environmental health risks. Students will gain technical skills in data analysis and visualisation including spatial data involving Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for mapping and statistical analysis of exposures and health outcomes using the R Statistical Software. The unit will also explore future directions in the field of environmental epidemiology. Students will also learn about its importance in the Planetary Health framework when assessing global health risks and impacts in the context of climate change.

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. Research methods in relation to substance use disorders, and the needs of special populations are also considered.

Throughout our lives, information about our health and the care we receive is recorded and stored across various health-related databases, e.g., hospital admissions, ambulance service, cancer registry. Data linkage is a process that brings together information from different databases about the same individual, family, place or event. This process creates a chronological sequence of health events or individual 'health story' that can be combined into a much larger story about the health of people. This information can be used for research or to improve health services. This unit is suitable for health services researchers, policy makers, clinical practitioners, biostatisticians and data managers. We explain how data linkage is conducted, illustrate how data linkage can be used for research, highlighting the advantages, and the dangers and pitfalls. We describe how to design linked data studies, outline the data management steps required before analysing the data, and discuss some of the methods and issues of analysing linked data. Students will have access to data from a real data linkage and will gain hands-on experience to develop their programming skills for handling large complex dataset

This unit introduces the principles underpinning the design and conduct of high quality controlled clinical trials to generate good evidence for health care decision making. The topics include clinical trial design, randomisation, sample size, measures of treatment effect, methodological issues, trial protocols, and ethical principles.

In this unit, you will learn how to analyse health data using statistical models. In particular, how to fit and interpret the results of different statistical models which are commonly used in medicine and health research: linear models, logistic models, and survival models. This unit is ideal for those who wish to further develop their research skills and/or improve their literacy in reading and critiquing journal articles in medicine and health.
The focus of the unit is very applied and not mathematical. Students gain hands on experience in fitting statistical models in real data. You will learn how to clean data, build an appropriate model, and interpret results. This unit serves as a prerequisite for PUBH5218 Advanced Statistical Modelling.

All models are wrong, but some are useful. Developing a useful statistical model from the available data can be challenging! For example, what should you do if a model assumption is violated, or if data are missing? Your statistical toolkit will be expanded to include modern techniques for tackling challenging issues that often exist in health research data, e.g. missing observations, non-linear effects, confounding and correlation between observations in a dataset. The methods for correlated data are relevant for analysing some epidemiological observational study designs (e.g., matched case-control studies, longitudinal studies with repeated measurements), and clinical trial designs (e.g. cluster RCTs, cross-over RCTs). Techniques to help assess the usefulness of a model will also be covered. This unit of study focuses on the application of statistical methods using the statistical software R. Topics: fractional polynomials for non-linear effects; mixed or random effects and marginal models (e.g. GEE) for correlated data; multiple imputation for missing data; propensity score for confounding; tools to assess model performance and classification.

This unit of study is intended for students who have completed Epidemiology Methods and Uses (or an equivalent unit of study) at a credit or higher level. It is designed to extend students' practical and theoretical knowledge of epidemiology beyond basic principles and in particular to give them a practical understanding of how epidemiological principles and practices are used in real world settings. Students are given an opportunity to acquire some of the practical knowledge and skills needed to undertake epidemiological research and also to consolidate their critical appraisal skills.

The course will provide an evidence-based introduction to public health approaches designed to promote mental health and well-being and prevent mental illness. The aim is to assist students to develop an evidence-based understanding of population mental health including epidemiology, determinants of mental health, the effectiveness of prevention and early intervention programs, mental health services and policies and mental health human rights. The emphasis is on primary prevention strategies rather than the management of those already with mental illness. Evidence-based case studies will be presented including a focus on mental health challenges for the future in specific modules such as: suicide prevention, comorbidity, mental health in developing countrues, minority groups and in the workplace. By the end of this unit, students will understand the relationship between the determinants of mental health and public health strategies to prevent mental illness and enhance wellbeing.

Comprehensive evaluation of public health and disease prevention programs is critical to developing an evidence base for public health practice as well as for accountability to stakeholders. Evaluations demonstrate the efficacy, effectiveness and/or efficiency of the program and provide models of good practice. This course builds skills in planning, conducting and using formative, process, impact and outcome evaluations of public health programs, with an emphasis on those which address public health approaches to chronic disease prevention. Using three highly interactive workshops (Workshops 1 and 2 on a consecutive Friday and Saturday) supplemented by online resources and four weeks of online discussions, students will participate in readings, group work, lectures and discussions, to develop skills in defining the purpose of an evaluation, defining the evaluation questions, selecting evaluation designs and measures for evaluation (and understand the process of measurement development). A specific focus will be on skills to critically appraise evaluations and to use results in practice. Workshop 3 will be devoted to methods for scaling up interventions to the population level, and to the design and evaluation of multi-faceted complex public health programs, including presentations by currently practicing public program managers.

The suite of epidemiological practices and methods unique to infectious diseases comprises a critical toolkit that is urgently needed by epidemiologists in our current pandemic era. This unit will provide students with a firm understanding of infectious disease processes, modes of transmission, and transmission dynamics in populations of diverse demographic characteristics. Students will learn a standardised framework of infectious disease epidemiology to understand how pathogens move through populations and from which we can derive key parameters such as the basic reproduction number, epidemic growth, epidemic thresholds, and herd immunity thresholds. We will also incorporate aspects of networks and ecology to understand the ways in which contacts, and other forms of interaction, between individuals or between individuals and vectors influence transmission dynamics. Finally, we will explore the ways in which various public health interventions can be used to arrest infection transmission within populations and how to monitor the effects of such interventions.

The overall aim of the course is to develop students' knowledge and skills of economic evaluation as an aid to priority setting in health care. Students will be introduced to the principles of economic evaluation and develop skills in the application of those principles to resource allocation choices. Emphasis will be placed on learning by case study analysis and problem solving in small groups. This unit covers: principles and different types of economic evaluation; critical appraisal guidelines; measuring and valuing benefits; methods of costing; modeling in economic evaluation, the role of the PBAC, introduction to advanced methods including use of patient-level data and data linkage. The workshops consist of interactive lectures, class exercises and quizzes.

This unit combines decision theory and more advanced health economic concepts to provide students with hands-on skills in specialised analysis methods, and modelling techniques, for evaluating healthcare options and reaching recommendations in the face of uncertainty. Students will calculate and analyse data from clinical studies, extrapolate clinical study results to other settings, and construct models that synthesise evidence (and expert opinion) from multiple sources. Specific topics of study include: decision trees; expected utility theory; sensitivity and threshold analysis; the value of information (including screening and diagnostic tests); the calculation and analysis of costs and quality-adjusted survival using individual patient data (including bootstrapping techniques); Markov processes and micro-simulation; and presenting and interpreting the results of (health economic) evaluations. Lectures are accompanied by practical exercises and readings. Students gain experience applying the methods presented in lectures via computer practicals using Excel and decision analysis software (TreeAge).

The One Health unit explores the vast landscape of disease transmission among humans, animals, and their ecosystems. This unit has a strong focus on zoonotic diseases, which are those infections that can be transmitted from animals to humans, but also explores disease transmission more broadly through ecosystems. The unit first defines the biological, ecological, environmental, social, and economic contexts of pathogens. Relevant surveillance, analytical, and prevention strategies are then described and applied to several regional and global case studies. Specific case studies will include anthrax, avian influenza, hemorrhagic fevers, Henipavirus infections, Ross River virus, and Lyme disease. The unit's philosophical and methodological approaches to infectious disease are grounded in the unique One Health paradigm, which recognises the relationships between human, animal, and ecosystem health as inextricably linked and with each foundational to the improvement of all. Students will appreciate how One Health approaches provide exceptional utility in investigating and controlling infectious diseases in urban, peri-urban, and rural contexts especially where human-livestock-wildlife interfaces have emerged from human-altered landscapes. These interfaces currently present some of the world's most significant conduits of emergent disease and therefore delineate critical challenges for global health in the 21st century. Moreover, a better understanding of these interfaces opens intriguing possibilities for leveraging habitat and climate conservation in the interests of public health.

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.

The aim of this unit is to provide students with an understanding of immunisation principles, the impact of vaccination on the epidemiology of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs), how to assess the need for new vaccines and how to implement and monitor a new vaccination program. This unit covers the history and impact of vaccination; basic immunological principles of immunisation; surveillance of diseases; vaccination coverage; vaccine effectiveness; vaccine safety; vaccine scares; risk communication; program evaluation; immunisation in the developing country context; health security; assessing disease burden and new vaccines. Learning activities include online learning modules introducing topics and concepts, followed by weekly online interactive lectures and case study tutorials throughout the semester. Students will have access to online learning resources, included reading lists, and will be required to complete compulsory online quizzes, assignments and a group assessment.

Have you ever wondered how to respond to people who hold antivaccination views, or to misinformation spreading online, or to create better institutional engagement with environmental policies? All of these situations are determined by how good our communication is. This unit aims to will familiarise students with the strategies of public health advocacy, with a focus on news reporting, online media, and political engagement. This unit covers the role of advocacy in advancing public health policy; framing public health issues; newsgathering, reporting and editing; strategies for media advocacy; political lobbying; and message dissemination; and there will be special emphasis on learning how online environments and social media tools are contributing to public health advocacy debates and campaigns. Students will learn the latest research revealing which factors most influence how people perceive and make judgments about health risks, at individual and institutional levels, and how to tailor communication to most effectively achieve your goals. Topics covered include responding to health risk events; antivaccination, anti immunisation, climate change and other 'post truth' social issues; how to best manage controversies; and what chronic disease prevention might learn from risk communication principles. . 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 media have influenced health policy and programming will be presented. Students will have the opportunity to critique and analyse case studies from a variety of both successful and unsuccessful public health advocacy efforts. Students will examine, analyse, and prepare writing for both online and news media such as opinion pieces, media releases, blogs, and social media. The lectures will include guest speakers from non-government organisations, government and other experienced stakeholders from across the public health sector.

This advanced unit of study extends students' practical and theoretical knowledge of qualitative research to provide advanced concepts and skills in qualitative data analysis and writing. You should have a basic understanding of qualitative research. We will explore the principles of qualitative analysis, and 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. You will learn about starting writing, structuring articles, making analytic arguments, and editing your own work. Most importantly, we will consider what it means to think and write 'qualitatively'. You will analyse a portfolio of qualitative data, and produce a results and discussion section for a journal article. After completing this unit you will have increased your experience, skills and confidence in qualitative data analysis and writing.

This unit comprises a series of online lectures and discussions followed by a 2 day facetoface workshop The unit aims to teach students about the demography epidemiology and economics of population ageing in Australia and globally and about common health conditions that impact on healthy ageing including dementia frailty and falls and the evidence regarding prevention and management of these health conditions This unit will also include teaching about the structure and role of health and aged care services The 2 day workshop will focus on fall prevention from the epidemiology and economic cost of falls to fall risk factors and evidencebased strategies for the prevention of falls and physical activity strategies for healthy ageing areas of particular expertise in the School of Public Health

The unit presents critical views of climate change and the ways in which it interacts with human behaviour and population health from various disciplines, e. g. planetary health, international environmental governance and law, environmental economics, urban planning and environmental and social injustice. It addresses major public health risks associated with climate change and extremes, e. g. infectious disease, nutrition, cardiovascular disease, mental health, and indigenous health, in a broader concept of sustainability and global change. Scenarios with regards to responses to climate change, including adaptation and mitigation, will be introduced to build community resilience. This unit will provide both Australian and international perspectives on climate change and health, supported by theoretical and empirical research in both developed and developing countries.

The prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) or chronic diseases (mainly diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, and cancers) involves shared risk factors. This unit introduces students to the principles of primordial and primary prevention and control of NCD risk factors, specifically tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, salt reduction, and obesity prevention. This unit provides an integrated exploration of the current state-of-the-art in research and practice for addressing these preventable lifestyle risk factors. The emphasis is on primordial and primary prevention strategies, rather than the management of NCDs in those already with chronic disease. This solutions-focused unit comprises specific modules about each of tobacco control, harmful alcohol consumption, physical activity, nutrition and health, salt and health, and obesity prevention. By the end of this unit, students will understand the dynamic relationships between the key risk factors, and the important role of primary prevention approaches to reducing lifestyle risks that are precursors to NCDs.

This unit is intended for students nearing the end of their MPH/GradDipPH. The Special Project is a self-directed unit focussed on a specific MPH-related topic of interest to the student. The project is supervised by an academic within the School. An external person can act as the main supervisor but a School academic would also be required. This project may be developed by the student, or the student could develop a project in consultation with an intended supervisor. The student needs to meet with the supervisor during the semester. Preferably this would be at least three times but the frequency will depend on the project and the preference of the supervisor. As the project is self-directed, there is not an expectation that the supervisor would have close involvement, although they can have if they want to. The student would be expected to undertake approximately 120 to 150 hours of work for this unit. The format of the final report or other output can be whatever is appropriate, as agreed with the supervisor(s).

Students will do an independent research project in an area of interest relevant to public health. The student will work with a supervisor, who will help the student select a topic and then guide the student through the process of conducting a research project. The project may be a systematic review of the literature, analysis of an existing dataset, a quantitative or qualitative research study, a policy analysis or some other project acceptable to the dissertation supervisor.

Students will do an independent research project in an area of interest relevant to public health. The student will work with a supervisor, who will help the student select a topic and then guide the student through the process of conducting a research project. The project may be a systematic review of the literature, analysis of an existing dataset, a quantitative or qualitative research study, a policy analysis or some other project acceptable to the dissertation supervisor.

Students will do an independent research project in an area of interest relevant to public health. The student will work with a supervisor, who will help the student select a topic and then guide the student through the process of conducting a research project. The project may be a systematic review of the literature, analysis of an existing dataset, a quantitative or qualitative research study, a policy analysis or some other project acceptable to the dissertation supervisor.

This is a compulsory unit for all postgraduate students who do not hold a law degree or equivalent from a common law jurisdiction entering the: Master of Administrative Law and Policy; Master of Business Law; Master of Environmental Law; Master of Environmental Science and Law; Master of Health Law; Master of Labour Law and Relations as well as Graduate Diplomas offered in these programs. The unit has been designed to equip students with the necessary legal skills and legal knowledge to competently apply themselves in their chosen area of law. Instruction will cover the legislative process; the judiciary and specialist tribunals; precedent; court hierarchies; legal reasoning; constitutional law; administrative law; contracts; and torts. Some elements of the unit will be tailored in accordance with the requirements of the particular specialist programs.

This unit is about legal and regulatory responses to tobacco use, obesity, poor diet, harmful use of alcohol and sedentary lifestyle - the leading causes of preventable disease in Australia, in high-income countries generally, and increasingly, in developing economies. Cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and tobacco-related diseases (known as 'non-communicable diseases' or NCDs) are society's greatest killers. But what can law do - and what should law be doing - to prevent them? Unlike other health threats, NCDs and their risk factors are partly caused by consumer choices that are lived out every day across the country. The challenge of encouraging healthier lifestyles cannot be separated, then, from the regulation of the businesses that all too often have a vested interest in unhealthy lifestyles. Law's relationship with smoking, alcohol and food is complex and contested. Nevertheless, governments around the world are experimenting with a wide range of legal strategies to encourage healthier lifestyles. This unit will focus on developments in Australia and the United States, placing legal developments in these countries in an international context. During the course, we will confront some important over-arching questions. What are the global determinants of NCDs, and to what extent are global solutions needed? What do global solutions look like? To what extent should law intervene to influence the behaviour of populations-as distinct from treating lifestyle-related risk factors as the personal responsibility of each individual? Does a regulatory approach to the prevention of NCDs imply coercion? Does it signal the emergence of the 'nanny state'? Does progress depend on motivating people to consciously improve their habits and lifestyles? Is it possible to regulate business without micro-managing or dictating commercial decisions and 'legislating the recipe for tomato ketchup?' Throughout the unit, students will be encouraged to explore the tension between personal responsibility and freedom, and the broader public interest in a healthy population and a productive economy. Key topics include: Frameworks for thinking about law, and environments that support healthier lifestyles; Global health governance and the prevention of non-communicable diseases; Tobacco control: where to from here? Personal responsibility for health, and law's role; Regulating alcohol; Obesity prevention; and Law's role in improving diet and nutrition, and encouraging active living.

This highly clinically based and practical unit of study is specifically ideal for clinicians looking to develop, update and advance their diabetes management skills. You will learn how to effectively manage diabetes mellitus. Current evidence and concepts in epidemiology, classification, pathogenesis and screening for diabetes and its complications will be addressed. The focus is on patient­centred management of diabetes, including patient engagement, lifestyle interventions, bariatric surgery, medication options and regimens, new technology and monitoring. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes as well as prediabetes and diabetes in pregnancy will be explored with a personalised, case­based approach. Different health care delivery methods in diabetes and team based approaches to care will be discussed.

This unit of study will develop students' understanding of how to effectively manage overweight, obesity and pre-diabetes. It will facilitate increased confidence in the prevention and practical medical management of these conditions. Current data and concepts in epidemiology and classification and pathogenesis of overweight and obesity and pre-diabetes and related public health issues are addressed. An intensive focus on state of the art patient-centred management of obesity and pre-diabetes follows, including patient engagement with behavioural and psychological approaches, lifestyle interventions in nutrition and exercise, bariatric surgery, medication options and regimens, new technology and sustainability of outcomes. New technology to enhance health is a focus. Overweight and obesity, as well as pre-diabetes is examined with a personalised, case-based approach. Differing health care delivery methods, commercial options and team based approaches to care are explored.

This unit introduces key concepts in health communication. Students will explore micro- and macro-level theories of health (behaviour) communication that inform the design and implementation of health communication campaigns, planned and unplanned effects of communication campaigns, and the evaluation of such campaigns. It aims to give students a critical and practical understanding of theory and research concerning the role of communication in health promotion efforts.

This unit of study introduces students to nutrition in health promotion to communities. In contrast to NTDT5307 (Medical Nutrition) which explores individual nutrition behaviour changes. This includes an understanding of the needs of populations across the lifespan and from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds and culturally and linguistically diverse groups. Students will learn how to plan, implement, and evaluate nutrition promotion and behaviour change programs in different contexts. Building from nutritional and food science in semester 1, current nutrition guidelines and policies to support healthy lifestyles will be explored, as well as health promotion in other lifestyle areas such as physical activity, alcohol, smoking and sleep. The scope and distribution of chronic diseases and the role of nutrition in the etiology of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity are examined. Learning is facilitated by interactive lectures, tutorials and workshops.

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 on sexual and reproductive health including HIV. Course content will include diversity, adolescent sexual development, sex education, sexual assault, gender, sexual orientation and sexual behaviour.

This unit aims to introduce the constructs of adolescent sexuality, explore the determinants of adolescent sexual health and discuss the personal and public health implications of adolescent sexuality from a global perspective. The main areas of learning are: adolescent sexuality, adolescent sexual health, reproductive health issues in adolescence, diversity, legal and ethical issues and sexual health promotion. Students are given the opportunity to complete a deeper exploration of one area of adolescent sexual health that is of particular interest to the student. On completion of this unit of study, students will be able to: (i) Describe the biological, developmental and socio­cultural 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.

This unit will cover the foundational aspects of sexual and reproductive health (SRH), including relevant anatomy and physiology, sexuality, gender, sexual orientation and behaviour. The social, medical, and public health aspects of SRH will be introduced including preconception care, unplanned pregnancy and abortion, fertility, and contraception. Students will develop an awareness of the diversity of values, opinions and behaviours in sexual orientation. The effect of socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural factors and current theories of sexuality and sexual behaviours will be discussed. The basic principles of the prevention and management of common STIs and HIV will be introduced and emphasis will be given to the sexual and reproductive health rights of all individuals as well as the importance of healthy sexuality.

This unit of study aims to provide students with an understanding of fertility control across the reproductive lifespan. This will include indepth information on the range of hormonal and non-hormonal reversible contraceptive methods, emergency contraception and permanent methods of contraception. The impact of age, culture, tradition, society, personal beliefs, disability and health on contraceptive choices and reproductive health will be explored. The consequences of unintended pregnancy and the importance of access to abortion will be discussed. The unit is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills in the field of preconception care and will discuss the latest evidence regarding optimisation of health before pregnancy. The focus will be on conditions where preconception care is particularly beneficial such as diabetesand obesity.

This unit will equip students to develop foundational knowledge and skills to work with gender and sexuality issues, including gender and sexual discourses and practices. Students will develop an understanding of sensitive practice skills to work with the sexual and gender diverse communities. The unit will introduce the social construction and attitudes in modern society regarding gendered violence, gendered inequality, and gender performativity. Students will be able to formulate therapeutic applications to respond ethically and empathicaly to the issues which present in sexual and gender diverse groups. On completion of the unit, students will be able to: (i) Demonstrate a foundational knowledge and sensitivity to work with gender and sexual diverse communities; (ii) Evaluate the psychosocial issues surrounding gender and sexual minorities in the community; (iii) Respond to issues related gendered violence; and (iv) Apply therapeutic skills and tools in response to gender and sexuality, including gender and sexual diverse individuals/communities.

This unit will engage students in learning about evidence-based health promotion as a fundamental component of efforts to address sexual and reproductive health. The unit is divided into three sections: 1. Theories underlying health promotion in public health context; 2. Evidence-based planning and project management in health promotion; and 3. Behaviour change, health communication and health literacy. Theories covered will include those that address individual-level change and group and social level change. Students will learn how to conduct needs assessments, plan programs, and address priority areas in sexual and reproductive health promotion. On completion of this unit, students will be able to: 1. Map population and/or community sexual and/or reproductive health needs; 2. Plan evidence-based sexual and reproductive health promotion initiatives; and 3. Identify evaluation strategies for evidence-based health promotion initiatives.

This unit of study will explore the evidence base, implications and considerations when delivering sexual health and relationships education from a public health perspective. Students will develop skills in the development and facilitation of training and education to different population groups. Students will be able to evaluate knowledge needs and synthesise information related to sexual and relationship education. On completion of the unit, students will be able to, 1. Plan and conduct a session which facilitates learning for a chosen population group/community using appropriate health education and learning frameworks, 2. Develop the skills to enable people within a variety of settings to enhance their sexual health and relationship literacy and, 3. Critically appraise various approaches to sexual health and relationship education development.

This unit of study deals with public health aspects of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) including HIV. It addresses issues related to sexuality, sexual education, HIV/STI, unintended pregnancies, access to SRH services, maternal morbidity and mortality, sexual violence, sexual and reproductive rights, and discrimination/stigmatisation of vulnerable populations. Aspects of HIV/STIs and reproductive health will be discussed in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focusing on SDG 3 (related to health) and SDG 5 (related to gender equality and women's and girls’ empowerment). The unit further explores the epidemiological, societal and population aspects of SRH and HIV/STIs. Surveillance strategies, policy development and legislative responses will be discussed, with regards to the potential public health consequences. Emphasis will be placed on the delivery of effective prevention and management strategies