Find the subject in the Handbook here.
Subject Description
This is a core subject of the Master of Public Health degree. In this unit students will be introduced to the concepts, frameworks and methods used in prioritising and planning in public health. This unit will introduce students to the conceptual approaches and key methods used to conduct a health needs assessment and prioritise the identified needs for subsequent strategic planning. The unit will also explore the strategies and interventions that are commonly used to address health needs in populations and the criteria that can be used to select an appropriate intervention. Finally, the subject will consider essential concepts in the design and evaluation of health programs.
Assignments
Tutors are passionate and helpful, although there seems to be quite a difference in marking between staff. 1 hour tutorials are not enough time to do any meaningful work, our group required 2 extra meetings at least every week. This subject would probably be better as a full semester subject considering the amount of content and project size. Enjoyment & success in this subject is heavily dependent on who is in your group.
I found the group work to be quite difficult in an online tutorial. There was a level of disconnect and lack of accountability between group members that made the project harder. I also found my tutor to be very passive when it comes to asking for help. Online modules were annoying to study, but the content was quite interesting. I enjoyed the final assignment of individually designing a health intervention, even though it was energy intense. Overall, it’s a very interesting subject but could be run more effectively (and with more in person classes available)
I enjoyed this subject, the tutorials were the best part and allowed students to practically apply the theory and content taught during lectures. The content was well organized and had a nice flow. I noticed there were differences in marking between the different tutors, some tutors marked a lot stricter than others. It would have been nice to have everyone on the same page it terms of communicating what was expected of us and how the projects would be marked.
While this subject is quite a bit of work, I really enjoyed it. The content you learn during the module throughout the week is directly applied in the tutorial. The tutorials are entirely group work though so I think that really affected my experience because I had a great group. My only complaint is that another tutor marks the assignments so sometimes the feedback we got was contradictory to the advice we had gotten from our own tutor.
This subject was quite rushed as it is delivered intensively; the modules were quite long and tedious. There was also no option for in person tutes which made the group project really difficult. The marking for the group project is very subjective and whilst we were fortunate to have a wonderful tutor and Matt Reeve, who was very fair with us after we asked for a re-mark, we felt that expectations between tutors were extremely different, some even contradicting. The content is quite important for working in the public health field so definitely a necessary core.