Monash University Handbook 2010 Postgraduate - Unit

Synopsis

The international liberalisation of legalised access to gambling has lead to an increased incidence and prevalence of problem gambling in many jurisdictions. Workers in the health and human services are now much more likely to encounter clients with problem gambling and associated co-morbid problems.
This unit will define what is meant by "problem gambling" and how different Australian and overseas jurisdictions have tackled this problem in the context of overall gambling policy. The distribution of problem gambling within the Australian community and international communities will be reviewed. Risk and protective factors for problem gambling will also be reviewed. There is now significant evidence that problem gambling usually occurs in conjunction with other problems including drug and alcohol addiction and mental health disorders including depression. The evidence for these co-morbidities and their implications for policy and treatment will be reviewed.
The course is designed for primary health care professionals and other professionals involved in services dealing with problem gamblers and their families and for those with a general interest in gambling and problem gambling.

Objectives

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. To critically analyse the epidemiology of problem gambling within the Australian and international communities and its demographic and health correlates;
2. To critically analyse alternate definitions of problem gambling and their implications for policy in dealing with problem gambling within communities;
3. To critically analyse how problem gambling is measured and assessed;
4. To critically analyse the research evidence concerning risk and protective factors for problem gambling;
5. To critically analyse the research evidence concerning drug and alcohol addiction and mental problems as co-morbidities for problem gambling and their implications for policy and programs;
6. To critically analyse the different policy responses to gambling and problem gambling in terms of their impacts upon different groups in the community.

Assessment

Review of literature (20%)
Case study (20%)
Essay (critical analysis)(60%)

Contact hours

12 hours per week including contact time and private study over the first semester - a total of 156 hours.