Undergraduate - Course4505 - Bachelor of Health Promotion

NOTE: This course has had one or more changes made to it since publication on 1 October 2011. For details of change/s, please consult the change register at http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2012handbooks/2012-change-register.html.

The Bachelor of Health Promotion (BHP) is a three-year, full-time course offered at the Berwick campus. The course equips students to develop and manage health promotion initiatives, to prevent disease and promote well-being, in a range of organisations and contexts. Foundation learning addresses public health principles and priorities, the determinants of health, measuring health in populations, the health system, and health promotion strategies.

Students develop skills in program management, evaluation, policy analysis, community development, health communication and education. Learning is built upon an analysis of current health issues and health promotion strategies in Australia and globally. This will provide students with a solid foundation for a career in the wide range of public and private sector organisations working to improve health.

Graduates of the Bachelor of Health Promotion should be capable of demonstrating the ability to

• access, select, critically appraise, interpret and apply best available evidence to inform policy and practice
• reflect critically upon their practice and identify strategies for professional enhancement
• work independently or as part of a team and to practice in an interdisciplinary environment with appreciation of the roles of professionals in related fields and an understanding of the strengths, limitations and complementarity of various paradigms and methods as they apply in health promotion practice, evaluation and research
• build inter-sectoral coalitions and strategic alliances and work collaboratively in partnerships with other health professionals, consumers, communities, and organisations across multiple sectors to advance population health
• apply principles and processes of program, project and service planning and management, including design, implementation, evaluation and dissemination, use of information systems, ethical issues, resource allocation, capacity building, knowledge sharing and sustainability
• design effective health promoting interventions for communities, organisations and populations using theory and evidence to guide the selection of strategies and measurement of outcomes
• recognise local, national and global disparities in health status and the determinants of inequity
• identify the scope, role and functions of health promotion in relation to the health system, other sectors and to the wider society
• demonstrate respect for social and cultural diversity underpinned by a concern for equity, equality, humanity and social justice and this includes respect for and integration of Indigenous ways of knowing into programs, services and public health policies
• demonstrate and articulate an understanding of the role and principles of advocacy in achieving individual and community empowerment as well as promoting improved health and wellbeing outcomes
• communicate effectively with a variety of audiences using the media, advanced technologies and community networks
• conduct ethically sound health and social research with policy and practice relevance

Credit may be granted for completed units of study in a relevant TAFE Diploma of Population.

Effective from Semester 2, 2012, students completing the Diploma of Community Development from Chisholm Institute are eligible to apply for direct entry into the course with up to 48 points of credit.

The maximum achievable credit will be 60 credit points for students who have completed a relevant TAFE Diploma.

Students who have already completed some tertiary study will be eligible for advanced standing for units substantially equivalent to units included in this degree.

Police and Working with Children checks

Organisations that host community placements require students to have current police and Working with Children checks regarding their suitability to undertake such placements. All enrolled and prospective students will be required to obtain these checks prior to undertaking their course. Working with Children checks are valid for five years and available free. Police checks must be applied and paid for annually, however, in some community-partnered programs there may be a requirement to have a police check renewed every six months.

Health requirements

In order to meet health requirements for working in the healthcare facilities and for the protection of other students, and themselves, students may need to comply with certain precautionary procedures. These may consist of confidential tests for immune status (including blood tests and skin tests), receiving vaccines and having x-rays where the evidence indicates that these are appropriate.

Vaccinations

The faculty recommends that all students accept responsibility for having up-to-date immunisations before commencing this course. Recommended immunisations include diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, tuberculosis and hepatitis B.

In the fieldwork setting students will have an opportunity to apply theory to practice under supervision. Attendance is mandatory for the fieldwork component of each unit.

Graduates of this course are eligible to join the Public Health Association of Australia and the Australian Health Promotion Association.

The course comprises:

(a.) Health science/health promotion core units (72 points)

(b.) Electives at first, second and third year level (36 points)

(c.) A maximum of eight first year level units (48 points)

(d.) A minimum of 36 credit points at third year

(e.) A total of 144 credit points (24 units)

Core units:

Year 1

Semester one

• HSC1081 Foundations of public health
• HSC1082 Population health
• HSC1101 Biological bases of health and disease 1
• one first-year level elective

Semester two

• HSC1052 Health and social care systems and policy
• HSC1072 Health promotion 1
• HSC1102 Biological bases of health and disease 2
• one first-year elective

Year 2

Semester one

• HSC2062 Communicating health
• MGW2230 Organisational behaviour
• two second-year level electives

Semester two

• HSC2022 Culture, society and health
• HSC2142 Research methods in the health sciences
• HSC2051 Health program planning
• one second-year level elective

Year 3

Semester one

• HSC3011 Contemporary health challenges
  
• HSC3061 Health program evaluation
• HSC3052 Health promotion in primary and clinical settings
• one third-year level elective

Semester two

• HSC3002 Health for all in a global world
• HSC3072 Health policy and politics
• HSC3082 Health program practicum
• one third-year level elective

Elective Options

Students are given the opportunity to select complementary studies and/or pursue academic interests from across the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and the wider university.

Students will be encouraged to explore opportunities to undertake relevant elective studies from other Faculties, including Education, Arts and Business and Economics.

• Health Science

Bachelor of Health Promotion