Chronic Disease, Health Promotion and Practice
Overview
This unit will build on students’ knowledge and skills in culturally safe community engagement, including regional, rural and global contexts. There is a specific focus on the health and wellbeing needs and priorities of Indigenous Australians and aging populations. The unit will explore common chronic health conditions that contribute to the national burden of disease, hospitalisation and mortality. Students will critically examine evidence aimed at improving population health, such as international and national frameworks, policies and guidelines, and examine the role of physiotherapy in health literacy, behaviour change and health promotion. Students will undertake professional placement relevant to their physiotherapy studies
Requisites
Rules
Pre-requisite
Admission into MA-PHYS - Master of Physiotherapy
OR
MA-PHYS1 - Master of Physiotherapy
01-June-2025
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Use theories, frameworks and policies to critically evaluate the ways health is experienced and enacted by diverse populations, including Indigenous Australians, and the range of factors that can influence health outcomes and access to services and other resources.
- Design and evaluate evidence-informed health programs, including consideration of barriers, enablers and other contextual factors that shape healthcare for clients with chronic diseases within the context of diverse communities and as part of an inter-disciplinary team.
- Apply knowledge of evidence informed and strengths-based approaches in the healthcare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Exhibit appropriate professional behaviours, scope of practice, workplace behaviours and employability skills essential to working with individuals or teams as a physiotherapist.
- Communicate effectively in different formats, for different audiences and different practice contexts and using digital technologies.
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Activity Type | Activity | Total Hours | Number of Weeks | Hours Per Week | Venue Type and Activity Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live Online | Lecture | 15 | 5 weeks | 3 | Online. Timetabling - 3 x 1hr = 3hrs in weeks 1-5 of teaching period. |
| On-campus | Class | 15 | 5 weeks | 3 | Workshops |
| Specified Activities | Various | 20 | 12 weeks | 1.67 | Problem-based learning, Discussion board, Readings |
| Placement | Placement | 80 | 12 weeks | 6.67 | |
| Unspecified Activities | Various | 30 | 12 weeks | 2.5 | Independent Learning, Preparation for Assignments and WIL |
| Total Hours: | 160 | Total Hours (per week): | 16.84 | ||
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Experience Placement | Individual | 20% | 1,5 |
| e-Portfolio | Individual | 50% | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Assignment 1 | Individual | 30% | 1,2,3,5 |
Content
- Health promotion
- Health literacy assessment and patient education approaches
- Theories of behaviour change and strategies, including motivational interviewing, to facilitate active engagement of individuals and communities
- National and international frameworks, policies and guidelines for improving population health
- Chronic diseases
- Culturally safe and quality practices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Culture, health and diversity
- Strengths based approaches, closing the gap & clinical yarning
- Aging and aged care
- Graduate Attribute: Communication Skills - Communicating using different media
- Graduate Attribute: Teamwork Skills - Collaboration and negotiation
- Graduate Attribute: Teamwork Skills - Teamwork roles and processes
- Graduate Attribute: Digital Literacies - Information literacy
- Graduate Attribute: Digital Literacies - Technical literacy
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.