You must complete the following units:
Health systems and policy
Unit Code: MPH5301
Contact Hours: 20-24 hours of study per week
Duration: 6 weeks
Description:
‘Health systems and policy’ provides health service managers and public health practitioners a comprehensive understanding of the major components of national health systems, and how health policy is continually adapted to reform these systems. Over 6 weekly modules, you will explore relevant policy theories, stakeholders and policy actors and processes that address major health policy challenges. Each module includes an overview of the relevant concepts and resources; guided readings; and online, instructor-moderated discussions of applied issues with your peers.
Biostatistics: Concepts and applications
Unit Code: MPH5302
Contact Hours: 20-24 hours of study per week
Duration: 6 weeks
Description:
Biostatistics is the science of describing, summarising and analysing health-related data. ‘Biostatistics: concepts and applications’ introduces you to biostatistics as applied to public health and management studies. You will acquire the technical knowledge to analyse and interpret data on a descriptive and bivariate level, covering topics that include: classification of health data; summarizing data using simple statistical methods and graphical presentation; sampling distributions, quantifying uncertainty in results from a sample; statistical distributions; comparing two/more groups/methods using confidence intervals and hypothesis tests (p-values); assessing the association between an outcome and an exposure using the chi-squared test; risk comparisons (RR & OR); prediction of an event or identifying risk factors for an event of interest where the event is measured on a continuous scale or a binary scale (yes/no); sample size calculations.
Epidemiology of infectious diseases
Unit Code: MPH5303
Contact Hours: 20-24 hours of study per week
Duration: 6 weeks
Description:
‘Epidemiology of infectious diseases’ foregrounds the importance of understanding host, environmental, pathogen and transmission factors, and covers a range of topics, including: the dynamic nature of infections, the principles of infectious diseases, identification and management of outbreaks and principles of surveillance. You will investigate practical examples that highlight major concepts, complete set readings, and participate in online activities and discussion forums to enhance your understanding of the teaching material.
Leading and managing in public health and healthcare
Unit Code: MPH5304
Contact Hours: 20-24 hours of study per week
Duration: 6 weeks
Description:
‘Leading and managing in public health and healthcare’ will review key leadership, management, and organisation theory and its application within health care settings. You will learn about the role of the manager, leadership skills, staffing issues, clinician engagement, performance management, career management, change management, project management and structuring organisations for patient care.
Epidemiology: Concepts and applications
Unit Code: MPH5305
Contact Hours: 20-24 hours of study per week
Duration: 6 weeks
Description:
Epidemiology is a vital field of study within the health care sector, helping us better understand the occurrence and distribution of health events affecting large populations. In ‘Epidemiology: concepts and applications’ you will explore a range of topics essential to parsing epidemiological data and research, including: rates, sources of data, descriptive and analytical epidemiology, epidemiological study designs, critical appraisal of literature, screening, prevention, exposure assessment, outbreak investigation, confounding and bias. Students are expected to be competent at mathematics to a year 7 level
Occupational health and safety
Unit Code: MPH5309
Contact Hours: 20-24 hours of study per week
Duration: 6 weeks
Description:
The way we work is changing, as new technology and working patterns continue to emerge. ‘Occupational health and safety’ contextualises OHS in its contemporary context. You will gain knowledge of a range of topics, including: the institutional and human cost of occupational disease and injury, occupational health and safety law, frameworks for primary prevention, workers’ compensation systems, occupational rehabilitation, case studies highlighting historical achievements and challenges, international and national occupational health and safety (OHS) organizations.
Introduction to environmental and planetary health
Unit Code: MPH5310
Contact Hours: 20-24 hours of study per week
Duration: 6 weeks
Description:
In ‘Introduction to environmental and planetary health’ you will examine the impact of physical, chemical and biological hazards in the environment, and integrate this knowledge with principles of assessment, management and the control of environmental health risks. You will go on to develop your understanding of theoretical risk communication, and apply this knowledge in developing evidence based interventions to control and prevent environmental risks.
Foundations in public health
Unit Code: MPH5313
Contact Hours: 20-24 hours of study per week
Duration: 6 weeks
Description:
In ‘Foundations in public health’ you will examine the foundational aspects of public health, with a focus on contemporary challenges. You will apply this knowledge to critically appraise initiatives that address complex health issues from a public health perspective, and will have the opportunity to engage with current public health issues and communicate their ideas clearly and effectively.
Epidemiology of chronic disease
Unit Code: MPH5314
Contact Hours: 20-24 hours of study per week
Duration: 6 weeks
Description:
In ‘Epidemiology of chronic disease’ you will gain a broad overview of strategies for chronic disease prevention and control, and current epidemiological challenges currently impacting Australia. You will cover a range of specialised topics, including: measurement of disease and burden of disease; concept of risk factors and risk factors for important chronic diseases; the effect of social and economic factors on the epidemiology of chronic diseases; the impact of chronic diseases on society and the economy. Another core focus will be the impact of screening and health promotion as public health tools, along with use of evidence in public health programs to prevent chronic diseases.
Foundations of health promotion
Unit Code: MPH5306
Contact Hours: 20-24 hours of study per week
Duration: 6 weeks
Description:
This unit introduces you to key principles of health promotion. You will examine health promotion frameworks and theories that are used to promote health at a population level to compliment and contrast individual treatment. You will examine the values and principles that guide contemporary health promotion and its capacity to influence the determinants of health. You will also develop an understanding of needs assessment, priority setting, using evidence and theory to make intervention choices and program evaluation. The roles played by partnerships, capacity building and participation will be explored, and the steps toward improving program sustainability are examined.
Research methods in healthcare
Unit Code: MPH5320
Contact Hours: 20-24 hours per week
Duration: 6 weeks
Description:
This unit introduces research methods used in quantitative and qualitative studies in health research. The unit will cover concepts including how to construct an answerable question, searching the literature, sampling methods, data collection and study design – including both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Managing digital health
Unit Code: MPH5319
Contact Hours: 20-24 hours of study per week
Duration: 6 weeks
Description:
MPH5319 Managing Digital Health provides a solid understanding of the current digital health environment in Australia (and internationally) including examples of large-scale digital health initiatives. It explores the different types of digital health data and their use and limitations in healthcare and research. It introduces national data governance frameworks, and discusses how these policies and principles apply within institutions and organisations that use healthcare data. It takes a deep dive into the Australian Electronic Health Record journey and what has been learned from these experiences. It discusses the impact of digital health on consumers, as well as introducing current and future digital health innovations that will continue to shape how healthcare evolves.
This unit is aimed at clinicians and researchers working in healthcare and related research areas who wish to improve their understanding and experience in managing digital health.
The Graduate Certificate of Public Health is accredited by the Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM) and students who articulate into the Master of Public Health can use the Masters qualification to work towards the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrator’s Fellowship.