- 05 Mar, 2021
- 0 Comments
- 8 Mins Read
public health campaign
Here is a list of public health topics. You are not required to choose from this list. Think about Assessment 2 when choosing a topic. When looking at these topics, think about what makes a topic easier to write about for an essay in public health. Some topics are better than others. Do not repeat your public health campaign report. The report and the essay are different assignments. If there is a risk that you might simply repeat your earlier assignment, choose a topic different to what you wrote about in your report. • COVID-19, not just about the disease. If choosing this topic write about the public health aspects, not about the biomedical (e.g., not about viruses and symptoms). It’s better if you concentrate on government policy or other public health response or the wider social effects or social determinants. This is a public health unit, not a medical or virology unit. • Influenza. • Occupational health and safety – jobs that kill or injury or disable the workers; could include physical, chemical, overuse injuries or psychological hazards; choose only one aspect if picking this very broad topic. • Cancer – If choosing this topic it is highly advisable to select a particular cancer. Cancer is not a single disease or a specific public health problem. • Cardiovascular disease. • Stroke. • Conspiracy theories and widespread misinformation about health. • Health effects of mobile telephones, tablet computers and other personal radio-frequency transmitting device; could refer to controversy about physiological effects or to psychological and social effects. • Blue light – this is a recent topic, still controversial. Should anyone worry about it? Evidence seems to be equivocal, which is worth writing about. • Famine or malnutrition, which can also happen in developed countries due to insufficient food intake or poor diet. • Mosquitoes. • Rats. • Parasitic worms; they’re much more of a health problem in developing countries than Australia. • Shark attack. • Zoonotic diseases; could link to land use practices (rainforest clearing) especially in developing countries. • Tropical diseases; Australia has some of public health concern. • Tobacco smoking. • Vaping or electronic cigarettes or other substitutes for tobacco smoking. • Gambling; gambling addiction as a public health problem. • Medicinal cannabis. • Dental health. • Osteoporosis. • Arthritis. • Blindness; could mention macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma and trachoma. • Ultraviolet radiation and vision. • Myopia or other refractive vision defects but myopia is considered the major public health problem at present. • Hearing loss. • Otitis media – significant problem among Indigenous communities. • Kidney failure. • Diabetes. • Meningococcal disease. • Deep vein thrombosis. • Women’s fashion; health effects of. • Women’s health – broad topic; may be best to focus on one aspect. • Men’s health – broad topic; may be best to focus on one aspect. • Anorexia. • Gender and health, could include transgender, for example. • Vaccination and immunisation. • Hospital-acquired infection. • Alternative therapies or alternative medicine or complementary therapies; not about the effectiveness of any particular treatment for a particular condition but instead the use of these therapy is in general as a public health topic; could include adverse effects of. Remember, this is a public health unit, not a medical unit or naturopathy unit etc. • Poverty and health. • Reducing health disparities. • “Healthy cities” – plenty to choose including urban sprawl, urban consolidation, city and town planning. • Road safety: Choose one topic within this broad category, such as speed, fatigue, alcohol, distraction, older drivers, younger drivers, heavy vehicles. Do not duplicate your report. If duplicating your report is too tempting, choose another topic. • Sporting injuries. • Long term effects of playing physical sports. • Brain damage and contact sports. • Social isolation. • Abuse of illicit drugs; may be better to select one drug or class of drugs and concentrate on that topic; methamphetamine (commonly known as crystal meth or “ice”) is an important public health and social problem nowadays. • Inhalant abuse; petrol sniffing is a significant problem in some remote Aboriginal communities. • Abuse of prescription or over-the-counter (legal) drugs; may be better to select one drug or class of drugs and concentrate on that topic. • The internet and health, including internet addiction. • “Closing the Gap” on Indigenous health. • Shift work, especially late night or early morning work where usual sleep patterns are disrupted. • Insomnia. • Sleep apnoea, snoring or both. • Salt. • Hypertension. • Body image. • Shoes, footwear. • Teleheath. • Health literacy. • Refugee health. • Unemployment; health effects of. • Bicycles versus cars. • Delayed health effects of war – war veterans, returned service personnel, civilians; effects could be physical, psychological or both. • Behavioural change – probably best to focus on a single behavioural problem in public health; topic can be theoretical but that’s OK if you can write meaningfully about it and include practical, real-world topic and implications. • Health services in rural and remote communities; mental health is a major problem. • Sexually transmitted disease – probably best to focus on one; does not need to be HIV although it could be; could be something more common such as chlamydia. • Adolescent health. • Breastfeeding. • Domestic violence or intimate partner violence. • Stress. • Bullying; psychological and other health effects of. • Health risks to young adults; see also adolescent health. • Climate change and health – may need to be specific, and try avoid speculation; concentrate on facts, where available – this is a science unit and science relies on evidence. • Heavy metals [pollution not rock bands]. • Organic waste, that’s industrial-type chemicals, not vegetable compost for the garden. • Plastics, especially plastic waste. • Xeno-estrogens; can link to plastic waste. • Toxic e-waste and recycling [Is your old, recycled mobile phone making someone sick?]. • Radon, or other naturally occurring radio-elements. • Air pollution. • Carbon monoxide; different chemical to carbon dioxide. • Particulate matter. • Asbestos. • Water quality. • Aged care. • Falls. • Domestic accidents. • Wind farms and health. • Environmental effects of major industrial accidents. • Green space, especially in urban areas. • Fluoridation of the public water supply. • Tramp species; see especially tramp ants. • Genetically modified food. • Homelessness. •
opendefecation.org
; not really a problem in Australia. • Contraception or family planning. • The ageing population. • Sitting. • Tuberculosis. • Antibiotics; antibiotic resistance. • Tele-health. • Depression or bipolar disorder. • Anxiety. • Schizophrenia. • Increased risk of child genetic disorders with older parenthood. • Dementia. • Suicide. • Post-traumatic stress disorder.
Marking criteria
Valid public health problem and its effects identified and described. Written expression. 5 marks 85% + Valid public health problem and its effects clearly and comprehensively identified and described. 4.3-5.00 marks 75% – <85% Valid public health problem clearly identified and described. Effects properly identified but could be more comprehensively described. 3.8-4.2 marks 65% – <75% Valid public health problem and its effects properly identified but either or both could be more comprehensively described. 3.3-3.7 marks 50% – <65% Valid public health problem identified but with limited description. Effects not properly identified. 2.5-3.2 marks <50% Neither a valid public health problem nor its effects are properly identified or described. 0-2.4 marks Causes and risks identified. Written expression. 5 marks 85% + Causes and risks comprehensively identified. Exemplary use of high-quality evidence. 4.3-5.0 marks 75% – <85% Causes and risks comprehensively identified. Good use of high-quality evidence. 3.8-4.2 marks 65% – <75% Causes and risks adequately identified using quality evidence; could be more comprehensive. 3.3-3.7 marks 50% – <65% Some causes or risks adequately identified; limited in scope and use of quality evidence. 2.5-3.2 marks <50% Neither causes nor risks adequately identified. Limited use of quality evidence. 0-2.4 marks Past or current attempted countermeasures and their effectiveness. Written expression. 5 marks 85% + Current or past policies, programs or countermeasures identified, summarised and effectiveness evaluated to exceptional standard. 4.3-5.0 marks 75% – <85% Current or past policies, programs or countermeasures identified, summarised to high standard. Scope for improved evaluation of effectiveness. 3.8-4.2 marks 65% – <75% Current or past policies, programs or countermeasures identified, summarised to acceptable standard; lacks evaluation of effectiveness. 3.3-3.7 marks 50% – <65% Current or past policies, programs or countermeasures identified; needs improved description, evaluation or both. 2.5-3.2 marks <50% Current or past policies, programs or countermeasures inadequately identified or described. 0-2.4 marks Innovative and feasible solutions proposed, described and justified. Written expression. 5 marks 85% + Solutions proposed and described; innovative and feasible with superior justification. 4.3-5.0 marks 75% – <85% Solutions proposed and described; innovative and feasible; scope for improved justification. 3.8-4.2 marks 65% – <75% Solutions proposed and described; practical but scope for improved feasibility or justification. 3.3-3.7 marks 50% – <65% Solutions proposed; practical but scope for improved description or feasibility or justification. 2.5-3.2 marks <50% Solutions not proposed or proposed solutions inadequately described or infeasible or unjustifiable. 0-2.4 marks Citations and referencing; APA style; Major errors: uncited references or missing or mostly incomplete references; improperly or not cited direct quotation; list ordering. Minor errors: punctuation, italics, spacing, number formats; capitalisation; et al.; author first names or initials. 4 marks 85% + APA 7th edition citation and referencing used with hardly any or no minor errors and no major errors. Direct quotation only where necessary and properly cited. Assertions are all strongly supported. All citations have reference. All references cited. 3.4-4 marks 75% – <85% APA 7th edition citation and referencing is used but with a few minor errors but no major errors. Expression is highly original and with proper identification of sources. Assertions mostly supported. All citations have reference. All references cited. 3.0-3.3 marks 65% – <75% APA 7th edition citation and referencing is used but with several minor errors and at most one major error. Expression mostly original and with proper identification of directly quoted sources. May have one uncited reference or one unreferenced citation. 2.6-2.9 marks 50% – <65% APA 7th edition citation and referencing is used but with numerous minor errors; at most only a few major errors. May show minor lack of originality of expression without proper citation. Two or three citations or references missing. 2.0-2.5 marks <50% APA 7th edition citation and referencing not applied or shows numerous major errors in the report and reference list. Major unoriginality of expression without proper citation. At least four missing citations or references. 0-1.9 marks