PUB HLTH 1004 - Flies, drains & Ebola: Human health & environment

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2018

Do you care about the environment we live in? Why are we seeing an emergence of major infectious diseases such as Ebola and Zika virus, flu pandemics, and diseases associated with climate change affecting populations worldwide? This introductory course will examine environmental hazards and how these can be key determinants of health for individuals and in populations. Through an outbreak investigation and case examples, students will explore infectious diseases, how they arise, are monitored and controlled. In this course students will be introduced to the sciences as well as taking o population health approach to understanding the issues, to characterise human health risks and the application of interventions in the prevention and control of environmental health and infectious diseases.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code PUB HLTH 1004
    Course Flies, drains & Ebola: Human health & environment
    Coordinating Unit Public Health
    Term Semester 2
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Assessment Quiz, Essay, Group work
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Adriana Milazzo

    Course Coordinator: Ms Adriana Milazzo
    Phone: +61 8313 0199
    Email: adriana.milazzo@adelaide.edu.au 
    Location: Level 9, Adelaide Health & Medical Sciences Building, North Terrace Adelaide

    Student & Program Support Services Hub
    Email: askhealthsc@adelaide.edu.au 
    Phone: +61 8313 0273

    Program Advisor’s booking system
    bit.ly/spss-hub-bookings 
    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    1 Describe the challenges of contemporary and emerging local, national, and global environmental health  challenges
    2 Describe preventive approaches for assessing and controlling environmental problems that affect the  health of populations
    3 Apply approaches to the prevention and control of infectious diseases
    4 Describe the conceptual framework of health disaster preparedness and management
    5 Understand and apply at an introductory level scientific methods to safeguard the population’s health against environmental threats
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1-5
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    2, 4, 5
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    1-5
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    N/A
    Intercultural and ethical competency
    • adept at operating in other cultures
    • comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
    • able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
    • demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
    N/A
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    1-5
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    There is no set textbook for this course. All resources, including links to journal articles and reading lists, will be disseminated via MyUni.
    Recommended Resources
    N/A
    Online Learning
    The primary means of communication outside of formal contact hours will be via MyUni. Announcements and discussion boards will be the main method of communicating with the student cohort. Course material will be supported by online resources via MyUni. Material will be sequentially released in line with the teaching and learning activities in each week.



  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    This course will introduce students to the concepts and principles of environmental health sciences and infectious diseases within a population health framework. A blended learning approach will be adopted whereby students will engage in on-line interactive modules on key concepts and principles. Students will participate in collaborative and experiential learning in class to draw on this content in order to synthesise, analyse, apply and evaluate approaches for assessing and controlling environmental threats that affect the health of populations, including infectious diseases.

    The course will be delivered in 3 hours per week consisting of seminars and workshops, and presentation by guest speakers.  If possible, a number of field trips concerning environmental health and infectious disease issues will be arranged.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    Contact hours: 3 hours per week plus readings, assignments and other preparation.
    Learning Activities Summary
    Seminars and workshops will cover the following topics:

    · contemporary and emerging environmental health issues
    · environmental health hazards
    · epidemiology
    · environmental risk assessment
    · global burden of infectious diseases
    · environmental determinants of health
    · surveillance of environmental health issues and infectious diseases
    · infectious disease control strategies
    · human-animal interactions and health implications
    · infectious disease microbiology
    · environmental and social impacts of climate change on human health
    · disaster preparedness and management

    Guest speakers from government and non-government organizations will be invited to present at the seminars.


    Specific Course Requirements
    Students may undertake a field trip to illustrate the hazards and preventive approaches concerning environmental health and/or infectious diseases. This will depend on availability. If the field trip is arranged it is expected that students attend, it is a mandatory requirement of the course as it is a structured learning activity. However, if for medical or genuine compassionate reasons a student is unable to attend the field visit, an alternative learning assessment will be available. The University’s standard insurance policy will cover students for these activities as they are linked to a credit bearing course.
    Small Group Discovery Experience
    N/A
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task Assessment Type Weighting Learning course objective(s) being addressed
    Field trip report Summative 20% 1, 2, 3, 5
    Workshop participation Summative 10% 1, 2, 3, 5
    Quizzes Summative 15% 1-5
    Group work (outbreak investigation) Summative 20% 1-5
    Essay Summative 35% 1-5
    Assessment Related Requirements
    None.
    Assessment Detail
    Field trip report (20%)
    Students will write a report based on their field trip observation.

    Workshop participation (10%)
    Attendance and interaction with peers in the workshops.

    Group work (20%)
    Students will participate in an infectious disease outbreak investigation and will contribute to a range of activities including hypothesis generating questions, and analysis of data. Students will be provided with important information and clues in order to solve the outbreak.

    Quizzes (15%)
    Quizzes throughout the semester will aid students in monitoring their understanding of key concepts and principles for the topic areas.

    Essay (35%)
    A written essay concerning a major environmental health or infectious disease issue either in Australia or globally.
    Submission
    Extensions
    All extensions for assignments must be requested, at the latest, by the last working day before the due date of submission.   Extensions will generally be granted only on medical or genuine compassionate grounds.  Supporting documentation must be  provided at the time a student requests an extension.  Without documentation, extensions will not be granted.  Late requests for extension will neither be accepted nor acknowledged.

    Only the Course Co-ordinator(s) may grant extensions.

    Supporting documentation will be required when requesting an extension. Examples of documents that are acceptable include: a  medical certificate that specifies dates of incapacity, a police report (in the case of lost computers, car & household theft etc.), a  letter from a Student Counsellor, Education and Welfare Officer (EWO) or Disability Liaison Officer that provides an assessment of  compassionate circumstances, or a letter from an independent external counsellor or appropriate professional able to verify the  student’s situation.  The length of any extension granted will take into account the period and severity of any incapacity or impact  on the student.  Extensions of more than 10 days will not be granted except in exceptional circumstances.

    Late submission
    Marks will be deducted when assignments for which no extension has been granted are handed in late.

    All assignments, including those handed in late, will be assessed on their merits.  In the case of late assignments where no  extension has been granted, 5 percentage points of the total marks possible per day will be deducted.  If an assignment that is 2  days late is awarded 65% on its merits, the mark will then be reduced by 10% (5% per day for 2 days) to 55%.  If that same  assignment is 4 days late, the mark will be reduced by 20% (5% per day for 4 days) to 45%, and so on.

    The School of Public Health reserves the right to refuse to accept an assignment that is more than 7 days late.

    Assignments submitted after the due date may not be graded in time to be returned on the listed return dates.

    Students submitting examinable written work who request (and receive) an extension that takes them beyond the examination  period are advised that there is no guarantee that their grades will be processed in time to meet usual University deadlines.
     
    Resubmission
    If a student is dissatisfied with an assessment grade they should follow the Student Grievance Resolution Process <https://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/grievance/process/>. Students who are not satisfied with a particular assessment result should raise their concerns with Course Co-ordinator(s) in the first instance. This must be done within 10 business days of the date of notification of the result. Resubmission of any assignment is subject to the agreement of the Course Co-ordinator(s) and will only be permitted for the most compelling of reasons.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.