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Public health in the 21st century includes emerging health challenges including, but not limited to globalisation, climate change and aging populations. In addition, the importance of a systems-based and integrated approach to health is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, this course uses a life course and integrated discipline approach to achieve the various core competencies required of public health graduates. The integrated structure of this course acknowledges and nurtures the strong interdisciplinary approach required of public health practitioners. The course content and outcomes are informed by the Council of Academic Public Health Institutions of Australia (CAPHIA) guidelines for public health, graduate areas of practice and related practice goals. Completion of this course will prepare students for the other courses delivered in the Masters of Public Health program.

This is a core introductory course in the Masters of Public Health and integrates the five disciplines and foundational competencies required of public health graduates. The five public health disciplines are: biostatistics; epidemiology; environmental health; health policy and management and social and behavioural sciences. A team-based approach is applied where experts in each discipline will deliver a component of the course. Core content will be taught in small modules and then integrated into case-based learning so that students can understand the inter-connectedness of disciplines.

Each of the core courses includes the topics related to public health by scaffolding the content and complexity of knowledge and outcomes. The topics addressed in this course provides students with the basic knowledge and fundamental skills for each of the topics. At the completion of this course, students will meet the competencies for each of the five public health disciplines: health monitoring and surveillance; disease prevention and control; health promotion; health protection; heath policy; and planning and management (health systems).

This course contains a three-day residential school that will take place in week 4 of the semester. This is a face-to-face residential school based on the USQ Ipswich campus. The first assessment, oral presentation is linked to the residential school, therefore attendance is strongly encouraged.

On completion of this course students should be able to:

1. Assess, analyse and communicate population-based health information applying principles of biostatistics and epidemiology.
2. Analyse and appraise the health status of a population based on demographic and epidemiological information including comparative health indicators for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
3. Plan a comprehensive population disease prevention and control strategy for both communicable and non-communicable disease (e.g., component of screening, immunisation, contact tracing, surveillance, or risk communication strategy).
4. Describe environmental health and safety standards and related management procedures in order to map and analyse the environmental determinants that contribute to disease in a given community or population.
5. Appraise and discuss Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in historical context and analyse the impact of colonial processes on health outcomes.
6. Articulate key funding mechanisms and financial sources, and distinguish costs and benefits in relation to specific population health programs.
7. Analyse government population health policy.