UnitLevel 1Undergraduate

BMS1042 Public health and preventive medicine

Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

BMS1042 Public health and preventive medicine is a level 1, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, offered in 2022 in Semester 2 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites and unlocks 12 units, leading on to 15 units in all.

Credit points
6
Offered in 2022
Semester 2
Clayton
Assessment
Exam 40%
and 3 other tasks

This is the 2022 handbook entry. See the 2026 entry.

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Requisites

Overview

Applications of epidemiological and statistical concepts and methods to typical problems in population health and in the biomedical literature. This will include consideration of fundamental ethical issues pertaining to the conduct of biomedical research and population health interventions. Much emphasis is placed on a population view of health and disease, social determinants of health, epidemiological principles, research study design and statistical analyses of data.

Offerings in 2022

Teaching periodCampusMode
Second semesterClaytonOn campus

Assessment

  • Online quizzes
    10%
  • Public health critical appraisal
    20%
  • Public health data analysis
    30%
  • Written examination (2 hours and 10 minutes)Threshold hurdle
    40%

Learning outcomes

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

  1. 1

    Demonstrate and show application of core public health principles including epidemiology, biostatistics and ethics in health research.

  2. 2

    Explain how disease is measured in populations and critically analyse the strengths and weaknesses of different epidemiological study designs which are used in public health research.

  3. 3

    Critically appraise the popular and biomedical literature in public health.

  4. 4

    Identify fundamental ethical considerations that underpin health research.

  5. 5

    Identify and apply the importance of statistical methods in the design, analysis and presentation of the results of research studies in health and biomedicine, and in reports of health-related matters in general.

  6. 6

    Interpret statistical results presented and identify limitations in the biomedical literature and other media and convey the interpretation in simple language.

Workload and teaching

  • Lectures33 hours
  • Tutorials40 hours

The workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours spread across the semester (approx. 12 hours per week). The workload is composed of approximately an even mixture of attendance at scheduled activities and self-scheduled study time. Learning activities comprise a mixture of face-to-face and online engagement.

Learning resources

Required resources

See Moodle for details about required resources.

Contacts

Unit Coordinators
Professor Basia Diug
Ms Penelope Robinson
Chief Examiners
Ms Penelope Robinson

Common questions

What are the prerequisites for BMS1042?

BMS1042 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.

What can I take after BMS1042?

BMS1042 is a prerequisite or corequisite for 12 units, including BME3032, BMS3031, BMS3052, PBH2003, PBH2005 and PBH3001. Those lead on to 15 units in all.

When is BMS1042 offered?

In 2022, BMS1042 runs in Semester 2 at Clayton.

Does BMS1042 have an exam?

Yes. The exam is worth 40% of the final mark, alongside 3 other tasks.

More details

Credit points
6
Level
1
Study level
Undergraduate
Faculty
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Organisational unit
School of Biomedical Sciences
Type
Coursework
EFTSL
0.125
Student contribution
SCA Band 2
Study abroad
Available
Handbook years
2020202120222023202420252026