PHE5SCP Assessment 2: Details and instructions

Task details

You are to write an essay on a public health issue that interests you, from a social science perspective.

The aim of this final assignment is to provide an opportunity for you to reflect critically on how social sciences can inform a public health issue in which you have a particular interest or in which you may be involved or would like to become involved. You may choose any topic, but you must explore it from a social science perspective, preferably by developing a social determinants of health approach to the topic. Choose a topic that interests you and which may be useful to you in your work or professional (and/or personal) development. For example, you might select a question or problem that has arisen as you’ve participated in this subject.

Assessment criteria

This assessment will measure your ability to:

• Identified issue (20%)
• Use of resources (20%)
• Contribution of social sciences (30%)
• Critical reflections (20%)
• Academic writing (10%)

Refer to the marking guide for marking and feedback information.

Instructions

In choosing a topic, you should begin with a question. The reason for framing the topic as a question is that it makes you focus your discussion and apply your findings.

Here are some examples of suitable questions; please note these are examples, not set topics.

• Why do some Australian parents refuse to immunise their children?
• Why is cancer screening effective in some communities and not others?
• Why is privatisation of health care popular with certain governments and what are some implications for public health provision?
• Why is community capacity building a popular strategy in Australian public health policy?
• Should we expect the same mental health promotion campaigns to work in all settings? (Or what are social determinants of mental health?)
• Is ethnicity the same thing as race, and why would this matter in public health research and interventions?
• How might public health policy and strategy take into account recent findings about climate change?

Your essay should briefly frame the topic in terms of epidemiology or health promotion or policy or intervention. You should devote less than 500 words to this aspect. Then you should clearly state the major questions and, finally, drawing on social science literature, discuss possible approaches to addressing the problem. Remember, the idea is to provide some answers to the question you’ve raised.

We expect you to draw on at least 10–20 substantive references related to your topic. Use APA 7th edition referencing with in-text citations.

Tips to succeed:

In recent years, the majority of essays received grades in the C to B categories. That is, most essays reviewed information about the topic that was available from mainstream health literature, then introduced some social science perspectives to suggest alternative or broader ways of looking at the topic. The better essays argued a point of view and in so doing conveyed a sense of the writer’s engagement with the topic. These better essays were less concerned about starting with literature reviews of healthcare perspectives than with carrying out a social science analysis to produce a public health view. At the other end of the spectrum, a few less satisfactory essays simply reviewed mainstream literature addressing the question/topic and placed some social science comments alongside this review: there was no critical conversation between perspectives, and hence no sense of personal engagement in conducting such a conversation.

Assessment criteria

The assessment will focus on your ability to discuss critically and clearly the issue you have chosen. Questions in the assessors’ minds will include: How well have you addressed the problem? Have you drawn on social science ideas to understand your problem? How well have you articulated ways in which social sciences might provide answers to the questions you have raised? Have you identified some practical implications of your findings? Make sure you read the marking criteria for this assessment task carefully.

Resources and readings relevant for assessment

Tips for writing essays: https://latrobe.libguides.com/assessments/essays