Reflect on your understanding of the learning from Weeks 1 and 2 on what public health is, and identify a public health approach, intervention, strategy, program or project that seeks to address an emerging public health issue. Reflect on the principles of public health that are evident in the selected intervention, and draw conclusions about the alignment of the intervention with your definition of public health, core services and enabler functions. This written piece should draw on evidence and use academic writing.

Assessment criteria

This assessment will measure your ability to:

• Define public health (20%)
• Critically reflect (30%)
• Analyse and conclude (35%)
• Use appropriate language, grammar and referencing (15%)

Guidelines

This assessment requires you to write a short, critical, reflective report (1000 words) on what public health is to you — using evidence — and to identify and reflect on the core services and enabler functions of public health that are evident in an existing public health approach, intervention, strategy, program or project. This task has three parts:

• Part 1: Definition of public health. This section requires you to:
  • Describe what public health means to you, drawing on evidence.
• Part 2: Critical reflection. This section requires you to:
  • Choose and introduce a public health approach, intervention, strategy, program or project. This introduction should include a brief identification of the issue being addressed; the extent of the issue; populations or groups most at risk and being focused on; the broad levels determinants of the issue that this approach, intervention, strategy, program or project seeks to address; and where the chosen approach sits on the upstream, mid-stream, downstream continuum.
  • Reflect on the dominant public health principles covered in Weeks 1 and 2 that are evident in your chosen public health approach, intervention, strategy, program or project. This should include consideration of the presence or of public health core services and enabler functions such as governance, advocacy, capacity and information.

• Part 3: Analysis and conclusions. This section requires you to:
  • Draw conclusions that provide an analysis of the alignment of your selected public health approach, intervention, strategy, program or project with your definition of public health and your understanding of the characteristics and enabler functions of public health approaches.