Public Health Aspects of Mental Health (PHCM9761)

Learning & teaching

Class participants come from diverse backgrounds, from Australia and overseas, with varied forms of professional training and experience. The design of this course aims to ensure that each student can apply the material practically, in a real-world context. Wherever possible, every effort has been made to cater to the different learning experiences of external students and to optimise learning opportunities within this environment. 

Our approach to learning and teaching is based on adult learning principles. When you are introduced to new material it is expected that you will be able to integrate prior knowledge, draw on your own experience and formulate new understandings at a theoretical and practical level. You will engage actively with the course material, carefully reflect on the lectures and tutorials, and have meaningful discussions with your online peers to help build your knowledge and appreciation of the diverse contexts in which public health principles are applied. 

This course is designed for students studying in internal and external mode, with a total of 10 modules this term. The modules address different public health aspects of mental health. These applied topics will build upon and consolidate your knowledge from core courses, complementing your learning in other elective courses. The assessment tasks have a practical focus and are scaffolded to provide opportunities to consolidate the skills required to complete the final assignment. These assessments will help you identify the characteristics of a target population and promote critical thinking regarding mental health interventions and devising feasible responses.