PUBH643: Health Advocacy Assessment Task 1: Global health advocacy and political priority Background Within public health, there is a focus on research, epidemiology and program development. However,...

PUBH643: Health Advocacy Assessment Task 1: Global health advocacy and political priority Background Within public health, there is a focus on research, epidemiology and program development. However, very often effective action on the part of governments does not occur without significant influence from civil society in the form of health advocacy. This assessment task requires students to critically appraise a health issue related to one of the UN’s sustainable development goals (excluding the Health Goal) and discuss the application of a theory of change for effective health advocacy. Assessment specifications Due date: Monday 25 September, 2017. 5pm AEST Weighting: 50% Length and/or format: 2000 words, standard academic essay format Purpose: To apply knowledge of the social determinants of health, the process of ‘problem identification’ and a theory of change for health advocacy. Learning outcomes assessed: 1, 2, 3 How to submit: Turnitin (via the PUBH643 LEO page) Return of assignment: Marks and feedback will be provided via LEO Assessment criteria: See separate marking rubric on LEO Instructions Your task is to write an academic essay that: Uses a theory of change framework to prepare for health advocacy on an issue related to one of the UN sustainable development goals This essay requires you to use a “What’s the Problem?” approach to identify a health advocacy goal relevant to one of the SDG’s (Excluding the Health Goal). This problem framing process will explicitly incorporate an understanding of the relevant social determinants of health. The key elements of a theory of change for the identified health advocacy goal will be discussed for a particular national or sub-national setting. Your essay should: 1. Include an introduction that briefly outlines the importance of the health issue and its relevance to the chosen sustainable development goal. 2. Outline the application of a “What’s the Problem” analysis to justify the way the problem is represented. Explicit application of social determinants of health will be included in this process. 3. Most of your essay should be dedicated to discussing how a theory of change for health advocacy could be applied to address the identified problem in a particular setting. Use of relevant reports, statistics, and potential NGO alliances will be included. 4. Include a conclusion that concisely summarises your key points. Useful resources: Please refer to the ‘readings and resources’ for modules 1-6. Referencing APA6 is the required referencing style for this assessment task. Please ensure that you are familiar with the formatting and usage requirements for this style. Aside from the ACU Library materials provided, you may wish to use the Academic Referencing Tool from the La Trobe University Library. Turnitin: Turnitin is a tool used to assist in the detection of referencing problems and/or plagiarism. Turnitin generates a similarity index for a document: that is, what percentage of the document contains material that is matched to accessible sources. Presence of similarity does not necessarily indicate plagiarism: there are many reasons why similar text is discovered in student documents. Turnitin often classifies reference lists themselves as “similar”—this is similarity, but not plagiarism. Marking rubric In line with section 5.1 of ACU’s Assessment Policy, all assessment marking and grading must be criterion-referenced and use standards-based grading. Assessment criteria and standards are related to unit learning outcomes. Student performance on a task is evaluated against each criterion, and according to the set standards of achievement for that criterion. Assessment criteria and standards for this task are provided in the following rubric. Each criterion is marked according to a five-point standard, from “poor” to “excellent”, with a descriptor for each standard. Within each standard there is a small marking range that further differentiates Your final mark for the task reflects evaluation against all criteria.