Availabilities:
| Location | Domestic | International |
|---|---|---|
| Online | N/A |
Unit description
Provides an overview of sociological concepts and perspectives on health and illness, whilst focusing primarily on Australian society. Examines the causes, nature and outcomes of key health inequalities as well as the main attempts to rectify them. The social, cultural and political consequences of health inequalities are illuminated.
Unit content
1. Sociological approaches to the study of health and illness.
2a. The social distribution of health and illness in Australian society; Class and workplace health
2b. The social distribution of health and illness in Australian society; Gender, Indigenous health and ethnicity
3a. The social organisation of health care; Rural health and medical dominance
3b. The social organisation of health care; Nursing and alternative medicine
4. The Australian health care system.
5. The social context of mental health and disability
6. Health promotion and illness prevention.
7a. Health, politics and social change
7b. Health, politics and social change; The role of media
Learning outcomes
Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.
| On completion of this unit, students should be able to: | |
|---|---|
| 1 | critically analyse sociological perspectives on health and illness |
| 2 | recognise how health, illness and the healthcare system are outcomes of the ways in which society is organised |
| 3 | identify the social, economic, political and cultural aspects involved in reproducing or changing health inequalities in Australian society |
| 4 | critically evaluate health status in relation to stratification concepts of class, gender, ethnicity and regionality. |
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
- critically analyse sociological perspectives on health and illness
- recognise how health, illness and the healthcare system are outcomes of the ways in which society is organised
- identify the social, economic, political and cultural aspects involved in reproducing or changing health inequalities in Australian society
- critically evaluate health status in relation to stratification concepts of class, gender, ethnicity and regionality.
Prescribed texts
- Germov, J (ed.), 2018, Second Opinion: An Introduction to Health Sociology, 6th edn, Oxford University Press Australia, South Melbourne. ISBN: 9780190306489.
Teaching and assessment
| Teaching method |
| Tutorial online 1 hour (before each assessment ) |
| Structured online learning 2 hours (12 weeks) |
| Assessment | |
| Essay | 45% |
| Exam: take home | 55% |
Fee information
Domestic
Commonwealth Supported courses
For information regarding Student Contribution Amounts please visit the Student Contribution Amounts.
Fee paying courses
For postgraduate or undergraduate full fee paying courses please check Domestic Postgraduate Fees OR Domestic Undergraduate Fees
International
Please check the international course and fee list to determine the relevant fees.