DOH204 Oral Community Health 2 (16)

In this subject students will be introduced to the determinants of oral health from a sociological perspective and learn how these impact on oral health outcome, including cultural perspectives of health. Key concepts of health promotion relevant for oral health practitioners will be established with an emphasis on effective community engagement. Students will gain a greater understanding of the distribution and determinants of health within populations through the study of epidemiology. A foundation of the oral health therapist's role in oral health promotion and how to implement an effective oral health promotion within a clinical and regional community setting will be established. Students are provided with the opportunity to acquire a fundamental understanding of human life processes which focuses on nutrients, nutrition and the basic metabolic processes. Special emphasis is on the relationship of nutrition to quality of health, including oral health. More complex issues of nutrition will be examined as they affect vulnerable communities. Communicating with communities with high health needs will be an emphasis. Key concepts of public oral health policy will be further established with a particular focus on Indigenous oral health. Students will expand their knowledge of key concepts in models of health behaviour and learn how to apply these in a clinical and community setting, developing the skills to be effective in improving individual and community oral health outcomes.

Availability

Session 1 (30)
On Campus
Holmesglen
Wagga Wagga Campus
Session 2 (60)
On Campus
Holmesglen
Wagga Wagga Campus

Continuing students should consult the SAL for current offering details: DOH204. Where differences exist between the Handbook and the SAL, the SAL should be taken as containing the correct subject offering details.

Subject Information

Grading System

HD/FL

Duration

Two sessions

School

School of Dentistry and Health Sciences

Enrolment Restrictions

Resstricted to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Oral Health (Therapy and Hygiene)

Prerequisites

BMS192 and IKC100 and DOH100 and DOH110 and PSY111

Incompatible Subjects

DOH113, DOH203, DOH222

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:
  • be able to analyse and synthesize concepts of nutrition and how they relate to general and oral health
  • be able to apply collaborative group approaches to learning in a community setting
  • be able to describe the significance of epidemiological, demographic and behavioural evidence based data collection in relation to individual and population based prevention
  • be able to describe how health can be measured from a demographic, socio-economic, epidemiological and community perspective
  • be able to effectively implement an oral health promotion intervention, collecting appropriate data for evaluation
  • be able to apply models of health behaviour: protection motivation theory, the health belief model, and the theory of planned behaviour
  • develop reflective practice skills when applying behaviour change models, that can be utilised in a clinical setting
  • be able to assess where psychological methods of behaviour change are relevant and be able to apply suitable approach when dealing with an oral health patient
  • be able to apply key concepts in Indigenous perspectives of health and demonstrated application of these in promoting oral health and improving inequalities in health outcomes
  • be able to describe the significance of evaluating health and how to measure health outcomes, with the ability to re-define the promotion of health
  • be able to describe key concepts of cultural perspectives on health, and how these relate to overall health outcome

Syllabus

This subject will cover the following topics:
  • Introduction to community oral health and foundations of health
  • Sociological perspectives on health
  • Population health, epidemiology and health promotion approaches, planning and evaluation
  • Community development, education and empowerment
  • Social determinants of health and social justice
  • Food, nutrition and disease prevention in the context of oral health
  • Nutritional assessment and care for the individual
  • Working with communities: Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
  • Working with communities: Across the lifespan
  • Working with communities: Indigenous peoples
  • Models of behaviour change
  • Public oral health, primary health care and multidisciplinary approaches to health
  • Healthy public policy and organisational change
  • Risk assessment

The information contained in the CSU Handbook was accurate at the date of publication: February 2021. The University reserves the right to vary the information at any time without notice.

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