Health Behaviour Change (HLTH90001)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Online
About this subject
Contact information
Term 1
Email: continuing-education@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: + 61 3 8344 0149
Contact hours: https://unimelb.edu.au/professional-development/contact-us
Overview
| Availability | Term 1 - Online |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
This wholly online subject will introduce students to key theories, concepts and frameworks underlying contemporary approaches to health behaviour change in individuals across the health-illness spectrum, for health practitioners providing care to patients, and at the population level. The subject will enable students to develop skills in the design and evaluation of health behaviour change interventions that are evidence informed and tailored to clinical practice across the lifespan, health care services and community contexts.
The subject is divided into modules to allow flexibility for students to choose areas of health behaviour change to focus on that best match their disciplinary interests or work context.
All students will complete four modules within this subject.
A foundational module will be completed by all students and introduces some key theoretical models underpinning health behaviour and health behaviour change, core concepts in health care that relate to effective health behaviour change facilitation, and a framework for development of interventions to support positive change will be applied. Students will develop skills in the integration of theory into behaviour change intervention development including behavioural analysis, and will explore a wide range of behaviour change techniques including conversational methodologies for changing behaviour (such as motivational interviewing), the role of patient education and therapeutic alliance, and the use of technology to support change.
Students will then choose two from three modules that best meet their learning interests and/or practice or discipline interests. These modules are:
1. One-to-one interactions
In this stream we will apply health behaviour change theory and principles to case scenarios to see how these concepts might look in a clinical individual interaction setting.
2. Clinicians and health services.
In this stream we will apply a step-by-step approach to developing behaviour change interventions with the goal of changing clinician behaviours or redesigning health service delivery in order to improve the health of our patients.
3. Populations and communities
In this module, we will look at some behaviour change techniques for influencing the behaviour of communities or populations. We will more deeply examine the role of behaviour change at a public health level.
The final module will be completed by all students and promotes reflection and discussion on the integration and application of evidence-informed health behaviour change practices. This module will also provide students with an opportunity to extend their thinking into the ethics and societal challenges of evidence-informed health behaviour change interventions for individuals and groups.
Throughout the subject students will develop their skills to critically review and synthesise the literature supporting health behaviour change interventions. Students will gather existing evidence on topics related to their discipline, context and interests, critically evaluate the quality of evidence to support health behaviour change interventions, and interpret the clinical application of these approaches.
Intended learning outcomes
The curriculum is designed around three elements that provide both horizontal and vertical integration throughout the program.
On completion of this subject, students should be able to:
Rehabilitation Theory and Practice
- Demonstrate understanding of key theoretical models of behaviour change in the context of health and chronic disease and ability to discuss application of the health behaviour change theory.
- Demonstrate understanding of core concepts related to effective facilitation of health behaviour change in clinical contexts and apply to case example.
- Select appropriate and effective health behaviour change interventions for individuals, groups and communities within current models of care.
Evidence and Innovation
- Identify, synthesise and critically appraise current evidence evaluating health behaviour change interventions across a range of health conditions and health care contexts.
- Select and justify appropriate outcome measures to evaluate the efficacy of health behaviour change interventions across a range of health conditions and health care contexts
Clinical Practice in Context
- Design and justify a health behaviour change intervention that is evidence-based, culturally sensitive, and can meet the needs of a defined individual or group.
- Apply theoretical models or frameworks to explain, analyse or plan individual, group or community level health behaviour change interventions or programs.
Generic skills
On completion of this subject, students will have had the opportunity to develop the skills associated with:
- Reflecting on their personal skills, values, biases and limitations and identifying their learning opportunities to build on their knowledge and skills to promote best practice
- Examining issues with multiple disciplinary perspectives
- Working effectively both independently and in groups
- Demonstrating a commitment to civic service in graduates' lives and careers, equipping them to be active, well-informed citizens who make substantial contributions to society
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Graduate level knowledge of the health care system and professional role consistent with a bachelor program in a health care science.
Students admitted into a Clinical Rehabilitation course are recommended to complete REHB90001 before this subject.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Assessment
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Contribution to online discussions
| Throughout the teaching period | 20% |
Quiz (online quiz on foundations module) - Part 1 (30 min) Week 3, Part 2 (30 mins) Week 5
| From Week 3 to Week 5 | 10% |
Personal Behaviour Change Report and Reflection
| Week 8 | 20% |
Essay - Development of a health change intervention or program
| Week 9 | 50% |
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Dates & times
- Term 1 - Online
Coordinator Thorlene Egerton Mode of delivery Online Contact hours Total time commitment 170 hours Pre teaching start date 20 January 2025 Pre teaching requirements There is a one week pre-teaching period during which students can choose to: 1. View a video presentation of an overview of the subject, assessment requirements and student participation expectations 2. Engage with discussion board to meet their tutors and colleagues enrolled in the program 3. Become familiar with the library by completing a small task that requires navigation of library resources and 4. Complete one online task, which will familiarise them with online learning requirements. This task can involve a quick quiz, reading a newspaper piece on a contemporary debate or reading a seminar paper on the subject. These activities serve to familiarise the students with the online learning environment and prepare the students for commencing their learning fully informed about the requirements of the subject. Teaching period 27 January 2025 to 23 March 2025 Last self-enrol date 21 January 2025 Census date 14 February 2025 Last date to withdraw without fail 7 March 2025 Assessment period ends 30 March 2025 Term 1 contact information
Email: continuing-education@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: + 61 3 8344 0149
Contact hours: https://unimelb.edu.au/professional-development/contact-us
Time commitment details
170 hours
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Further information
- Texts
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Please note Single Subject Studies via Community Access Program is not available to student visa holders or applicants
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
Last updated: 4 March 2025