PUB HLTH 7092 - Health Systems, Systems Thinking & Advocacy for Change

This course is structured into three linked modules: 1) A broad overview of health systems; 2) Systems thinking and political science and 3) Advocacy in the public health context. 1) A broad overview of health systems examines the foundations of health systems, exploring how they are structured, why they function in the way they do and the different types of health systems that have evolved over time. The course will focus on the Australian healthcare system, with a specific focus on public health, prevention and health promotion and will compare and contrast the Australian health system with a variety of international health systems. 2) Systems thinking and political science provides students with an introduction to systems thinking and complexity theory. Systems thinking is an emerging core skill in public health and students will explore the role of political science and how systems thinking can impact on developing policy and support systems to change by moving from a silo-ed structure to a more integrated system, which considers social and public health impacts. 3) Advocacy in the public health context brings the health systems and systems thinking concepts together to apply them to drive change for public health. Advocacy occurs at the policy and government level, organisational levels and with the community, in grass roots advocacy. Students will learn the fundamentals of advocacy including the role of advocacy in federal and state policy development and political debate. They will explore leadership in advocacy, and focus on learning practical skills such as communication, negotiation and diplomacy. Each module includes a particular focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues; a series of practical exercises and guest speakers who will focus on their experience of integrating theory and practice in navigating and managing a variety of systems and advocating at all levels.