Credit Points 10

Legacy Code 400866

Coordinator Alex Workman Opens in new window

Description This unit introduces skills for understanding and engaging effectively with the culturally and socially diverse world in which we live and work. Indigenous Australia is a major theme and students will gain an appreciation of the achievements and needs of Indigenous Australians. The unit examines cultural safety more broadly and puts these issues in the context of health professionals working in multi-cultural settings and handling culturally different health philosophies and practices. Cultural diversity is increasingly recognised as a major issue in the delivery of health care and a major determinant of Indigenous health.

School Health Sciences

Discipline Public Health, Not Elsewhere Classified.

Student Contribution Band HECS Band 2 10cp

Check your HECS Band contribution amount via the Fees page.

Level Undergraduate Level 2 subject

Equivalent Subjects PUBH 2006 - Culture Diversity and Health (WSTC)

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1. Apply knowledge regarding equity, culture and diversity to their studies and professional behaviour as future health science practitioners
2. Examine the experiences of health, wellness, health services and health outcomes from an Indigenous perspective
3. Identify the role of social determinants of health across diverse populations
4. Describe the health needs of a range of marginalised Australians including; Indigenous Australians, Australians of a culturally or linguistically diverse background, sexually diverse Australians, ageing Australians and Australians living with disability
5. Examine approaches to cultural competency in health science practice

Subject Content

1.Introduction to the unit:
-What are culture, diversity and identity?
-Explore the cultural/social/ethnic diversity of the class
-How do health care professionals approach diversity?
-Introduce cultures of health and health care
2.The Australian context Indigenous Australia:
-Overview of the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia and the concept of Indigenous identities
3.The cultures of health and health care:
-Review of dominant health culture in Australia
-Understanding Western and Eastern health models
4.The Australian context Australians of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds (CALD):
-Overview of the history of migration to Australia and the contemporary context of Australian multiculturalism
-Health needs of CALD Australians
5.Segregation as a fundamental cause of ethnic disparities in health:
-Discrimination and health: causes, consequences and potential solutions
-Religious difference in Australia
6.Human rights and health literacy:
-What are human rights?
-Human Rights in Australia
-What rights are covered to promote equity?
-How can human rights improve health literacy?
7.Intro Cultural Competency:
-Introduction to cultural competence
-Cultural competency as a toolkit for cultural safety
8.Cultural Safety:
-What is cultural safety
-Why is it important?
9.Cultural Competency in Practice: