Outline

Overview

This unit of study will focus on the role of pharmacy in public health and health promotion, and on developing students' understanding of the Australian Health Care System, health policy and regulation affecting health in Australia and internationally. We will develop students' skills in identifying, accessing and interpreting relevant policy, regulation and research literature. Topics which underpin understanding of public health including epidemiology/pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics will also be addressed. Through workshops and assignments, students will be given the opportunity to integrate their learning and apply this knowledge to address population health care problems with a special emphasis on achieving the quality, safety and judicious use of medicines in health care

Unit details and rules

Unit code	PHAR4823
Academic unit	Pharmacy
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	PHAR3100 and PHAR3815 and PHAR3825 and PHAR3816 and PHAR3817 and PHAR3818 and PHAR3819 and PHAR3826 and PHAR3827 and PHAR3820
Corequisites ?	(PHAR4814 or PHAR4815 or WORK3202) and PHAR4100
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Barbara Mintzes, barbara.mintzes@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Barbara Mintzes, barbara.mintzes@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Sarab Mansoor, sarab.mansoor@sydney.edu.au
	Alex Clough, alexander.clough@sydney.edu.au
	Sally McDonald, sally.mcdonald@sydney.edu.au
	Danijela Gnjidic, danijela.gnjidic@sydney.edu.au
	Jessica Pace, jessica.pace@sydney.edu.au
	Annim Mohammad, annim.mohammad@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Record+)	Final exam MCQ (45 questions) and SAQ (5 questions)	40%	Formal exam period	1.5 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Lecture quizzes CANVAS quiz; students complete up to 10 quizzes; mark based on best 5.	10%	Multiple weeks	10 minutes per quiz; 2-4 MCQ per quiz
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	Workshop participation and pre-work Participation in workshops and in some lectures; pre-work submission	10%	Ongoing	n/a
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Team project A: briefing paper One-page briefing paper per student on a separate team project component.	5%	Week 06 Due date: 30 Mar 2022 at 17:00	1 page briefing paper
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Team project B: presentation Oral presentation	10%	Week 08	10 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Team project C: Final report Report	25%	Week 13 Due date: 27 May 2022 at 17:00	10 pages + title page, refs & appendix
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = group assignment ? = Type B final exam ?

Assessment summary

Workshop participation and pre-work: Students are expected to actively participate in workshop activities, to complete pre-work before each workshop, and to have done the relevant readings and either attended or listened to linked lectures.
Team project A: briefing paper: Each student writes a one-page briefing paper to “pitch” their team project, focusing on one project component: the health risk; region/population; prior interventions; aims and role of the pharmacist. All briefing papers are connected to the same team project, but address a separate component.
Team project B: presentation: This presentation describes the team’s planned intervention, including background information on the health risk, why an intervention is needed, previous experience, planned intervention and how success will be evaluated.
Team project C: final report: The final report on the team’s public health intervention should include the public health issue, region and at-risk population addressed, and the planned intervention. It includes background research on epidemiology and on the effectiveness of previous interventions to address the issue.
Lecture quizzes: Lecture quizzes are held in-class via CANVAS quiz. Quizzes test understanding of key concepts. Students are asked to complete at least 5 quizzes (maximum of 10). If more than 5 quizzes are completed, students’ best 5 marks are retained. Each quiz is worth 2% and is brief (10 minutes).
Final examination: The final examination is framed around the course learning objectives and focuses on the main content in the lectures and workshops. There will be 1-2 exam questions per lecture and 2 exam questions per workshop (total of 50 multiple choice questions).
Groupwork:Peer assessment (relative performance factor) will be applied to moderate the groupwork marks. Students will take part in a formative peer assessment conducted in mid-semester and a summative peer assessment in week 13. Peer assessment will be completed online and assess contributions, teamwork, and quality of work. Results are combined to obtain a factor between 0-1.

PLEASE NOTE: Supplementary Yr assessments: Students may be offered re-assessment of compulsory-to-pass assessments, in the main Exam and RE1 and RE2 Exam periods at the end of the year, as described in the Final Year Rule (2022). For more information see the announcement on the Canvas Year site.

Repeating students: Exemption from components (tutorials, workshops) for students repeating PHAR4823 will not be granted, except in exceptional circumstances by the Year co-ordinator/ BPharm Program Director.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	At HD level, a student demonstrates an aptitude for the subject and a well-developed understanding of the unit material. A ‘High Distinction’ reflects exceptional achievement and is awarded to students who demonstrate the ability to apply their subject knowledge and understanding to produce original solutions for novel or highly complex problems and/or comprehensive critical discussions of theoretical concepts.
Distinction	75 - 84	At DI level, a student demonstrates an aptitude for the subject and a well-developed understanding of the units material. A ‘Distinction’ reflects excellent achievement and is awarded to a student who demonstrates an ability to apply their subject knowledge and understanding of the subject to produce good solutions for challenging problems and/or a reasonably well-developed critical analysis of theoretical concepts.
Credit	65 - 74	At CR level, a student demonstrates a good command and knowledge of the unit material. A ‘Credit’ reflects solid achievement and is awarded to a student who has a broad general understanding of the units material and can solve routine problems and/ or identify and superficially discuss theoretical concepts.
Pass	50 - 64	At PS level, a student demonstrates proficiency in the material. A ‘Pass’ reflects satisfactory adequately referencing the original source of the work.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Groupwork: late or non-submission of team peer assessments will be applied: “Non submission of peer assessment will result in a factor of zero (0) being applied to the non-submitter’s groupwork mark.” Late submission of pre-work on CANVAS and lateness in attending workshops also reduces students' workshop participation marks, unless students have obtained prior permission.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	1. Introduction to PHAR4823; 2. Measures of health and illness	Lecture (2 hr)
	3. History of public health 4. The role of the pharmacist in public health	Lecture (2 hr)
	Workshop 1: Peer education: SALSA	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 02	5. Health Promotion Frameworks 6. Evaluation of health interventions	Lecture (2 hr)
	7. Introduction to health policy 8. Pharmacoepidemiology (1)	Lecture (2 hr)
	Workshop 2: Public health	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 03	9. Pharmacoepidemiology (2) 10. Australian Health Care System	Lecture (2 hr)
	11.Finding evidence: literature searches for public health 12. Critical appraisal of research	Lecture (2 hr)
	Workshop 3: Public health interventions and planning your team project	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 04	13. Indigenous Health 14. Obesity in the community	Lecture (2 hr)
	15. Tobacco control policies 16. Drug and alcohol policies	Lecture (2 hr)
	Workshop 4: Pharmacoepidemiology	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 05	17. Pharmacoeconomics (1) 18. Pharmacoeconomics (2)	Lecture (2 hr)
	19. Pharmaceutical benefits scheme 20. Vaccination and the role of the pharmacist	Lecture (2 hr)
	Workshop 5: Pharmacoeconomics	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 06	21. Pharmaceutical advertising and promotion 22. Health literacy	Lecture (2 hr)
	23. Opioid policies 24. Overdiagnosis and overtreatment	Lecture (2 hr)
	Workshop 6: Health Communication and advertising	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 07	25.Screening: judging effectiveness 26. Medication error and patient safety	Lecture (2 hr)
	27. Case studies of pharmacy based screening	Lecture (2 hr)
	Workshop 7: Understanding and learning from errors (interprofessional patient safety workshop)	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 08	28. Case studies in regulation and public health 29. Infectious diseases and antibiotic stewardship	Lecture (2 hr)
	30. Regulation of medicines 31. Mental health and the role of the pharmacist	Lecture (2 hr)
	Workshop 8: Team project presentations	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 09	32. NPS MedicineWise 33. Public health ethics	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 09	Workshop 9: Public health ethics and team projects	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 11	34. Exam review	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 13	35. Exam review (extra session for students on clinical rotation during week 11)	Lecture (1 hr)
Weekly	Learning independently including pre-work, reports and assignments	Independent study (54 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance:

Attendance: In accordance with the Bachelor of Pharmacy Course resolutions on Attendance Requirements, students must attend a minimum of 85% tutorials/ workshops (8 of 9 workshops) to satisfy attendance requirements for this unit of study. For more information see:

https://www.sydney.edu.au/handbooks/medicine_health/coursework/pharmacy_rules.shtml _mr/pharmacy.shtml

If a tutorial/ workshop is missed due to illness or misadventure, students are to submit a special consideration application along with supporting documentation. Students arriving 5 to 15 minutes after the commencement of the tutorial/ workshop will be marked as late; students arriving more than 15 minutes after commencement are marked as absent. Students swapping a class without prior approval from the UoS co-ordinator will be marked as absent.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Course textbook (also listed on e-Reserve):

Young TK. Population Health. Concepts and Methods. Oxford University Press. 2nd edition. 2005. Chapters 1 and 2, pp 1-24 and 25-69.

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library’s reading list system Leganto, available on Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate an understanding of public health practice and health promotion
LO2. demonstrate an understanding of the factors and tools used in developing health policy
LO3. demonstrate an understanding of the health care system in Australia
LO4. maximise patient safety through QUM and minimise and manage medicine error
LO5. demonstrate an understanding of key measures used to assess population health and the outcomes of medicine use at a population level
LO6. demonstrate an understanding of the role of the pharmacist in promoting public health.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Changes have been incorporated into the lecture content and team assignments in response to student feedback: - a stronger emphasis on the role of the pharmacist in public health; - team project topics more closely aligned to pharmacy practice; - lectures to be held 'live on zoom' in response to student preference; - interactive lecture sessions with breakout room exercises and discussions; - first team presentation removed in response to USS comments; replaced with individual briefing papers linked to team project; this allows for formative individual feedback at mid semester. - final exam worth 40% of total mark, rather than 50% - five lecture quizzes introduced, in total worth 10% of mark (2% per quiz) to provide earlier guidance and feedback.

Additional information

More information related to this unit can be found on Canvas and will be provided in class.

Additional costs

There are no additional costs for this unit.

Site visit guidelines

There are no site visit guidelines for this unit.

Work, health and safety

There are no specific WHS requirements for this unit.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Site visit guidelines

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

PHAR4823: Pharmacy Services and Public Health

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Site visit guidelines

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect