related group of diseases/conditions

Order Description

Length: 2500 words

Students MUST achieve a minimum of 25/50 in the Individual assessment Part Two to pass the course. If a mark of <25/50 is achieved, a Fail for the course will be

awarded irrespective of marks achieved in the other two assessments.

Choose a particular disease or condition (or a related group of diseases/conditions) which is associated with significant morbidity and/or mortality in a particular

tropical and/or developing country (or a related country group); (1) describe and analyse the situation with regard to the ecology and epidemiology of the

disease/condition, its proximate and more distant causes, the current global burden of disease, and the standard approaches to prevention and control in populations;

(2) describe and analyse the ecology, epidemiology and disease burden of the disease/condition in the context of the particular tropical and/or developing country (or

a related country group) you have selected; (3) describe and critically evaluate the prevention and control efforts undertaken in the selected country (or country

group), their successes and failures, and the reasons for these outcomes; and (4) indicate which avenues would be most cost effective to pursue now and in the future

for prevention and control of the disease/condition in the specific country context you have selected.

UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine
CRICOS Provider Code: 00098G

PHCM9784
Tropical Disease
Control
COURSE OUTLINE

Semester  Two,  2014

©    2014. The School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales. CRICOS Provider
No: 00098G. Previously published material in this book is copied on behalf of the University of New South Wales
pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act as amended.

Contributors
Professor Richard Taylor
Dr Mohamud Sheikh
Ms Christine  Linhart

School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
UNSW Australia
UNSW Sydney NSW 2052

Tel: +61 (2) 9385 1699   Fax: +61 (2)  9385 1526
Email: postgrad – [email protected]

UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine  i
Contents
Course Outline
Welcome and  course overview  1
Learning and teaching rationale  5
Assessment  6
Academic honesty and plagiarism   11
Readings and resources   13
Continual course improvement  13
Additional support to students   14
Course schedule  16

Course Outline
UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine  1
Welcome and  c ourse overview
Welcome to Tropical Disease Control. We hope that you will enjoy learning about the most
important and relevant tropical diseases and how to control them. We are privileged to have
some international experts in the field available to provide you with lectures. Ther e will also be
a group work  component   that will enable you to learn together and from each other’s
experiences.

This course is an elective course  that can b e taken by students   in all stages of the Master of
Public Health, Master of International Public Health and Master of Health Management
Program s. This course comprises 6 units of credit towards the total requ ired fo r completion of
the students   program. It can be taken by students  doing other programs  at UNSW or students
studying at o ther institutions , on application .

Course convenor
Professor Richard Taylor
Ph:  +61 (0)2 93852595
Fax: +61 (0)2 93851104
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://sphcm.med.unsw.edu.au/people/professor- richard- taylor

Richard Taylor is Professor of Public and International Health. Richard has continuing
international experience in the   Asia Pacific, particularly in the Pacific Island region, but also in
China, Mongolia and Vietnam, and has been involved in the epidemiology and disease control
aspects of the health transition, especially concerning cardiovascular disease, diabetes and
cancer. Richard also has experience in control of communicable and vector- borne disease.
Current research in the Pacific Islands focuses on mortality and cause of death analysis for
the prioritisation and evaluation of prevention and control activities. Rich ard is also involved in
Indigenous health research in Australia. Before joining SPHCM UNSW in 2009, his public
health career included working at the Secretariat for the Pacific Community (SPC), numerous
international health consultancies (especially with t he World Health Organiz ation), and in
Public and International Health at the University of Sydney and University of Queensland
where he was involved in international health teaching, research and service.

Course co – convenor
Dr Mohamud Sheikh
Email:  [email protected]

Mohamud Sheikh is a Senior Lecturer in International Health and Infectious Diseases. In his
nearly 23 years of experience in tropical and communicable diseases control, he has
conducted various public health works internationally in develo ping and developed countries
such as Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Middle East and Australia respectively. He has
been teaching Master of International Health courses for nearly 11 years thus drawing a
wealth of knowledge in the field of global health. During his overseas work, Mohamud has
been involved in the epidemiology and control of tropical diseases particularly vector- borne
PHCM9784 Tropical Disease Control
2   UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine
and other communicable diseases with a focus on aspects of field public health anthropology,
medical entomology, laboratory surveillance and outbreaks investigations of infectious
diseases. Dr Sheikh has also had numerous contributions to resource poor communities
around the world through his charity and volunteer work, especially in Africa, Middle East,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia. He has contributed to the field of humanitarian and
philanthropic work since the age of  eight  and has recently launched his lifetime dream project
–“Eradication of Preventable Blindness in Africa” –  a remarkable humanitarian mission. He
also h eads two not- for- profit charitable organisations based in Australia and the Horn of Africa
region.

Course co – ordinator
Ms Christine Linhart
Email: [email protected]

Christine Linhart has worked as a research officer in the School of Public Health and
Community Medicine (SPHCM) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) since 2011.
Christine specialised as a critical care/emergency registered nurse before completing a
Masters of International Public Health at UNSW in 2011. Since joining Professor Taylor’s
team at SPHCM Christine has worked on several non – communicable disease projects in the
Pacific and is a co- investigator on a three – year research project titled ‘Non- c ommunicable
disease risk factors and premature mortality in Pacific Island countries and predictive
modelling of effects of inaction and control interventions’ funded through the AusAID
Development Research Awards. In 2012 Christine was awarded the Support  for Research
Outcomes Prize from SPHCM for outstanding contribution to public health research.

Other invited experts in the field of tropical disease
Professor Richard Russell
Professor Russell is Professor of Medical Entomology at the University of Sydney, and
founding Director of the Department of Medical Entomology at Westmead Hospital. Professor
Russell has worked as a Medical Entomologist, in public health and tropical health, for more
than 35 years, and has broad experience with insects and other arthropods of medical
importance. His specialties are mosquito biology, mosquito- borne disease (particularly
arboviruses) and mosquito control. Professor Russell has worked as a consultant in
mosquito- borne disease and mosquito control, in all states of Australia and in 18 countries in
Asia, the Pacific and South America –  principally for the World Health Organi zation and
AusAID. Professor Russell has published more than 200 scientific papers on mosquitoes and
related topics, and presented more than 100 papers at scientific conferences in Australia and
many countries internationally.

Professor Nick Zwar
Professor Zwar is an Academic General Practitioner in the School of Public Healt h and
Community Medicine at UNSW, and Director in the Centre for Primary Health Care and
Equity. Professor Zwar is experienced in pre – departure planning for travel abroad and has
worked as a consultant for the Australian and NSW Governments.
Course Outline
UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine  3

Dr Holly Sea le
Dr Holly Seale is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine.
She has experience in microbiology, virology, public health and epidemiology. As an
infectious disease public health researcher, she has conducted clinical, behav ioural and data
based research and her published studies have concerned communicable disease
surveillance, clinical trial outcomes, risk communication, immunisation coverage in at – risk
groups, and the evaluation of education tools using qualitative and quantitative methods.

Dr Patrick Rawstorne
Dr Patrick Rawstorne is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Public Health & Community
Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW. His research interests include: behavioural surveys
and biological surveillance for HIV; survey based research; quantitative methods; data
analysis; respondent driven sampling (RDS); the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs);
mental health and HIV; capacity development training in research methods. He has recently
completed an integrated bio- behavioural survey of men who have sex with men (MSM) and
transgender in Fiji, with International HIV Research Group (IHRG), MENFiji, Pacific Sexual &
Reproductive Health Research Centre, and the  Ministry of Health, Fiji. Patrick is currently
involved in a n Australian Research Council (ARC) funded project exploring HIV- related risks
of people crossing the border between PNG and Indonesia (Papua).

Dr Anita Heywood
Dr Anita Heywood is a lecturer and infectious disease epidemiologist at the School of Public
H ealth and Community Medicine. She completed her PhD at UNSW, holds a Master of Public
Health and is a graduate of Biomedical Science. Dr Heywood was previously employed at the
National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS). In this role she
produced several technical reports for the Australian Technical Advisory Group on
Immunisation (2006 – 2009), which accompany submissions to the Pharmaceutical Benefits
Advisory Committee for inclusion of new vaccines/schedules on the National Immunisat ion
Program. This role also included technical writer for The Australian Immunisation Handbook
9th edition and 10th editions, for the measles, mumps, rubella, varicella and herpes zoster
chapters and the impact evaluation of Australia’s National Varicella  Immunisation Program.
The focus of her current research is vaccine uptake and infectious disease risk perception in
at – risk groups, particularly travellers and migrant Australians. Her additional research interests
include the analysis of routine surveillance data to evaluate vaccine programs and evidence-based vaccination policy and practice. Anita has contributed to teaching in

the Master of
Public Health program, in the Epidemiology and Statistics for Public Health and Current
Challenges in Infectious Di seases courses since 2009.

PHCM9784 Tropical Disease Control
4   UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Semester dates
Residential week  No residential workshop
Semester 2  28/07/14 – 31/10/14
Timetable  http://sphcm.med.unsw.edu.au/current- students/postgraduate -coursework/timetables

Course aim
This course aims to equip candidates with an insight into the realities and challenges of the
prevention and control of tropical diseases, and the promotion of he alth in developing, remote
and resource poor countries, as well as a wide range of appropriate strategies to manage
such challenges. The course will be based on real case scenarios and examples, presented
by a wide range of public health experts with direct practical experience.

Course outcomes
By the end of the course you will be able to:
•  Identify the main types of tropical diseases common in developing countries
•  Analyse the causation and transmission mechanisms of tropical diseases and conditions
•  Critically analyse the key issues and challenges in the control of tropical diseases in
resource poor settings
•  Assist in the development and implementation of prevention and control strategies for
tropical diseases in resource poor settings

Graduate att ributes and capabilities
Students are supported in developing applied knowledge and skills to:
•  Protect the health of populations and prevent communicable diseases through
appropriate interventions;
•  Plan and evaluate public health strategies, programs and projects in a range of diverse
contexts.

Students are supported in developing interactional abilities to:
•  Strengthen relationships and communicate effectively to enhance public health
outcomes;
•  Engage with and contribute to local, national and  international communities .

Students are supported in developing personal attributes to:
•  Apply analytical and critical thinking for evidence based  problem solving;
•  Commit to ethical practice;
•  Commit to social responsibility informed by principles of social justice and equity ;
•  Engage in lifelong learning and reflective practice.
Course Outline
UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine  5
Learning and teaching rationale
This course will introduce you to tropical diseases control in resource poor countries and the
application for evidence based control measures in resource poor settings. This course will
involve input from international experts in the field but you will also be expected to play an
active part in sessions and group assignments. The course is based on a model of ad ult
learning where all stude nts are responsible for actively contributing to the course and drawing
on and sharing their depth of knowledge on their own health contexts. It is envisaged that
there  will be international students within the course who will, no doubt, know more about the
domestic situation in their home country than the presenters, whose role will be to provide the
tools, insights and concepts that stude nts can apply to their own situation. Furthermore, there
may well be domestic and international stude nts  who have direct experience in tropical
disease prevention and control in  developed or developing country setting s , and this
background will be utilised in tutorials.

Teaching strategies
All SPHCM courses use Moodle to some extent.  The Moodle instance of your course is like a
mini- website that holds the key resources for your course, provides online discussion areas
and a place for you to submit assignments online. If you are unfamiliar with Moodle please
visit: https://student.unsw.edu.au/moodle

The format of the course consists of 10 weekly two- hour lecture presentations given by
tropical diseases experts with experience in international se ttings, followed each week by a 1 -hour  tu torial discussion.

Internal students
The format of the course consists of 12  weekly two – hour face – to – face lecture presentations
given by tropical disease   experts with experience in international settings. Each week the
lecture will be followed by a one- h our face – to – face  informal  tutorial discussion   with the
presenter who has given that weeks lecture.  This tutorial session will be facilitated by the
course convenor, co- convenor or course coordinator, and will allow internal students to
discuss any aspects /issues  not covered in the lecture.  The two- hour lecture will be recorded
for external stude nts to access, and the one – hour informal tutorial discussion will not be
recorded.

External   students
The format of the course consists of 12  weekly two – hour lecture presentations given by
tropical disease experts with experience in international settings. These lectures will be
recorded using Echo360  and will be made available on Moodle for external stude nts to
access within a few hours following the lecture. Online discussions will take the place of the
tutorials that occur weekly for internal students.   External students will have a tutor who will
moderate the online discussions but it is your responsibility to engage and create the
discussion . You are encouraged to actively participate in critical debate as this will provide an
enhanced learning experience and will also improve your performance in assessment.

PHCM9784 Tropical Disease Control
6   UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Assessment
There are three  assessments  for this course . A written assessment that is in two parts and
contributes 75% to the total mark, and a group presentation that contributes 25%.
In this course, you will not be assessed on your ability to merely recite facts or reproduce
information from other sources.  Instead, you will be assessed on your ability to critically
evaluate information and to demonstrate a depth of understanding on the topic. This
information needs to be presented clearly, concisely and logically. We recommend you use
the Vancouver referenc ing system for all your assignments.
NOTE: The topic(s) you select for your individual assignments cannot be the same as the
topic you cover in your grou p.

Summary
Assessment Task  Length  Weighting  Date Due
A1:  Summary Page   NA  25%   02/09/2014
A2: Group Presentation  NA  25%   31/10/2014
A3: Essay   2500  50%   04/11/2014

Assessment 1: Summary Page
Length:  One page (formatting specifications outlined below)
Due date:  Monday 2 September 5pm
Weighting:   25%
Task description
Choose a particular tropical disease or condition (or a related group of diseases/conditions)
which is associated with significant morbidity and/or mortality in a least one tropical and/or
developing country, and apply principles for prevention and control to this condition. Provide
this information in an organised summary format. This means the assignment should not be
presented in an essay format, however, do not use only bullet points. This assignment should
include full sentences and sub – headings. It is your choice as to the order  in which you present
the information in the summary format. Limit 1 A4 page. This brief summary should provide
evidence of your ability to; (1) concisely outline the disease ecology, epidemiology and global
burden of disease; and (2) identify and critically evaluate principles for prevention and control
to the selected disease(s) in the context of the selected country/countries.

Formatting specifications: font size Arial 11; single line spacing; margins set as ‘normal’ (top,
bottom, left and right all 1 inch (2.54cm)).

Course Outline
UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine  7
Assessment 2: Group Presentation
Length:  20 minutes
Due date:  Friday 31 October 9am
Weighting: 25%
Task description
In week 4  the internal and external groups will be posted on Blackboard, with 4 – 5 participants
per group. Each group must select a particular disease or condition (or a related group of
diseases/conditions) prevalent in a particular tropical and/or developing country. The group
presentation should consist of a fully referenced PowerPoint presentation that could be
presented by 1 – 3 group members (20 min presentation and an additional 10 minutes
questions and discussion).   Internal  s tudent group presentations will be scheduled for Friday
October 31st 9am – 12pm. External s tudent groups to  post presentations on Moodle  by Friday
October 31st 9am.
The presentation should: (1) describe and analyse the situation with regard to the ecology
and epidemiology of the  chosen  disease/condition, its proximate and more distant causes, the
current global burden of disease, and the standard approaches to prevention and control in
populations; (2) describe and analyse the ecology, epidemiology and disease burden of the
chosen disease/condition in the context of the particular tropical and/or developing country (or
a related country group) you have selected; (3) describe and critically evaluate the prevention
and control efforts undertaken in the selected country (or c ountry group), their successes and
failures, and the reasons for these outcomes; and (4) indicate which avenues would be most
cost effective to pursue now and in the future for prevention and control of the  chosen
disease/condition in the specific count ry context you have selected.
Group members will allocate tasks between themselves and all members of the group will
receive the same mark. Each group will be set up with a   group discussion area on Moodle   for
online discussion and file sharing.
External st udents –  the same presentation will be prepared in your online groups. You should
prepare a presentation that would last 20 minutes. A rough guide is one min ute per slide  –   i.e.
20 slides.
Specifications: groups can only select malaria, HIV, TB, H1N1 Influ enza A, SARS or other
conditions covered in detail during the lectures if they focus on particular aspects or country
situations not covered in depth in lectures. Re- iteration of lectures is insufficient. Teaching
staff will ensure that no two groups cover the same topic and all groups will need to inform the
tutor of the disease they have chosen by week 4 to ensure this does not occur.

PHCM9784 Tropical Disease Control
8   UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Assessment 3: Essay
Length:  2500 words
Due date:  Monday 4 November  5pm
Weighting: 50%
Task description
Students MUST achieve a minimum of 25/50 in the Individual assessment Part Two to pass
the course. If a mark of <25/50 is achieved, a Fail for the course will be awarded irrespective
of marks achieved in the other two assessments.

Choose a particular disease or condition (or a related group of diseases/conditions) which is
associated with significant morbidity and/or mortality in a particular tropical and/or developing
country (or a related country group); (1) describe and analyse the situation with regard to the
ecology  and epidemiology of the disease/condition, its proximate and more distant causes,
the current global burden of disease, and the standard approaches to prevention and control
in populations; (2) describe and analyse the ecology, epidemiology and disease bu rden of the
disease/condition in the context of the particular tropical and/or developing country (or a
related country group) you have selected; (3) describe and critically evaluate the prevention
and control efforts undertaken in the selected country (or country group), their successes and
failures, and the reasons for these outcomes; and (4) indicate which avenues would be most
cost effective to pursue now and in the future for prevention and control of the
disease/condition in the specific country context you have selected.

Part two cannot be the same tropical disease/condition chosen for part one.

The written assessment is expected to be your own individual work even if you worked on the
assignment in a group or discussed it in your tutorial group.   It is essential that you abide by
academic standards and that your assignment is not the result of collusion or that of
plagiarism. Please see UNSW definition of collusion and plagiarism in the course notes.

Assessment criteria
For written assignments  and group presentations the following criteria will be examined:
•  Structure and organisation: provides clear and well- organised structure with logical
sequencing and development of ideas (20%).
•  Content, evidence and argument: addresses all aspects of the  question/ topic and
includes all relevant information with well analysed and correctly interpreted data;
provides cohesive argument with critical appraisal of evidence to support the argument
and insights (50%).
•  Style and presentation format: cohesively wr itten and presented using correct style and
use of English language and graphics where appropriate (10%).
•  Sources and referencing: wide and appropriate use of sources and correctly
acknowledged and referenced (20%).

Course Outline
UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine  9
Adopting a critical approach to your assignments
It is important that you adopt a critical approach to the material that you obtain for
assignments, to the required readings, and to other information with which you are presented
during the course. Think a bout and evaluate the material which you are reading and which
you are presenting in assignments. Attempt to cast aside your assumptions and biases and,
attempt to assess the logic and consistency of the material in light of the supporting evidence.
Wide reading on a topic facilitates this.
 
 

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