UO Health and Society Assessment
Task description
For this assessment, you will present a report on the prevalence of smoking. You will be required to present smoking prevalence, by age group, across three populations. You will then describe and compare the data, and discuss the role of the determinants of health and health literacy in relation to the observed prevalence for each population.
Task aims
In this assessment you will demonstrate the skills you have developed through this course in accessing, managing, and interpreting data. It will also provide an opportunity to discuss in depth how the determinants of health can lead to differences in health status across population groups. Please refer to the feedback given on your Portfolio Task 3 submission when completing this assessment.
The assessment addresses the following course objectives:
CO1. Discuss burden of disease in the national and international context.
CO2. Compare and contrast health status (risk, prevalence and outcomes) across local, national and international populations as a result of, social, cultural and environmental factors.
CO3. Identify and describe the basis for differences in health status with particular emphasis on Aboriginal Peoples and disadvantaged populations.
CO4. Identify and describe current and future challenges to health and health care systems.
CO5. Demonstrate developing foundation skills in academic writing, referencing, sourcing information, and creating, manipulating and interpreting data and graphs.
Datasets
Download the following Excel files which contain the relevant data for the three (3) populations:
Health and Society student cohort (2022 Health and Society Cohort Data) Australian population (2020-21 ABS National Health Survey Data)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population (2018-19 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey Data)
How to complete the assessment
Download and refer to the Report Template when completing this assessment, and make your way through each of the following steps:
- Createa summary table for your data
Guided by the Report Template, create a table to present summary statistics (count and proportion), according to age groups, for each of the three population groups.
The age groups by which you should present your data are:
18-24 years
25-34 years
35-44 years
45 years and over
Your table must include a title, data set references, and column/row labels. Present all values to ONE (1) decimal place, and include units where necessary.
- Health& Society student cohort
Refer to the 2022 Health & Society Cohort Data file. To obtain count (n) and proportion (%), perform calculations as taught in previous weeks by using the COUNTIF and COUNTIFS formulas as appropriate.
- Australianpopulation
Refer to the 2020-21 ABS National Health Survey Data file. To obtain count (n) and proportion (%), no calculations are required. You should identify the correct values in the data set and copy them directly to your summary table.
- Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander population
Refer to the 2018-19 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey Data file. To obtain count (n) and proportion (%) for the 18-24 years, 25-34 years, and 35-44 years age groups, no calculations are required. You should identify the correct values in the data set and copy them directly to your summary table.
For the 45 years and over age group you will need to combine data by adding the counts (estimates) for the 45-54 years age group and the 55 years and over age group. Then, to calculate the proportion for the 45 years and over age group, divide the count by the sum of the total persons in each of the two age groups (last row in the sheet ‘Total persons’) and multiply by 100 to get the %. For the % Total (?18 years), use the non-age-standardised figure.
- Presentyour summary data in a graph
In Excel, create ONE (1) column graph in Excel presenting the prevalence (%) of smoking in each population, by age group. Transfer your graph into the Template file, ensuring there is an appropriate title, data set references, labels for both the axes, and a key/legend.
- Describeand compare prevalence of smoking across the three population groups
In approximately 300 words, describe the data presented in your table and graph, and compare the three population groups. This section should include a description of any similarities and/or differences in the prevalence of smoking between the Health and Society student cohort, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, and the total Australian population. Do NOT include an interpretation of the data, nor possible rational/justification for any difference in this section.
- Discussthe role of determinants of health AND health literacy
In approximately 700 words, discuss the 1) social, 2) cultural, and 3) environmental determinants of health which potentially contribute to differences in the prevalence of smoking between the three populations. For your discussion, you may find it helpful to focus on one determinant for each ‘category’ (e.g., income (social determinant), discrimination (cultural determinant), and remoteness (environmental determinant)). As part of your discussion, also address the relevance of health literacy to differences in smoking prevalence observed across the three population groups.
Your discussion should address ALL THREE populations, and not focus on just one or two. This section must also be informed by at least two (2) appropriate peer reviewed references.
Important notes and reminders
The total word count is 1000 words (approximately 300 words for your summary and approximately 700 words for your discussion). In-text references ARE included in the word count. You are permitted to write within 10% of the word count, but submissions below or over will be penalised.
PLEASE NOTE: You may have seen that our Course Outline states the word count for this assessment is 2000 words. This is an equivalent word count for the assessment overall, that also considers the non-written requirements. You will still only write 1000 words total for your summary and discussion.
Do NOT quote. Write in your own words and adequately paraphrase.
Your table and graph must be included in your report, and not as a separate file. Both must also have titles and the correct referencing.
A minimum of two (2) peer reviewed sources must be included in your discussion of the determinants of health and health literacy (task 5).
An end reference list must be included in the APA referencing style. For help with this style, visit the APA Referencing Style Guide help page. In particular, you may wish to visit the Data set page on the APA site, for how to reference the Health and Society and ABS data sets. Your end reference list is NOT included in the word count.
