511-205 Preventive and Community Dentistry

Credit Points

Coordinator

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

This subject covers: oral health promotion; public policy and health systems; and computers in dental practice.

On completion of this subject, the student should:

Comprehend: the characteristics of public health programs and their evaluation; and the variety of uses of computers in dental practice and access/retrieval of data.

Demonstrate: the capacity to communicate with clients to identify health needs; and skills in the planning and delivery of a variety of health promotion activities in individual groups and community settings.

Understand: the principles of health promotion and public policy issues as they affect oral health.

Appreciate: the dimensions of health education and health promotion within the delivery of dental, medical, allied health and educational services.

Assessment

(A) One short-answer, take-home written examination (1000 words) at the end of Semester 2 on public policy and health systems (20%); (B) Written assignments, presentations and practical reports throughout the year: practical report on computers in dental practice (10%), research project in oral health promotion (30%), coursework assignments (30%) and field visit reports (10%).

A pass is required in Sections A and B for an overall pass in the subject.

Prescribed Texts

EITHER the following two books: Egger G, Donovan R J and Spark R 1993, Health and the Media, McGraw Hill. Egger G, Spark R and Lawson J S 1990, Health Promotion Strategies and Methods, McGraw Hill. OR: Naidoo J and Wills J 1994, Health Promotion: Foundations for Practice, Baillere Tindall.

• Hawe P, Degeling D and Hall J 1990, Evaluating Health Promotion: A Health Workers Guide. McLennan and Petty.