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"Public health is the totality of the activities organised by societies collectively to protect people from disease and to promote their health. It seeks to do this in a way that promotes equity between different groups in society. Public health activities occur in all sectors and will include the adoption of policies which support health" WelcomeThe Department of Public Health is part of the Medical School of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Flinders University. We aim to promote health and healthy environments in Australia and overseas by advocating for and advancing multi-disciplinary public health research, teaching and practice. We are committed to local and global action to address the social factors leading to ill health and health inequities. We aim to play our part in drawing the attention of society to the social determinants of health that are known to be among the worst causes of poor health and inequalities between and within countries. The determinants include unemployment, unsafe workplaces, urban slums, globalization and lack of access to health systems. We are a group of highly committed academic and administrative staff who are justly proud of our award winning program of Graduate Studies in Primary Health Care. We began teaching this program in 1989 and since then have regularly reviewed and revised our topics, procedures and processes so that we can provide students with state-of-the-art ideas relevant to the theory and practice of primary health care. We have experience as practitioners and researchers in a variety of primary health care roles, and have developed our own special interests which are reflected in our topics. We share, however, a vision of health that unites our teaching, research and professional practice. This vision, first articulated in the WHO 'Health For All' statement, emphasises the importance of front line workers who are able to
Our aim is to equip students with knowledge and skills to enable them to work towards these important goals. |
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About public healthPublic health contributes to health sciences in a distinctive way. Public health focuses its analyses on populations rather than individuals. Populations are defined by age, ethnicity, gender, location, occupation, and/or socio-economic circumstances. Approaching health issues and problems from a public health perspective involves the philosophical understanding that there is a collective responsibility to care for, protect and encourage the health of all, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic status. In short, public health is concerned primarily with the promotion and maintenance of health and it starts with communities or populations as units of analysis. |
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Our approach focuses on the social determinants of health. Why?
Throughout the world, vulnerable and socially disadvantaged people have less access to health resources, get sicker and die earlier than people in more privileged social positions. These unfair gaps are growing in spite of an era of unprecedented global wealth, knowledge and health awareness. By far the greatest share of health problems is attributable to broad social conditions. Yet, health policies have been dominated by disease-focused solutions that largely ignore the social environment. As a result, health problems persist, inequalities have widened, and health interventions have obtained less than optimal results. At the same time, there is evidence that policy, action and leadership to address the social dimensions of health can improve health and access to health care. (World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health).
Courses
We offer an exciting range of courses in Public Health, as described in the course descriptions section of the Flinders University web site.
Our courses are designed for professionals seeking specialist qualifications with vocational relevance in primary health care.
All of our postgraduate courses are based on adult learning models and can be delivered entirely through distance education (flexible delivery) mode. Our courses are, therefore, ideally suited to work-based, part-time study, regardless of where students live or what they do.
Fees apply. Australian and New Zealand applicants should contact us for more information. International students should contact the University's International Office.