Graduate Diploma in Genomics and Health

Clinical Genome Variant Analysis 1 is designed to provide students with an understanding of the basic principles of genome variant analysis. The subject will be taught as a blended (online and face-to-face) subject.

The syllabus will introduce the bioinformatics pipeline associated with whole exome and genome sequencing and variant interpretation. Principles of variant classification and reporting will also be covered.

The subject is a prerequisite for GENE90025 Clinical Genome Variant Analysis 2. Combined, these subjects provide a sound foundation for participation in multidisciplinary clinical discussions on genomic testing and analysis, and would be a useful introduction for laboratory scientists and clinical staff training in variant interpretation. Students must be enrolled in the Master of Genomics and Health or have completed undergraduate subjects in Biology (1^st year or equivalent) and Genetics (2^nd year or equivalent).

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This subject will introduce students to the complexity of the human genome, and tools used by genetic counsellors to access information and inform risk assessment. Students will apply these tools in examining the molecular basis of single-gene and mitochondrial genetic diseases, including diseases caused by chromosomal imbalances and rearrangements, and autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, sex-linked, and triplet repeat disorders.

This curriculum is based on the genetic knowledge requirements of the Human Genetics Society of Australasia (HGSA) Board of Censors for Genetic Counselling, which governs the certification of genetic counsellors in Australia. The subject will be delivered via a combination of on-line content and case-based face-to-face tutorials.

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This subject will examine the ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) of genetics and genomics. It will be organised into 3 overarching topics:

• The principles of ethical and legal frameworks will be introduced, and will be applied in the context of genomics in healthcare practice, with consideration of professional and personal values.
• The foundations of public health will be introduced and applied to public health genomics programs, particularly genetic screening.
• Personal genomic testing will be discussed from multiple perspectives, including historical, ethical, regulatory and social. How genetics is communicated and genetic literacy in the community will be explored.

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In this subject, students will explore key counselling and communication theories within a professional healthcare context. With a focus on person-centred therapy, they will develop essential counselling and communication skills, including attending, reflecting, questioning, emotional processing, and confrontation. The subject will also encourage students to examine the complexities of human interaction, cultivating awareness and responsiveness to culture and diversity. Through experiential activities, students will enhance their self-awareness and critically evaluate their practice.

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This subject will prepare students for undertaking clinical research within hospital, community and primary health care settings. Students will develop skills in how to design and conduct empirical research in an ethically appropriate manner. Content includes: development of a research question, study design and methodology, and ethical issues in health care research.

This subject will be conducted as a mix of face to face seminars, online tasks and intensive workshops.

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This subject will examine the roles of both genetic and environmental determinants in the expression of complex disease traits and cancer. Principles of genetic and genomic testing will be investigated and students will learn to apply these in clinical case-based scenarios.

This curriculum is based on the genetic knowledge requirements of the Human Genetics Society of Australasia (HGSA Board of Censors for Genetic Counselling, which governs the certification of genetic counsellors in Australia. The course will be delivered via a combination of on-line content and case-based face-to-face tutorials.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is primarily an experiential subject designed to develop advanced communication skills for working with individuals and groups in professional contexts. The subject emphasises the acquisition of skills for effective interpersonal communication, particularly in managing strong emotions and responses in interactions. Psychosocial issues and their influence on communication outcomes will be explored, with a focus on understanding diverse perspectives and navigating sensitive discussions. Building on the foundational skills covered in Semester One, Genomic and Health students will enhance their communication techniques through role-plays and discussion of real-world examples. By the end of the subject, students will demonstrate self-awareness and the ability to critically reflect on their communication practices to improve outcomes.

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Clinical Genome Variant Analysis 2 is designed to broaden and further develop the basic understanding and principles of variant interpretation taught in Clinical Genome Variant Analysis 1. Application of software and genomic database for collation of evidence for interpretation will be covered in detail.

The subject will be taught as a blended (on-line and face-to-face) subject, commencing in the first half of the semester.

The subject provides a sound foundation for participation in multidisciplinary clinical discussions on genomic testing and analysis, and would be useful preparatory learning for laboratory scientists and clinical staff training in variant interpretation.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This wholly online subject will introduce students to key theories, concepts and frameworks underlying contemporary approaches to health behaviour change in individuals across the health-illness spectrum, for health practitioners providing care to patients, and at the population level. The subject will enable students to develop skills in the design and evaluation of health behaviour change interventions that are evidence informed and tailored to clinical practice across the lifespan, health care services and community contexts.

The subject is divided into modules to allow flexibility for students to choose areas of health behaviour change to focus on that best match their disciplinary interests or work context.

All students will complete four modules within this subject.

A foundational module will be completed by all students and introduces some key theoretical models underpinning health behaviour and health behaviour change, core concepts in health care that relate to effective health behaviour change facilitation, and a framework for development of interventions to support positive change will be applied. Students will develop skills in the integration of theory into behaviour change intervention development including behavioural analysis, and will explore a wide range of behaviour change techniques including conversational methodologies for changing behaviour (such as motivational interviewing), the role of patient education and therapeutic alliance, and the use of technology to support change.

Students will then choose two from three modules that best meet their learning interests and/or practice or discipline interests. These modules are:

1. One-to-one interactions

In this stream we will apply health behaviour change theory and principles to case scenarios to see how these concepts might look in a clinical individual interaction setting.

2. Clinicians and health services.

In this stream we will apply a step-by-step approach to developing behaviour change interventions with the goal of changing clinician behaviours or redesigning health service delivery in order to improve the health of our patients.

3. Populations and communities

In this module, we will look at some behaviour change techniques for influencing the behaviour of communities or populations. We will more deeply examine the role of behaviour change at a public health level.

The final module will be completed by all students and promotes reflection and discussion on the integration and application of evidence-informed health behaviour change practices. This module will also provide students with an opportunity to extend their thinking into the ethics and societal challenges of evidence-informed health behaviour change interventions for individuals and groups.

Throughout the subject students will develop their skills to critically review and synthesise the literature supporting health behaviour change interventions. Students will gather existing evidence on topics related to their discipline, context and interests, critically evaluate the quality of evidence to support health behaviour change interventions, and interpret the clinical application of these approaches.

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This subject provides an introduction to the principles, concepts and methods of economic evaluation and their application to health care and public health. Students are introduced to the foundations of economic evaluation in economic theory and the principal methods used by health economists: cost benefit analysis, cost effectiveness analysis, cost consequences analysis and cost utility analysis. In each case, the steps involved in identifying, measuring and valuing incremental costs and outcomes will be explained. Students will learn the key elements of an economic evaluation study design and be able to critically review economic evaluation studies. Contemporary issues and approaches in economic evaluation will be introduced, including the use of distributional cost effectiveness to capture reductions in inequality; and subjective wellbeing and other approaches for extending the measurement of benefit beyond the Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY)

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A thorough comprehension of the different institutions, structures and processes that constitute health systems globally provides a strong platform for further studies and varied career paths in population and global health. This subject provides students with the analytical frameworks to explore the social and political dynamics, institutions and structures that constitute health systems globally. This subject is delivered by a cross-disciplinary team of experts working in health systems strengthening and analysis, and draws on contemporary research and examples from across Australia, the Asia and Pacific regions and other global contexts. Students of this subject will develop and apply skills in critical and comparative analysis of health systems in a range of countries and in settings with varied levels of socio-economic development.

Issues addressed in this subject include, but may not be limited to: global disparities in health system expenditures and outcomes; the characteristics of different health financing systems; health system structures; health system reform and performance measurement; health system strengthening approaches and strategies; intergovernmental relations and development assistance for health; health workforce supply and policy; general practice and primary healthcare; complementary health systems and health system orientation for Indigenous peoples; and the multi-level policy processes that inform health system decision-making.

Comparative Health Systems is a dual delivery block mode intensive subject. This means that the assessable material is delivered through self-directed online modules that students complete over a six-week period. The online modules offer flexibility in relation to the timing of when students complete them, or what hours of the day you may choose to study. However, allocated modules must be completed in time to allow effective participation in live interactive sessions that are linked with those modules. Live interactive sessions are held on six days across the six-week period, in which module material is discussed with fellow students and lecturers. Students may choose to attend these live sessions online or face to face. Students are expected to commit approximately 8-10 hours to learning each week, comprised of learning modules, reading, discussion board activities, group work and live sessions. This six-week teaching period is followed by independent learning towards a major assessment to be completed over six weeks.

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This is a compulsory subject in the Master of Public Health. Qualitative research plays an important role in public health as it can explain how people experience a particular health issue or why they perform a health-related behavior, taking into account specific social, political and economic contexts. Public health practitioners need to be able to undertake and interpret a range of published research (including qualitative research) in order to gather evidence for practice, identify gaps in evidence and evaluate current practice.

This subject will introduce students to qualitative research in public health - both the principles underlying design and the strengths and weaknesses of different qualitative methodologies. It will cover a range of methods, such as individual interviews, group interviews, visual and participatory methods. Each element of research design will be covered, from recognising research paradigms and sampling strategies through to the different types of analysis. Students will learn how to design, plan and evaluate qualitative research as sources of evidence in public health.

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Why is it essential that scientists learn to communicate effectively to a variety of audiences? What makes for engaging communication when it comes to science? How does the style of communication need to change for different audiences? What are the nuts and bolts of good science writing? What are the characteristics of effective public speaking?

Weekly seminars and tutorials will consider the important role science and technology plays in twenty-first century society and explore why it is vital that scientists learn to articulate their ideas to a variety of audiences in an effective and engaging manner. These audiences may include school students, agencies that fund research, the media, government, industry, and the broader public. Other topics include the philosophy of science communication, talking about science on the radio, effective public speaking, writing press releases and science feature articles, science performance, communicating science on the web and how science is reported in the media.

Students will develop skills in evaluating examples of science and technology communication to identify those that are most effective and engaging. Students will also be given multiple opportunities to receive feedback and improve their own written and oral communication skills.

Students will work in small teams on team projects to further the communication skills developed during the seminar programme. These projects will focus on communicating a given scientific topic to a particular audience using spoken, visual, written or web-based communication.

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This subject examines the workplace environment and the range of competencies needed to operate effectively. Communication is central to success in the workplace, from proposing projects, consulting and influencing colleagues, through to reporting. Students will gain a range of communication skills in writing, oral and presentation skills, and using graphics and statistics, to communicate science to others with whom they work.

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