TM5575 - Substance Misuse Prevention

Credit points:	03
Year:	2013
Student Contribution Band:	Band 2
Administered by:	Sch Public Health,Trop Medicine&Rehabilitation Sc

This subject provides students with an understanding of the area of Substance Misuse with a particular focus on minimising or preventing its associated harms at the population or community level. The subject explores theories and approaches which are be used to prevent or reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with substance misuse. It provides the student with knowledge and skills to be able to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate their own substance misuse prevention interventions. It explores the breadth of substance misuse prevention activities, risk factors and strategies used to understand and prevent substance misuse. Students will be provided with a range of insights in substance misuse specific areas including: violence and crime prevention; enhancing community safety, regulation, health impacts including mental health. This subject will be of particular value to those working at a community level, within a government agency, for community groups and non-government agencies or those wanting to know more about how substance misuse problems can be prevented. Specific areas which will be covered include: burden of disease from particular kinds of substance misuse; theories of addiction, contemporary substance misuse interventions and treatment; social determinants of addiction, addiction and social exclusion, the theoretical basis of substance misuse prevention in Australia and in the surrounding region; epidemiological approaches to substance misuse prevention, law and regulation, community approaches to substance misuse prevention; developing, implementing and evaluating a community-based substance misuse prevention program; substance misuse and the policy environment; exploration of specific substance misuse topics including, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, other illicit drugs, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander substance misuse, health promotion strategies for reducing substance misuse, monitoring and evaluation techniques including quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods approaches.

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge of substance misuse prevention theories and practices, methods and approaches to evaluation;
• Knowledge of community-based approaches;
• Knowledge of substance misuse epidemiology;
• Ability to communicate with a range of audiences particularly, policy makers, the public and the media;
• Ability to implement a substance misuse prevention intervention and evaluate its effects.

Graduate Qualities

• The ability to adapt knowledge to new situations;
• The ability to define and to solve problems in at least one discipline area;
• The ability to think critically, to analyse and evaluate claims, evidence and arguments, and to reason and deploy evidence clearly and logically;
• The ability to deploy critically evaluated information to practical ends;
• The ability to find and access information using appropriate media and technologies;
• The ability to evaluate that information;
• An understanding of the economic, legal, ethical, social and cultural issues involved in the use of information;
• The ability to select and organise information and to communicate it accurately, cogently, coherently, creatively and ethically;
• The acquisition of coherent and disciplined sets of skills, knowledge, values and professional ethics from at least one discipline area;
• The ability to read complex and demanding texts accurately, critically and insightfully;
• The ability to speak and write clearly, coherently and creatively;
• The ability to generate, calculate, interpret and communicate numerical information in ways appropriate to a given discipline or discourse;
• The ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences;
• The ability to work with people of different gender, age, ethnicity, culture, religion and political persuasion;
• The ability to work individually and independently;
• The ability to select and use appropriate tools and technologies;
• The ability to use online technologies effectively and ethically.

Availabilities
Cairns, Limited, Study Period 2
Census Date 29-Aug-2013
Face to face teaching 11-Nov-2013 to 15-Nov-2013 (To be advised)
Coordinator:	Assoc. Professor Alan Clough, Dr India Bohanna
Lecturers:	Assoc. Professor Alan Clough, Mrs Bernadette Rogerson, Dr India Bohanna.
Contact hours:	30 hours lectures - There will be 30 hours of face-to-face lecture, tutorial and practicals in a mini-block format (i.e. 1 week). The rest will be provided externally.
Assessment:	end of semester exam (40%); presentations (20%); assignments (40%).
Cairns, Block, Study Period 10
Census Date 13-Dec-2013
Non-standard start/end 04-Nov-2013 to 10-Jan-2014
Face to face teaching 04-Nov-2013 to 08-Nov-2013
Coordinator:	Assoc. Professor Alan Clough, Dr India Bohanna
Lecturers:	Assoc. Professor Alan Clough, Ms Jan Robertson, Dr India Bohanna.
Contact hours:	30 hours lectures - There will be 30 hours of face-to-face lecture, tutorial and practicals in a block format (ie 1 week) The rest will be provided externally.
Assessment:	end of semester exam (40%); presentations (20%); assignments (40%).

Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.