Health and Human Development Overview [Unit One] - What you Need to Know!

I'm not sure if this applies to all schools, but we've finished unit one. If you have too, congratulations! Health and Human Development wasn't a subject I intended to do and I didn't enjoy it for the first few weeks into the unit. However, as the subject went on, I began to really enjoy it, even as much as the subjects that I was certain I was going to choose. If you completed the first unit of Health and Human Development, did you find it interesting? What was your favourite area of study? Mine was Health and Nutrition.

If you're not in VCE yet and are planning on partaking in the subject in Year 11, this post may be helpful to you. Additionally, if you're a student moving into the class without completing the first unit, this may also be of interest. I know that my Health and Human Development class is getting a few new faces in unit two. 

Let's get started. I'm just going to give a relatively brief overview of the unit, including what knowledge you will acquire and highlighting what you must know.

Firstly, I recommend reading the official study design by VCAA. Study designs are more of assistance to teachers, yet they can also be useful to us if you want an overview of what will be taught to you. A link to the current design is here.

Area of Study One - Health Perspectives and Influences

To begin with, you will learn the definition of health and wellbeing, including issues regarding the World Health Organisation's official definition. This sounds very basic, but it is essential that you understand this well.

Arguably the most important thing you should know is the dimensions of health and wellbeing. It is essential that you understand all five dimensions which include:

Ensure that you know the definitions and their characteristics. For example, for social health you should basically know:

a) That social health and wellbeing is defined by the ability to form meaningful and satisfying relationships and be able to adapt to various types of social situations

b) The characteristics include having productive relationships, a supportive family and network of friends.

I don't think you would need to know how the dimensions of health relate to each other. There was one question in my SAC which asked how emotional health affects mental health, but it's not something that should be your main concern. Just nail those definitions and have the ability to recognise them in a case study!

The next important thing that you will learn is how different personal attributes and characteristics can affect the way you view the dimension of health and wellbeing. This includes age, self-assessed data, gender, culture, socioeconomic status and religion. For example, you should know:

When looking from the perspective of gender, females tend to have a more holistic understanding of health and wellbeing. On the contrary, males tend to mainly focus on their physical health.

You don't need to know how each perspective affects all the dimensions, it should be around one or two.

You also need to know how Indigenous Australians view health, especially in relation to culture, land and their community.

After, you will learn about how the population's health status is assessed. This includes:

- Life expectancy

- Self-assessed health status

- Mortality

- Morbidity

- Burden of disease

- Rates of hospitalisation

- Core activity limitation

- Psychological distress

Most importantly, you will need to be able to recall their definitions and what they help determine. For example, rates of hospitalisation identifies how many cases of morbidity and injury require serious medical treatment.

Furthermore, you should know the following terms:

Relating to morbidity:

- Incidence

- Prevalence

- Years lost due to disability (YLD)

Relating to burden of disease:

- Disability adjusted life years (DALY)

Relating to mortality:

- Years of life lost (YLL)

Lastly, you will need to know the sociocultural factors which act as barriers or enablers of health and wellbeing, including:

- Family

- Peer group

- Occupation

- Housing

- Education

- Income

- Access to health information

For instance, you should know:
A family which provides resources, has good communication and provides healthy food enhance health and wellbeing. On the other hand, a family which is unsettled, has poor role models and displays unhealthy habits act as barriers for youths aiming to achieve adequate levels of health and wellbeing.

That took somewhat long to cover. Fortunately, it is the longest area of study in unit one. So if you can pass this, you should be able to survive the rest of the unit!

Area of Study Two - Health and Nutrition

Initially, you should familiarise yourself with the definitions of micro-nutrients, macro-nutrients and kilojoules. They will come up often throughout the area of study.

Firstly, you will learn the macro-nutrients, which are:

- Carbohydrates (including fibre)

- Protein

- Fats (including the 'good' and 'bad' types)

Expect to be asked to recall their function/s, food sources and effects of consuming too much. For example:

Carbohydrates provide fuel for the body and are it's preferred fuel source. It is especially important for youths, as they are experiencing rapid growth. Excess carbohydrates which are consumed are stored as adipose tissue. Thus, may lead to weight gain. Consequences of being overweight include negative body image, reduced ability to exercise and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Food sources are fruits, vegetables and grains, such as rice and pasta.

Furthermore, you will need to apply the same type of knowledge on the following vitamins and minerals:

- Water

- Calcium

- Iron

- Sodium

- Vitamin D

- Vitamins B1, B2, B3

- Folate

- Vitamin B12

Next, you will need to know about the food selection models Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, Health Star Rating System and Healthy Eating Pyramid. You should be able to recall what is included in them, their purpose and how they benefit society.

You will also learn about various sources of nutrition information, including the difference between dietitians and nutritionists. This is very brief, you really only need to know that dietitians can offer treatment and have completed professional practise. More importantly, you need to be able to know how to analyse how valid a piece of media is. For example, the author's credentials help identify how reliable the information is.

If you're also a Business Management student, you may find the what will be learnt next interesting. It relates to how food marketing affects our choices of food. The types of marketing you need to be able to define and identify how they affect young people include:

Similarily in the first area of study, I suggest you familiarise yourself with the enablers and barriers which limit or contribute to healthy eating. These factors are categorised as social, cultural and political. These factors consist of:

Social Factors

• Family
• Friends
• Social media
• Socioeconomic status

 Cultural Factors

• Religion
• Ethnicity
• Gender

 Political Factors

• Food policies
• Food labelling
• Health Promotion

Area of Study Three - Youth Health and Wellbeing

This area of study felt kind of rushed when we completed it. Therefore, I apologise if it isn't in as much detail or as helpful as the prior areas which I'm more familiar with. Also, it was definetly my least favourite area of study in comparison to the ones prior (I still liked it it though). 

To begin with, you will need to know areas of health which are a concern for young people. They include: 

That's quite a lot, right? Fortunately, you don't need to know heaps of information about all of them. Just ensure that you know the definitions and effect on health and wellbeing. I found that you don't particularly need to memorise statistics relating to each, just know the basics like what demographic is mainly affected. Additionally, I suggest you familiarise yourself with the terms health inequalities and social inequalities. 

Furthermore, you will need to know various government and non-government organisations which provide support for youths in regards to these issues. Examples include: 

- Coward Punch (relating to alcohol use)

- Doctors in Schools

- Way Out (relating to discrimination)

- Rethink Sugary Drinks (relating to weight issues)

You don't need to know a lot of these, just a couple relating to what they provide and the campaign's aim. 

Also, you will need to know what the community expects of these campaigns. Essentially, you need to know that society expects these programs to be:

- Effective

- Strength-based

- Respectful and confidential

- Accessible

As stated previously, there are various areas of concern in regards to youth health. You will need to study one of them in more detail. I'm not sure if every school studies the same topic, but we studied mental health. Therefore, the following information will be about that. 

You will need to learn the definitions of anxiety and depression. After, you will need to familiarise yourself with the consequences that poor mental health has on all the dimensions of health learnt in the first area of study. The following is an example for physical health: 

Mental health problems and disorders may cause nausea, sleep issues and an increased sensitivity to pain. Furthermore, one suffering from anxiety or depression may experience overeating and low energy.

You should also understand the risk and protective factors. In other words, you should know the enablers and barriers to achieving good mental health. You should know factors relating to:

- Individuals

- Family

- Friends

- School

- Community

Similarly to what is taught in regards to all areas of concern, you will need you know services and campaigns which provide resources and support in regards to mental health, for example Youthbeyondblue and Headspace. You also should be aware of how the community views these programs Furthermore, you will need to know what personal strategies (such as talking to friends) can assist sufferers.

Also, you will need to know the definitions of direct costs, indirect costs and intangible costs.You should be able to provide examples. 

Lastly, you will learn about advocacy. You should be able to recall the definitions and (more importantly) examples of:

• Policy advocacy
• Public advocacy
• Community advocacy (including youth-led programs)

You will need to know the steps for planning advocacy, which are as follows:

1. What is the health or social inequality which needs to be promoted?
2. What needs to change. 
3. What is currently known about the health or social inequality?
4. In what format could the advocacy be presented. 

That's it! To anyone who is currently completing or is planning on undertaking the subject, I wish you the best of luck. Health and Human Development is a great subject and if you put in the effort, you can easily do well. Also, this is my first attempt at writing something like this, so I apologise if it isn't the greatest. Feedback through the comments or the contact form on the side bar would be appreciated. If this helped you, please let me know, as I may write similar posts about other subjects. 🙂