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Advice for teachers -
Health and Human Development

Unit 1 – Area of Study 1: Health perspectives and influences

Outcome 1

Explain multiple dimensions of health and wellbeing, explain indicators used to measure health status and analyse factors that contribute to variations in health status of youth.

Examples of learning activities

  • facilitate an introductory class discussion about health and wellbeing beginning with the following: when someone asks ‘How are you?’ they are politely asking about your health and wellbeing; a response might be quick and automatic; ask students to think about it, when they answer that they are ‘well’, ‘not bad’ or ‘good’, what exactly do they mean? Make a list of what it takes to truly feel in ‘good’ health
  • investigate and deconstruct the World Health Organization’s definition of health: ‘A state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’; discuss the meaning of each element in isolation; ask students to write their own definition of what they understand health to be
  • health and wellbeing have been subject over many years to different definitions and philosophies, many of which identify ‘pillars’ of health that should be considered as part of an integrated approach (e.g. nutrition, exercise, sleep); research some of these approaches to defining optimal health and wellbeing (the number of ‘pillars’ will vary); ask students to map suggested ‘pillars’ under the headings: physical, social, emotional, mental and spiritual
  • create a concept map or infographic to show that there are physical, social, emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions to the concepts of health and wellbeing; students could use concept mapping software such as SmartDraw, Visio, Webspiration Classroom, Cmap, Inspiration, MindManager, Mind42, MindMeister, Mindomo, Bubbl.us, or FreeMind to develop their concept map or to create an infographic they could use Canva or Piktochart
  • write a short story or a scene for a movie/play that features people with various strengths and challenges related to their health and wellbeing; annotate the piece to show which dimensions of health are motivating or affecting the characters: physical, social, emotional, mental and/or spiritual
  • the introduction to Unit 1 in the study design states that ‘Wellbeing is a complex combination of all dimensions of health, characterised by an equilibrium in which the individual feels happy, healthy, capable and engaged’; ask students to find a dictionary meaning of ‘equilibrium’ (which will mostly emphasise ‘balance’); students then briefly record their own examples of when they have felt: happy, not happy, healthy, not healthy, capable, not capable, engaged, not engaged; ask the class to suggest ways in which a ‘not’ can be balanced by a ‘but’; explain that these are examples of wellbeing, the feeling that ‘on balance, things are okay, or I think they will be’
  • produce a report that explains what spiritual health is and how it may interact with other dimensions of health; the following quote could be a good starting point: ‘While organised religion and prayer … can certainly be part of spiritual health, (it) can also consist of broader concepts such as hope, purpose, and peace … An individual with high levels of spiritual wellness will experience increased physical, social, and emotional health’ (John Koshuta, Professor of Health Science, Carroll University)
  • conduct primary research within the class/school, asking questions such as:
    • What do you care most about?
    • Is your health important to you?
    • What does it mean to be healthy/well?
    collate class data and draw some generalised conclusions about youth perspectives on health and wellbeing
  • conduct primary research among people of diverse age, gender, ethnic background, religion and/or socioeconomic status, asking questions such as:
    • What do you care most about?
    • Is your health important to you?
    • What does it mean to be healthy/well?
    collate class data and draw some generalised conclusions about perspectives on health and wellbeing
  • ask students to reflect on their individual attitudes and perceptions of physical, social, emotional, mental and spiritual health by explaining each one and ranking the dimensions according to how important they think they are; students then find and present some case studies of attitudes/perceptions of health and wellbeing that differ from their own
  • ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have the right to live a healthy, safe and empowered life with a healthy, strong connection to culture and country’ (National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013−2023, p.7); read the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013−2023 and summarise its priorities
  • students analyse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives on health and wellbeing by comparing the central priority of the 2013−2023 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan with their own priorities, and answering the question: ‘What do I need for a healthy, safe and empowered life?’
  • as a class, discuss whether the following statement applies to every Australian, not just the indigenous community: ‘To us, health is about so much more than simply not being sick. It's about getting a balance between physical, mental, emotional, cultural and spiritual health. Health and healing are interwoven, which means that one can’t be separated from the other’ (Dr Tamara Mackean, Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association, cited by Creative Spirits
  • 'Culture can influence Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s decisions about when and why they should seek health services, their acceptance of treatment, the likelihood of adherence to treatment and follow-up, and the likely success of prevention and health promotion strategies’ (National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013−2023 , p.9); investigate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’ attitudes towards health and health care by accessing the health plan online; explain Indigenous perspectives about health and health care by creating a graphic organiser or annotated poster
  • access the most recent edition of Australia’s Health; define and explain the use of each of the following measures of health status: incidence, prevalence, morbidity, hospitalisation rates, burden of disease, mortality, life expectancy, core activity limitation, psychological distress and self-assessed health status
  • ‘Research has shown that self-assessed health is a predictor of mortality and morbidity’ (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007); ask students to access the most recent ABS ‘Self-assessed health in Australia: A snapshot’ report; produce a short written report or visual presentation to identify the factors that influence Australians’ assessment of their own health status and to explain the meaning of the above quote
  • as a class, brainstorm ‘What is all this health and wellbeing data for?’
  • investigate and identify the five strategic priorities (for 2015–2025) of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Health Council’s Healthy, safe and thriving: National Strategic Framework for Child and Youth Health (see Australia’s Health 2016, Chapter 5.3 How healthy are Australia’s children?)
  • identify the six COAG Health Council objectives that have actions relating to youth health and are measurable using existing data (see Australia’s Health 2016, Chapter 5.4 Health of young Australians); summarise how Australia’s young people are faring in relation to these objectives
  • watch an episode of the ABC documentary series Keeping Australia Alive (2016); map all the examples of sociocultural factors making a difference to young people’s health status and their access to health care
  • ‘Risky behaviours are particularly prevalent in youth’; ask students to find out whether this statement is supported by health data
  • prepare a written, oral or visual response to the topic ‘I am not just a statistic’; the task should involve consideration of whether health and wellbeing (especially of individuals) can really be measured
  • as a class, list behaviours that could be considered ‘health behaviours’; create a separate list of as many factors that the class can think of that might be considered ‘sociocultural’; go through the lists quickly together, writing next to each listed word another word that describes a possible health consequence of that particular behaviour or circumstance
  • analyse the following two statements from VicHealth:
    • ‘We recognise that the social and economic conditions for all people influence their health’
    • ‘We promote fairness and opportunity for better health’.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    divide the class into groups, allocating one of the following sociocultural factors to each: peer group, housing, education, employment, income, and access to information and support; each group discusses and researches how and why their factor can make a difference to both health behaviour and health status; each group presents their findings to the class through a visual presentation such as a short video or play, a website or a display of images
  • ‘The data tells us there is no employment gap, no employment gap between Indigenous Australians and non-indigenous Australians with a university degree’ (Prime Minister’s Closing the Gap speech, February 2017); the ABC News labelled the above quote a ‘window of hope’ for aboriginal health; analyse these statements within the context of sociocultural influences on health and wellbeing
  • collect and share examples of how access to digital technologies can enhance health and wellbeing for individuals and communities, with an emphasis on opportunities provided for minority groups and others who may experience disadvantage in the community
Example icon for advice for teachers 

Detailed example

Visual presentation: sociocultural influences on health
and wellbeing

As an introduction to the activity, discuss ‘sociocultural’ as a combination of social and cultural factors that contribute to health and wellbeing. Ask students to consider the following quote and create a concept map of their own ‘sociocultural context’: ‘Children grow up in specific physical, social, cultural, economic and historical circumstances – their sociocultural context’ ( Open University).

Divide the class into groups, allocating one of the following sociocultural factors to each: peer group, housing, education, employment, income, and access to information and support. Each group begins with a brainstorm of ways in which their allocated factor might influence health and wellbeing. They should particularly think about how this factor might make a difference to Australian youth.

With a focus on their allocated sociocultural factor, students research differences in health behaviours and health status among Australian youth, drawing evidence-based conclusions about risk factors and protective factors. (The AIHW publication Young Australians: their health and wellbeing is good source of data, as is the ARACY Report Card .

While researching, the group should plan a visual presentation of their topic, collecting images and ideas that will assist them to share their findings with the class.

Findings and conclusions are shared with the class via a visual presentation such as: a short video, a roleplay or other dramatic presentation, a website or social media presentation or a display of images. For example students could use Comic Life, Animoto or Padlet to create display of images. Visit the Department of Education and Training FUSE for a tutorial to assist in using Comic Life or download the Digital Deck: eduSTAR – Comic Life.