Unit 4 – Area of Study 1: Health and wellbeing in a global context
Outcome 1
Analyse similarities and differences in health status and burden of disease globally and the factors that contribute to differences in health and wellbeing.
Examples of learning activities
- view the Miniature Earth Project video to give a context to the area of study
- as a class, brainstorm characteristics and indicators of high-, middle- and low-income countries; present findings as a mind map; using a map of the world, identify countries that would be classified as being high-, middle- or low-income; ask students to compare their map using the World Bank classifications
- distribute a collection of country names; in pairs, students rank the countries in order of income; as a class, compare rankings to the Gapminder Health & Wealth of nations map
- in small groups, use Gapminder’s Dollar Street to create a case study of a typical family with regard to their access to safe water, sanitation, food and cooking resources (choose from a range of income groups); identify how these factors may contribute to inequalities in health status; share results and findings with other groups; present findings using Comic Life, Animoto or Padlet
- using Viz Hub, University of Washington Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, investigate the life expectancy and probability of death in two low-income countries, two middle-income countries and two high-income, including Australia; discuss and share trends
- access ‘If it were my home’ to compare Australia to a variety of middle- and low-income countries
- in small groups, use WHO data or World Vision case studies for a high-, middle- and low-income country to create a Venn diagram that compares and contrasts a country in each classification
- in small groups, create a Symbaloo with a focus on factors that contribute to burden of disease, with links to related information, case studies and videos
- use documentaries such as (ABC) Foreign Correspondent episodes ‘80 Million a Day’ (2009) and ‘Fat’s New Frontier’ (2012) to explore the impact of smoking and processed food on rates of disease burden
- read the Guardian article about the BBC documentary India’s Supersize Kids or read the article ‘Indians are getting as fat as Americans’ (Martha de Lacey, Daily Mail, 2013); discuss how global distribution and marketing of processed foods is contributing to similarities and differences in burden of disease
- view the video ‘Slum stories: Kenya – Going to the toilet in a slum’ (Amnesty International 2011, 6 mins) to compare access to sanitation in low- and high-income countries
- view the video ‘Sustainability easily explained’ (explainity channel 2012, YouTube, 4 mins)
- use a variety of case studies such as Practical Action - indoor smoke to show how sustainable action or programs across the three areas (environmental, social and economic) can promote health and wellbeing in individuals and communities
- view the World Vision Australia video ‘How do we measure poverty?’ (2015, 3.09 mins) as an introduction to the ‘Human Development Index’
- use the United Nations Development Programme to access information regarding human development and the ‘Human Development Index’; create a brochure of frequently asked questions with corresponding answers designed to inform others about the use, relevance and limitations of the ‘Human Development Index’ as a measure
- investigate the ‘Human Development Index’s range of low- middle- and high-income countries; use the United Nations Development Programme to consider the relationship between a country’s income and its HDI
- use the United Nations Population Fund article (2014) to consider some recent global changes and trends
- as a class or in small groups, create a mind map that identifies possible health and wellbeing outcomes for each of the following global trends:
- climate change
- conflict and mass migration
- increased world trade and tourism
- digital technologies.
- consider the implications for different low-, middle- and high-income countries; access Kiribati Climate Change; discuss the impact of climate change on health and wellbeing in Kiribati
- use a case study such as the one found at United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs about Nigeria: providing safety during conflict (2016) to identify examples of the impact of conflict on health and wellbeing
- use the WHO Regional Office for Europe to create an infographic about the impact of migration on health and wellbeing
- view the video ‘Developing nations of Africa and Asia receive new ultrasound for maternal health’ (GE Healthcare 2015, 3.18 mins) and explain how having access to this technology could enhance the health and wellbeing of pregnant women
- view the World Vision Australia video ‘Aid and trade?’ (2015, 3.11 mins); use the case study on Indonesia presented in the video to explain the implications for health and wellbeing of increased trade and tourism
Detailed example
Case study analysis: comparing Australia with other countries
Access ‘If it were my home’. Compare Australia to a variety of middle- and low-income countries.
Research case studies and data from sites such as Viz Hub (University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation) to compare the burden of disease in low- and middle-income countries compared to Australia and the factors that contribute to variations.
Students create a presentation to demonstrate their research findings.
Use a range of case studies or video clips of developing countries that reflect the influence of access to safe water, sanitation, poverty, inequality and discrimination (race, religion, sex and/or gender identity), and global distribution and marketing of tobacco, alcohol and processed foods for comparisons between Australia and a selected low- and middle-income country. Students use these case studies and video clips to discuss how these factors account for similarities and differences in burden of disease.
Students select one case study and prepare a visual presentation/report, which includes:
- an identification and justification of the income group that the selected countries represent
- a comparison of the burden of disease of each of the selected countries and Australia
- identification and explanation of two influences that could lead to differences in the burden of disease.
Ideas for using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) include:
Apps: Keynote, Index Card
Software: Comic Life, PowerPoint Web 2.0: Prezi, Glogster, Padlet, Symbaloo,
Animoto