HSN745 - Community and Public Health Nutrition
Unit details
| Year | 2027 unit information |
|---|---|
| Enrolment modes | Semester 1: Burwood (Melbourne) |
| Credit point(s) | 2 |
| EFTSL value | 0.250 |
| Unit chair | Semester 1: Alison Spence Semester 2: Penny Love |
| Cohort rule | This unit is only available to students enrolled in H718 |
| Previously | Community Nutrition |
| Prerequisite | HSN744 and completed HSN757 or HSN740 |
| Corequisite | Nil |
| Incompatible with | Nil |
| Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - on-campus unit enrolment | 2 weeks part-time at Burwood (Melbourne) pre-placement, 7 weeks full-time community professional experience (placement). Seminars, professional experience (placement) and assessment tasks may take place outside of Deakin University teaching periods. |
| Typical study commitment | Students will on average spend 300 hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities for this unit. |
NoteThere is an enrolment quota for this unit. Self-enrolment function is not available for this unit. Students wishing to enrol in this unit will need approval from the Unit Chair. This unit has mandatory on campus attendance requirements, therefore students must be in Australia when enrolled in this unit. Note for All students enrolling into this unit Note for International students only | |
Content
This unit prepares students for community nutrition placements by developing skills in practical public health nutrition, including preparation of project proposals, budget submissions, project management and evaluation, report writing and addressing the needs of specific groups. Students then apply these skills to complete a community fieldwork project as a group project.
Mandatory student checks
Department of Human Services policy - Police Record Check and Working With Children Check
In accordance with Department of Human Services policy, all students are required to undertake a National Police Record Check prior to placements in each calendar year of their course.
In accordance with the Department of Justice 2007, Working with Children Act 2005, amended 2017, all students are required to undertake a Working with Children Check at the commencement of their course. Students who fail to obtain a Police Record Check and a Working with Children Check prior to the commencement of placement will not be able to undertake placement and this will impede progress in the course.
Students may also be required to declare their immunisation status to satisfy the requirements of health organisations where they will be undertaking their learning experience. A health organisation may refuse to accept a student for placement if the student’s immunisation status is not satisfactory to the health organisation.
Learning outcomes
| ULO | These are the Unit Learning Outcomes (ULOs) for this unit. At the completion of this unit, successful students can: | Alignment to Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs) |
|---|---|---|
| ULO1 | Develop and apply skills in professional dietetic practice in the area of community and public health nutrition, in line with current DA National Competency Standards for Dietitians in Australia. | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities |
| ULO2 | Plan, implement and critically evaluate evidence based community and public health nutrition activities and projects for individuals, groups, communities and stakeholders. | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities |
| ULO3 | Demonstrate reflective, adaptive, culturally sensitive, safe and ethical practice in the field of community and public health nutrition, including recognising systems which impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, and reflecting on the role dietitians play within these systems. | GLO2: Communication |
| ULO4 | Communicate professional- standard nutrition information with diverse audiences using appropriate methods and materials, including oral, written and online presentations, reports and multimedia. | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities |
| ULO5 | Demonstrate effective collaboration, contribute to team projects, and communicate and utilise feedback effectively with team members and stakeholders to support group interactions and successful project completion. | GLO2: Communication |
| ULO6 | Develop and apply critical thinking to the evolving context, role and scope of public health and community nutrition within local healthcare and health promotion systems. | GLO4: Critical thinking |
Note – From 2026, Deakin commenced introducing Graduate Attributes (GAs), which define the distinctive characteristics of a Deakin graduate. You may notice some units still refer to Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs) during this transition period.
Assessment
| Assessment description | Student output | Grading and weighting (% total mark for unit) | Indicative due week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment 1: Individual and Team Based Learning (TBL) tasks | 10% |
| |
| Assessment 2: Cultural competency assessment | 1000 words | 10% |
|
| Assessment 3: Group placement project report, group presentation and individual reflection | Report: 3000 words Group presentation: 8 minutes Reflection: 500 words | Report: 35% Group presentation: 10% Reflection: 5% Total: 50% |
|
| Assessment 4: Breadth | 2500 words | 30% |
|
The assessment due weeks provided may change. The Unit Chair will clarify the exact assessment requirements, including the due date, at the start of the teaching period.
Hurdle requirements
- Professional placement and competency based assessment (ungraded Pass/Fail)
- Failure of the practicum component will lead to a fail in this unit and may lead to exclusion.
Travel commitment
Because of the need for professional practice at external sites, all students undertaking the course should be aware of the required need for travel to placement sites. The requirement to travel is very real and travel time for metro placements will usually take less than 1.5 hours each way. It is also likely that you will attend at least one rural placement during the course.
Learning resource
The texts and reading list for HSN745 can be found via the University Library.
Note: Select the relevant semester reading list. Please note that a future teaching period's reading list may not be available until a month prior to the start of that teaching period so you may wish to use the relevant semester's prior year reading list as a guide only.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
To fully engage with Deakin's learning experiences, students must be able to access and use internet-connected devices as outlined in computing requirements at Deakin.
To support student success at Deakin, we have a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) learning environment that acknowledges that students and educators bring with them the digital tools they regularly use to complete academic tasks. These tools stay with you beyond the classroom, helping you to keep learning, explore ideas more deeply, and connect with knowledge in ways that matter to you.
Students requiring a loan device should visit our Loan Laptop webpage or students requiring longer-term assistance should visit our Student Financial Assistance webpage.
Unit fee information
Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study and their study discipline, and your study load.
Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.
For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current Students website.