Students

ESPS2000 – Behaviour Change for Health and Exercise

2024 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Rebecca Cross
esps2000@mq.edu.au
Rohan Edmonds
esps2000@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
PSYU1101 & ESPS1000
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit introduces you to the key psychological theories underlying contemporary approaches to health behaviour change, in individuals and at the population level. In this unit you will develop skills in the design and evaluation of evidence-based health behaviour change interventions. Additionally, this unit will teach the foundational principles of motivational interviewing, an empirically-supported communication style that assists health professionals in conversing with individuals about lifestyle behaviour change. Learning activities will include interactive lectures, simulations, and observations. Through this unit you will gain essential research and communication skills to support your career in promoting health and behaviour change.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Apply various theoretical models of health behaviour change to specific health issues
  • ULO2: Critically evaluate strategies to support health behaviour change initiatives and promote exercise adherence
  • ULO3: Outline the common barriers and facilitators of lifestyle change and disease prevention for diverse populations
  • ULO4: Describe and demonstrate the key tasks, principles, skills and spirit of motivational interviewing

General Assessment Information

Grade descriptors and other information concerning grading are contained in the Macquarie University Assessment Policy. 

All final grades are determined by a grading committee, in accordance with the Macquarie University Assessment Policy, and are not the sole responsibility of the Unit Convenor. 

Students will be awarded a final grade and a mark which must correspond to the grade descriptors specified in the Assessment Procedure (clause 128). 

To pass this unit, you must demonstrate sufficient evidence of achievement of the learning outcomes, meet any ungraded requirements, and achieve a final mark of 50 or better. You must also make a serious attempt at all assessment items. 

Further details for each assessment task will be available on iLearn. 

Late Submissions 

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (OF THE TOTAL POSSIBLE MARK) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.   

 For example: 

Number of days (hours) late 

Total Possible Marks 

Deduction 

Raw mark 

Final mark 

1 day (1-24 hours) 

100 

5 

75 

70 

2 days (24-48 hours) 

100 

10 

75 

65 

3 days (48-72 hours) 

100 

15 

75 

60 

7 days (144-168 hours)  

100 

35 

75 

40 

>7 days (>168 hours) 

100 

- 

75 

0 

 

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.  

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Personal Health Initiative 30% No Week 3 (Part A) and Week 7 (Part B)
Health Consultation Simulation 30% No Week 9
Open book exam 40% No Exam Period

Personal Health Initiative

Assessment Type 1: Plan
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 3 (Part A) and Week 7 (Part B)
Weighting: 30%

 

Part A - Design and plan a personal health initiative. Part B - Critically reflect on the personal health initiative.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply various theoretical models of health behaviour change to specific health issues
  • Critically evaluate strategies to support health behaviour change initiatives and promote exercise adherence
  • Outline the common barriers and facilitators of lifestyle change and disease prevention for diverse populations

Health Consultation Simulation

Assessment Type 1: Simulation/role play
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Week 9
Weighting: 30%

 

You will participate in a consultation with a client about changing their behaviour.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Outline the common barriers and facilitators of lifestyle change and disease prevention for diverse populations
  • Describe and demonstrate the key tasks, principles, skills and spirit of motivational interviewing

Open book exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: Exam Period
Weighting: 40%

 

End of session open book exam

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply various theoretical models of health behaviour change to specific health issues
  • Critically evaluate strategies to support health behaviour change initiatives and promote exercise adherence
  • Outline the common barriers and facilitators of lifestyle change and disease prevention for diverse populations
  • Describe and demonstrate the key tasks, principles, skills and spirit of motivational interviewing

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

As a student enrolled in this unit, you will engage in a range of face-to-face learning activities, including on-campus lectures and tutorials. Details can be found on the iLearn site for this unit.

Recommended Readings

  • Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2012). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change. 3rd Edition. Guilford Press: New York, USA
  • Hagger, M., Cameron, L., Hamilton, K., Hankonen, N., & Lintunen, T. (Eds.). (2020). The Handbook of Behavior Change (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108677318

Technology Used

Active participation in the learning activities throughout the unit will require students to have access to a tablet, laptop or similar device. Students who do not own their own laptop computer may borrow one from the university library.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

The unit is unchanged from 2023.

Unit information based on version 2024.01R of the Handbook