Medical Humanities

Unit Code

01077

Department/Institution Offering Unit

Centre for Health and Society
School of Population Health
University of Melbourne
Level 4, 207 Bouverie St
Carlton
Victoria 3053 Australia

web: www.chs.unimelb.edu.au

Unit Points

Research Points: 50

Coursework Points: 50

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Contacts

Unit Coordinator/s:

Dr Alison Brookes
Centre for Health and Society
School of Population Health
University of Melbourne
Level 4, 207 Bouverie Street
Carlton
Victoria 3053 Australia

tel: +61 3 8344 0826
fax: +61 3 8344 0824
email: abroo@unimelb.edu.au

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Overall Objectives

Medical Humanities is a broad field of study that focuses on the intersection between health care, health and illness, and the humanities and social sciences. The overall aim of Medical Humanities is to use the concepts and analytic tools from various humanities disciplines to enhance understanding of the complexities of health and illness, and the provision of health care, at the level of both individual doctors and patients, and health care systems. Some of the disciplines included in the medical humanities are:

• History
• Anthropology
• Ethics
• Sociology
• Health Policy
• Aboriginal Health, which draws on a number of disciplinary conceptual frameworks and methodologies.

Students in the Medical Humanities unit will usually undertake an analytic or theoretical project based on published literature or other documentary sources. These projects do not require ethics approval. The unit is organised as follows:

Semester 6: undertake 4 coursework subjects;
use these to help frame and refine a research topic;
read and critically review literature for the research project; and
finalise research proposal (i.e. the plan for writing the project).
Semester 7: early drafts of research report;
further reading and analysis; and
intensive re-writing process to produce final draft.

Students may be able to undertake a small-scale data collection or fieldwork project in Medical Humanities, if this is relevant to their research topic, but this would need special permission from the Unit Co-ordinator. Students interested in doing fieldwork or data collection are advised to consider the Social Health unit instead, which may better suit their research interests. Note that there is some flexibility to transfer from Medical Humanities to Social Health after Semester 6 has started.

The objectives of the Medical Humanities unit are to provide students with:

Perspectives, concepts and analytical tools from the humanities and social sciences with which to think critically and constructively about health, illness and clinical care.
The opportunity to investigate in detail an issue of personal interest, in a setting which encourages the challenging of accepted ideas and the use of sophisticated theoretical frameworks, and where students' own perspectives are valued as a key part of the research process.
Extensive training in writing for academic audiences, as a key skill needed for a successful medical career.
Enrichment and enhancement of personal and cultural resources relevant to the needs of future medical practitioners in both their professional and private lives.
Students undertaking an Aboriginal Health project will gain a greater understanding of the health problems faced by Indigenous communities and of issues in health service delivery and health policy, including concepts such as self-determination. Students will be encouraged to develop a self-reflexive approach to understanding Indigenous health and Indigenous issues that will enable them to reflect upon their own attitudes, those of others, and those which might be embedded in institutional practices and policies. For more information on possible Aboriginal Health projects, contact Mr Shaun Ewen on sewen@unimelb.edu.au or see www.chs.unimelb.edu.au/koori/index.html

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Content

Coursework: Students take 4 x 12.5 points coursework subjects, all in Semester 6. All students undertake the research training subject Qualitative Health Research. The other subjects are chosen from a wide range of subjects offered by the Faculty of Arts; see the Faculty of Arts website www.arts.unimelb.edu.au/courses/ugs/study_areas.html for subject details. Students are encouraged to choose subjects that are relevant to their own area of research interest, in terms of content, or key concepts and theoretical approaches. Students will be assisted with subject choice in an individual course planning session at the beginning of Semester 6.
NB The Jamkhed course run by the Australian International Health Institute can be one of the coursework options. This subject is largely self-funded by students.

Research: The research component consists of a supervised 7000-10,000 word written research report. Students may either develop their own area of interest within the Medical Humanities, with the guidance of their supervisor, or work on established research projects being undertaken by CHS staff and associates. Information about CHS staff and their research interests can be found at www.chs.unimelb.edu.au/. Short (1-2 months) overseas placements to conduct library or archival research may be possible, but special approval from the Unit Co-ordinator is required .

Sample Research Topics: Examples of current and past AMS Medical Humanities research projects (A copy of all Medical Humanities research projects from previous years can be accessed at the Centre for Health and Society, Level 4/207 Bouverie Street.)

1. Over-the-counter pre-natal genetic diagnostic kits. The student undertook a critical analysis of the arguments raised in the literature and developed an ethical position on an emerging technology. An article arising from this project has been submitted to an international journal.
2. How have biomedical attitudes to alternative therapies changed in the past 20 years? The student undertook a content analysis of the biomedical literature to assess how terms such as 'holistic', 'complementary' and 'alternative' have been used over the past two decades.
3. Moral responsibilities of drug companies to provide AIDS drugs free to people in less economically affluent countries. This project analysed the arguments made in the media and by lobby groups that drug companies should provide AIDS drugs gratis to developing countries. It used bioethical frameworks to argue that the situation is actually more complicated than that. An article arising from this project has been accepted by an international journal.
4. A historical analysis of Chinese eugenics. For this project the student undertook a study of the history and development of eugenics in China , focusing on the 1995 eugenics legislation. Texts and archival material both in English and Chinese were analysed.
5. Women's magazines and public health messages about obesity. The student is undertook a content analysis of the way in which public health messages are presented in popular women's magazines.
6. Placebo surgery: the ethics of harm for knowledge's sake. This project used a comprehensive literature review analysed within relevant bioethical frameworks to draw conclusions and make recommendations for further research and practice.
7. La via Chilena and the medical profession: From dictatorship to democracy - doctors and the Chilean road to health. This is a literature-based study of the Chilean medical profession's role in the shaping of their country's health care system, particularly focusing on the profession's attitude to Salvador Allende's Socialist government.
8. The Witch: Mad, bad or misunderstood? This project is an historical analysis of how the debates over science and religion in the late nineteenth century led to the creation of the popular myth that the victims of the European witch- craze were mostly mentally ill.

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Assessment Breakdown

Research Component: 50 points
Research Report (7000 - 10,000 words): 85%
February Work-in-Progress Oral presentation: 15%

Coursework Component: 50 points
Subjects will be assessed by written assignment and, in some cases, by examination. The total word limits and hours of examination depend on subjects chosen (see individual subjects for further information), including Qualitative Health Research.

School of Population Health AMS Conference
At the end of the AMS year, all Medical Humanities students present the findings from their research reports at the School of Population Health AMS Conference . The conference is held at the University, and is usually attended by 80-100 people. Where appropriate, supervisors will encourage students to publish their work.

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Student Numbers

Number of places available:
25