Mothers & Babies, Ethiopia. Photo: L. Natoli

Coordinator: 

Ms Lisa Natoli

Synopsis: 

This intensive six day course is accredited by Monash University and may be credited towards a Master of Public Health or Master of International Health degree, a Graduate Diploma in International Health or a Master of International Reseach Bioethics, or may be attended by persons not seeking any academic accreditation.

Good communication skills are essential for working in the health and development field.  This Unit focuses on communication skills and ideas that may be useful in training of health workers, in information gathering, in planning, management and evaluation, in health promotion and in communicating with communities.

The course is suitable for individuals contemplating work overseas in community development and/or health programs.  It is also suitable for those wishing to gain an understanding of the principles and theory of training systems and programs, and health promotion strategies, in the international health arena.

Through a combination of theory and practical sessions the course is designed to enhance participants' knowledge and understanding of the use of participatory methods and exercises for communication.  A variety of interactive teaching methods will be used that demonstrate the principles we present, and allow an opportunity for sharing of communication ideas and experiences from both staff and participants.

Course Content

The course will cover the following topics:

  • Principles of adult learning;
  • Components of training systems; different models of training, including competency-based training, Train the Trainer cascade approach, and distance learning 
  • Principles of social marketing and behaviour change communication;
  • Developing effective behaviour change communication and social marketing strategies, including developing story boards, and working with the media;
  • Group processes
  • Participatory teaching methods, including role plays, simulation games, use of models and pictures;
  • Participatory tools and exercises for stimulating discussion (e.g. ten seed technique, causal diagrams, matrix ranking, mapping, problem trees)
  • Principles of cross-cultural and gender-sensitive communication;
  • Writing effectively and appropriately for different audience

Dates:

21 - 28 October 2009 (6 days with no classes over weekend)

Venue:

Burnet Institute Training rooms
85 Commercial Rd, Melbourne, Australia 

Cost (short course applicants only):

AUD$1,200 (individuals)
AUD$990 (ACFID members)

 Application form