HLTH661 Individual Assessment

Assessment Task

This assignment focuses on an advanced exploration of the pathophysiology of a chosen condition, with the goal of enhancing your critical thinking and application of evidence-based clinical practice. You will analyse the epidemiology, pathophysiological processes, and clinical manifestations of the condition while integrating determinants of health and cultural contexts specific to Aotearoa New Zealand. The assignment must use a de-identified case study from your clinical practice, requiring client consent to ensure confidentiality. Assignments are evaluated based on knowledge of advanced pathophysiology, depth of critical analysis, alignment with New Zealand-specific data, and incorporation of current literature. The assignment must provide insights into the socio-cultural factors affecting disease progression and clinical outcomes.

Practical Application

This assessment equips clinical practitioners to apply advanced pathophysiological knowledge in clinical practice. By analysing disease prevalence and manifestations within the Aotearoa New Zealand context, learners can critically evaluate health disparities and incorporate social, cultural, and environmental determinants of health into their analyses. Linking clinical manifestations to underlying disease processes enhances understanding of conditions, supports evidence-based decision-making, and ensures culturally appropriate, personalised care. This approach is particularly important for improving outcomes for Māori and Pacific populations while fostering equity in healthcare delivery.

Detailed Instructions

1. Choose your case

a. Consider the listed conditions and reflect on your current client profile in your area of practice.

b. Identify which condition best matches your client group and consider whether you have a client who may be willing to consent to having their clinical details used for this assessment.

c. Ensure all information used is non-identifiable to maintain confidentiality.

d. Obtain consent from the client for their relevant clinical details to be used. (It is recommended that this consent is documented in their clinical notes to provide a formal record.)

e. Inform the client that academic course staff will have access to the de-identified clinical information.

f. The client should have one of the following disorders:

i. Asthma
ii. Hypertension
iii. Cancer – you will need to identify the specific type of cancer.
iv. Dementia – you will need to specify the specific type of dementia.

g. If you are unable to locate a client with one of these disorders, please contact your facilitator to discuss options.

2.  Epidemiology

a. Discuss the prevalence and distribution of the condition in Aotearoa | New Zealand.

b. Critically compare New Zealand-specific data to international data, highlighting similarities, differences, and possible reasons for any variations.

3. Pathophysiology

a. Identify the specific risks evident for the case study and critically analyse similarities and differences from the recognised risks for this condition with possible reasons for any variation.

b. Provide a comprehensive description of advanced pathophysiological processes, including disease progression.

4. Clinical Manifestations

a. Analyse the clinical manifestations observed in the case study and link them explicitly to the underlying pathophysiology of the condition.

b. Identify and provide a rationale for differences in your case from the expected clinical presentation for the condition.

5. Determinants of Health

a. Critically examine the lifespan, environmental, social, and cultural determinants of health that have influenced the disease progression and clinical manifestations in the case study.

b. Support your analysis with current literature, emphasising New Zealand-specific perspectives.

Recommended Structure

Document for submission must include the following declaration of own work:  Please complete and then copy and paste the following statement, with your initials and include as the first page in your submitted assignment.  Your work will not be marked without this completed declaration.

Declaration of original Work

I, [Your Full Name], hereby declare that the work submitted in this assignment is my own original work. I acknowledge that I have only used AI tools to support grammar and layout improvements. I confirm that I have not used AI tools for the following aspects of this assignment:

o Developing the research question or hypothesis
o Production of the final manuscript
o Finding and selecting articles
o Analysing and synthesising articles
o Development of themes
o Conducting data analysis or interpretation
o Creating figures, tables, or charts
o Generating citations or references

I understand that any violation of this declaration may result in academic penalties as per the institution’s policies on academic integrity.

Student initials:

Date:

Remaining structure to include: 

• Introduction
  o Approximately 10% of the total word count.
  o Clearly outline the purpose of the assignment and the key areas to be covered. Epidemiology
• Pathophysiology
• Clinical manifestations
• Determinants of health
• Conclusion
  o Approximately 10% of the total word count.
  o Do not introduce new information or references in the conclusion.
• Reference list

Research and Referencing 

Referencing Style:

• Adhere to APA 7th Edition for in-text citations and the reference list. Guidance is available on the UC library website.
• Avoid secondary sources (reference primary sources where possible).
• Avoid using quotes where possible, except for epidemiological facts.

Plagiarism:

• Reference all work according to APA 7th Edition.
• Review resources on avoiding plagiarism via University of Canterbury’s guidelines.
• Any use of generative artificial intelligence must be cited.

Presentation Guidelines

Page Layout:

• Include a title page
• Use the following font options:

o Size 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode
o Size 11-point Calibri, Arial, Georgia
o Size 12-point Times New Roman or Arial

• Left text.
• Double-space all content.
• Indent the first word of each paragraph; do not add extra lines between paragraphs.
• Number pages in the top right-hand corner.
• Add your student number in the footer or header.

Headings:

• Follow APA 7th edition guidelines for headings.
• Use headings to organise content effectively.

Style:

• Do not use “&” in the middle of a sentence. Use it only in citations, e.g., (Brown & Smith, 2015).
• Do not use abbreviations (e.g., i.e.) or contractions (e.g., isn’t). Instead, write them in full.
• Do not write in absolutes. Replace with phrases like “suggests” or “indicates.”
• Avoid colloquialisms, personal pronouns, bullet points, footnotes, anthropomorphism, and emotive/value-laden language. Additional Tips
• Focus on critical discussion and analysis as per assignment guidelines.
• Proofread for grammar, spelling, and syntax.
• Be cautious with AI tools, as Turnitin may detect inappropriate use.

HLTH661 Assessment Rubric