Assessment Specification

PHM004: Social Determinants of Health

2019-20

(includes Assessment Brief,

Marking Criteria and Grading Criteria)

This information should be read in conjunction with the general Assessment

Guidelines, which may be found in your Programme Handbook

Date: Jan 2020

Authors:
CM/MC
PHM004 Assessment Brief

PHM004: Social Determinants of Health

Assessment Brief

You will produce a Critically Appraised Topic (CAT) to evaluate intervention(s) that attempt to
reduce health inequalities or inequities relating to a public health issue.

The CAT will be presented as (i.) a digital poster (worth 80% of the module grade), and (ii.) an
accompanying 3-minute individual oral presentation (worth 20% of the module grade).

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Guidance Notes

Within this brief you are free to select any public health issue from the topics taught on the module
or from your wider reading.

There are four steps that your CAT should follow and these should be reflected in the poster and
oral presentations:

1. Ask: You will need to specify a focused and answerable research question that is
formulated in the PICO format (or an extension of PICO).
2. Search: You will need to search for the best available evidence that most closely
addresses the stated research question. From the identified evidence you will select
between 2 and 6 studies to include in the CAT. This can include a maximum of one
systematic review or meta-analysis; the remainder will be primary studies that
contribute additional insight. Other types of synopses, summaries or systems cannot
be included.
3. Appraise: You will need to appraise the quality of the evidence that you include in the
CAT.
4. Apply: You will need to evaluate whether the results of the selected and appraised
studies are applicable to population, intervention (where applicable) and outcome(s)
specified in your research question.

These four steps relate to the four main sections of the Assessment Criteria below (i.e. Introduction;
Methods; Results; Conclusions).

Before you begin this assignment it is strongly recommended that you conduct some preliminary
scoping searches to ensure that your research question will be answerable (i.e. that there is sufficient
evidence available for you to be able to produce a CAT for your research question).

If you are unsure about whether a topic is suitable or you would like to discuss potential topics, please
contact the module leaders (please copy them both into all emails) Dr Jessie Cooper
(Jessie.Cooper@city.ac.uk) and Dr China Mills (china.mills@city.ac.uk)

Assessment pattern
Assessment Assessment type Weighting Minimum Pass/Fail?
component qualifying
mark
Written Digital poster 80% 50% No
assignment
Oral presentation 20% 50% No

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PHM004 Assessment Brief

Word count
There is no word limit for the poster. The limitation on the word count is dictated by the font
style and size (which should be appropriate for conference poster and the number of tables,
graphs etc. that you have to accommodate).

References should be included but kept to a minimum. A smaller font size is allowed for the
References.

Plagiarism
It is vital that you follow the principles of good academic practice. All submitted assignments
are checked using plagiarism detection software (Turnitin). Please ensure you have read and
complied with the guidelines on academic misconduct and plagiarism avoidance set out in
your Programme Handbook. You must ensure that you correctly reference all the sources you
have used (using a numbered referencing system, e.g. Vancouver), and that all direct
quotations (even if only a few words) are enclosed within double quotation marks. See also
the information at http://www.city.ac.uk/about/education/ldc/resources/studywell

Submission
Your work must be submitted electronically (to Moodle) in Microsoft PowerPoint format. Only
two files in total may be submitted. Please ensure that the Coursework Submission
Documents (available on Moodle) are completed and included as the first pages of the file
containing your assignment.

Due to the nature of this assessment, anonymous marking processes are not used for
PHM004. The PowerPoint filename should follow the format:

‘PHM004 assignment 2019-20 STUDENT NAME’

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 PHM004 Assessment Brief

Assessment title (component 1 of 2): Write a Critically Appraised Topic (CAT) in a poster
format.

Marking Criteria: Poster (80%)

Please see the marking criteria for the poster, below. They are descriptions, based on the
module’s learning outcomes of skills, knowledge and attributes that you need to demonstrate in
order to complete an assessment successfully. Your feedback will be based on these
assessment criteria.

Please also consult the Grade Related Criteria (below) for descriptions of the level of skills,
knowledge or attributes you need to demonstrate to achieve a certain grade or mark in an
assessment.

PHM004 Assessment Criteria

Assessment Criteria Indicative

In this piece of work you will be expected to: weighting (%)
1. Title and • Provide a clear, concise title that reflects your research 25
Introduction question.
• Describe the public health problem.
• Describe and quantify the health inequality / inequity of interest.
• Present a structured and answerable review question in PICO
(or related) format that focuses on interventions to reduce
health inequalities / inequities.

2. Methods • Define clear inclusion and exclusion criteria that reflect the 15
review question.
• Report keyword searches that reflect the review question.
• Justify the choice of database(s) used.

3. Results • Present a summary table of key findings 25

• Critically appraise the individual studies.

4. Conclusions • From the evidence presented in the Results, generate a series 25

of conclusions relating to the research question.
• Reflect on the applicability of the identified evidence to the
stated population, intervention (where applicable) and
outcome(s) specified in the review question.
• Evaluate the limitations of your critically appraised topic.

5. Presentation • Produce an accessible poster that makes good use of colour, 10

space, text, tables and graphs.
• Write clearly, concisely and accurately in academic style.
• Structure the poster in a coherent and logical manner, using
sub-headings as appropriate.
• Use a number-based referencing system (e.g. Vancouver).
• Include authorship, organisation, contact details.

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 PHM004 Assessment Brief

Assessment title (component 2 of 2): Present a brief oral presentation of the Critically
Appraised Topic (CAT).

Marking Criteria: Presentation (20%)

Please see the marking criteria for the oral presentation, below. They are descriptions, based on
the module’s learning outcomes of skills, knowledge and attributes that you need to demonstrate
in order to complete an assessment successfully. Your feedback will be based on these
assessment criteria.

Please also consult the Grade Related Criteria (below) for descriptions of the level of skills,
knowledge or attributes you need to demonstrate to achieve a certain grade or mark in an
assessment.

PHM004 Assessment Criteria

Assessment Criteria Indicative

In this piece of work you will be expected to: weighting (%)
1. Clarity • Was the delivery of the presentation clear 40

Clarity relates to:

• Volume and enunciation of the verbal communication
• Logical structure and coherence of the narrative

2. Relevance • Did the content of the presentation reflect the content of the 40
poster
• Did the content of the presentation follow the four key steps for
a CAT (ask, search, appraise, apply)
• Was irrelevant content included in the presentation

3. Timekeeping • Was the pace of the presentation consistent and appropriate 20

• Did the presentation finish on time

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 PHM004 Assessment Brief

Grade-related Criteria
For Postgraduates programmes:

Class % Literary Description

Distinction 85-100 Outstanding Work that demonstrates a comprehensive knowledge of

the subject area and addresses the learning
80-84 Excellent outcomes/assessment criteria in full. Where relevant, it
will show evidence of independent reading, thinking and
analysis and strong critical ability. It will be well-
constructed and demonstrate a professional approach to
academic practice. It will be of a professional standard.
75-79 Very good Work that demonstrates strong knowledge of the subject
area and addresses the learning outcomes/assessment
70-74 criteria well. Where relevant, it will show evidence of
wide and comprehensive reading and critical ability. It will
be clearly written and adhere to the principles of good
academic practice.
Merit 67-69 Good Work that demonstrates a sound level of knowledge of
the subject area and makes a good attempt to address
64-66 the learning outcomes/assessment criteria, realising all to
some extent and some well. There will be evidence of
60-63 thorough research of the topic(s) but some answers may
not be complete or arguments sufficiently explored. It will
be well-structured and logically written and will
demonstrate good academic practice. Some critical
ability will be evident.
Pass 57-59 Satisfactory Work that demonstrates knowledge of the subject area
and provides some level of response to the learning
54-56 outcomes/assessment criteria but only realises these
outcomes and criteria to some extent and may not include
50-53 important elements or information that is fully accurate.
Where relevant, development of ideas is limited but
attempts will be made to analyse materials critically.
Expression and structure may lack clarity and evidence of
academic practice will be limited.
Fail 47-49 Poor Unsatisfactory work that demonstrates very limited
knowledge of the subject area and which does not
44-46 succeed in grasping the key issues. Learning
outcomes/assessment criteria will not be realised. There
will be no real development of ideas and critical analysis
will be very limited. Presentation is confused or lacks
coherence.
40-43 Very poor Work that demonstrates no real knowledge of the subject
area and which demonstrates a totally inadequate
20-40 attempt to address the learning outcomes/assessment
criteria. No critical ability will be displayed.
0-20

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