Biology • Year 12 • Module 8 • Lesson 16
Prevention Campaigns for Non-infectious Disease
Lock in the three levels of prevention, the campaign-design sequence, the three depths of effectiveness measurement and the vocabulary of equity, the foundations for developing and evaluating a prevention strategy.
1. Complete the prevention levels and measurement diagram
The diagram sets out the three levels of prevention and the three depths at which effectiveness is measured. Write the missing labels into boxes A–H using the lesson Key Terms and Learn cards. 8 marks
| Box | Your label |
|---|---|
| A | |
| B | |
| C | |
| D | |
| E | |
| F | |
| G | |
| H |
2. Term–definition match
The definitions below are shuffled. Write the matching term from this list in the right-hand column: prevention, campaign, secondary source, effectiveness, equity, primary prevention, tertiary prevention, upstream action, impact measure, process measure. 10 marks
| # | Definition (shuffled) | Matching term |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | An action that changes the conditions people make decisions in, rather than asking individuals to work harder against those conditions. | |
| 2.2 | Fair access to prevention and to the health benefits it produces, so the group carrying the most risk can act on the strategy. | |
| 2.3 | A source that summarises or interprets data collected by someone else. | |
| 2.4 | Intervention once disease is established, aiming to limit further damage rather than cure. | |
| 2.5 | A count of what a campaign delivered, which confirms it happened but says nothing about whether it worked. | |
| 2.6 | Actions that reduce disease risk before harm occurs. | |
| 2.7 | A record of change in the behaviour or exposure that the campaign set out to alter. | |
| 2.8 | Intervention before disease exists, by removing or reducing the exposure itself. | |
| 2.9 | How well a strategy achieves its intended outcome. | |
| 2.10 | Planned communication and action directed at a defined target audience. |
3. True or false, with correction
Circle T or F. If the statement is false, write the corrected version on the line below. 8 marks (1 T/F + 1 correction where needed)
3.1 A campaign that raises knowledge by 40 percent has been shown to be effective at preventing disease. T / F
3.2 A screening program is an example of secondary prevention. T / F
3.3 Because plain packaging began in 2012, Australian lung-cancer incidence should have dropped sharply by 2015. T / F
3.4 Self-reported behaviour after a campaign is stronger evidence than observed behaviour. T / F
4. Function recall
Answer each question in 1–2 sentences using precise lesson terminology. 10 marks (2 each)
4.1 What is the function of an upstream action such as free sunscreen at the school gate?
4.2 What is the function of tobacco excise increases within layered tobacco control, and which group do they affect most?
4.3 What is the function of an impact measure when a campaign has only run for three months?
4.4 What is the function of a baseline or comparison group in evaluating a campaign?
4.5 What is the function of co-designing a campaign message with the community it targets?
5. Build a concept map
Draw labelled arrows between the six terms below. Each arrow must carry a linking phrase (e.g. "targets", "removes", "measures", "limits"). Aim for at least 6 labelled arrows. 6 marks
Supplied terms: risk factor · education · upstream action · behaviour change · disease incidence · equity.
6. Cloze, fill in the blanks
Complete the paragraph using words from the word bank below. Each word is used once. 10 marks
Public health acts at three levels. _______________ prevention removes or reduces the exposure before anyone is ill, _______________ prevention detects disease after it has begun but before symptoms appear, and _______________ prevention limits complications once disease is established. Designing a campaign starts by naming the risk factor and the target _______________, then identifying the _______________ that stop people acting, such as cost, convenience, habit, norms and environment. The strongest strategies pair education with _______________ actions that change the conditions people decide in. Effectiveness is then measured at three depths: _______________ measures count what was delivered, _______________ measures record the change in behaviour or exposure, and _______________ measures record the change in disease rates, which usually cannot appear for decades. Finally, results must be reported separately for high-risk groups, because _______________ determines whether a campaign narrows or widens the gap it set out to close.
Q1, Labelled prevention levels and measures
A: primary prevention. B: secondary prevention. C: tertiary prevention. D: equity (equity by design). E: process measure. F: impact measure. G: outcome measure. H: awareness, or knowledge change, the weakest evidence of effectiveness available.
Q2, Term–definition matches
2.1 upstream action · 2.2 equity · 2.3 secondary source · 2.4 tertiary prevention · 2.5 process measure · 2.6 prevention · 2.7 impact measure · 2.8 primary prevention · 2.9 effectiveness · 2.10 campaign.
Q3, True / false with correction
3.1 False. Correction: knowledge change is a process result, not a health result. Disease risk only falls when exposure falls, so an effective campaign must show a change in behaviour or exposure, ideally observed rather than self-reported, and state whether the change was sustained.
3.2 True.
3.3 False. Correction: chronic disease develops across decades, so exposure must accumulate before disease appears. Australian smoking rates fell first and lung-cancer incidence in men followed roughly twenty to thirty years later. Judging a 2012 measure on 2015 incidence data reads the outcome before the expected lag has passed.
3.4 False. Correction: self-reported behaviour after a campaign is routinely overstated, because people report what they believe they should be doing. Observed behaviour, such as the counted proportion of students wearing hats at lunch, is the stronger measure.
Q4, Function recall answers
4.1 Upstream action: It changes the conditions in which the decision is made rather than asking the individual to work harder against those conditions. Free sunscreen at the gate removes the cost and effort barrier, so the protective behaviour becomes the easy choice and the knowledge-to-behaviour gap narrows.
4.2 Tobacco excise: Excise increases make cigarettes progressively less affordable, reducing consumption by acting on price rather than on knowledge. It is the measure with the strongest evidence base, and it has the largest effect on young smokers because they have the least money and are therefore the most price sensitive.
4.3 Impact measure: Over three months disease outcomes cannot have changed, because melanoma and similar conditions take decades to develop. An impact measure records the change in the targeted behaviour or exposure, such as observed hat wearing, sunscreen use, reported sunburn or measured UV exposure. It is the strongest honest evidence available in the short term, because behaviour is the mechanism through which disease risk actually falls.
4.4 Baseline or comparison group: Without something to compare against, a post-campaign figure has no meaning, since the behaviour may have been at that level already or may have changed for seasonal or unrelated reasons. A baseline or comparison group allows the change to be attributed to the campaign rather than to background variation.
4.5 Co-design: Co-designing the message with the target community, rather than translating an existing message at them, makes the strategy culturally appropriate and more likely to be acted on. It addresses one of the three equity design choices, alongside removing cost and removing the access barrier, so the group carrying the greatest risk can actually use the strategy.
Q5, Sample concept map
Correct maps should include arrows such as:
- education informs people about the → risk factor
- upstream action reduces exposure to the → risk factor
- upstream action removes the barrier and so produces → behaviour change
- education alone often fails to produce → behaviour change
- behaviour change lowers exposure and after a lag reduces → disease incidence
- equity determines which groups can achieve → behaviour change
Award 1 mark per correct labelled arrow (maximum 6). Award credit for the arrow showing education alone failing to change behaviour, since that is the central point of the lesson.
Q6, Cloze answers (in order)
primary · secondary · tertiary · audience · barriers · upstream · process · impact · outcome · equity