22nd March 2016

Health Education

Reflective Journal- Part 1

Since I have started studying this health topic, two major issues of sweatshops and
toxins in our products have changed my understanding of what health is.
A sweatshop is a workshop, typically known in third world countries, where workers
make products and are exposed to poor safety and health conditions and are
extremely underpaid for the labor hours worked (Women and Global Human Rights
2014). In class we watched a video of women working in a sweatshop in Bangladesh,
some girls were as young as 14 working 12-hour days. One of the girls explained how
she received $30 for a month of work. The thing that confirmed the health inequality
for me was how workers in Bangladesh dont get paid for overtime or sick leave
(Dixon 2013). This video was very informative but confronting for me to watch. I felt
helpless and sorry for the workers in third world countries and was surprised to learn
how little they buy the material for in comparison to how much first world countries
purchase these items for. Sweatshop conditions contribute to the ongoing issue of
global health inequality and how most poor countries are yet to pass through the
epidemiological transition (Broom & Germov 2014, p.65). Having watched this video
and completed the related readings it has now made me re consider where and how
much I purchase clothing for, knowing the conditions workers are exposed to and how
much they are paid. This experience has changed my understanding of what health is
and I now understand that health inequality is still a major issue in todays society.
Another major issue is the toxins and chemicals present in our products and how this
is affecting our environment (Leonard 2010). This is a major issue affecting our bodies
and environment and after completing an activity in class, it was brought to my
attention that, unfortunately most health care products I use daily have hidden
chemicals that can cause major health and environmental issues later in life. Wellness
and Wellbeing are highly regarded when referring to our environment and how that
then affects us personally (Heil 2014).
Prior to these videos I didnt understand the impact small amounts of these toxins in
our products could affect the environment and our own personal health. After seeing
the damage products with toxins in them can cause, it made me understand that our
health extends to the well being of the environment. After completing these in class
activities I am now aware of the ingredients I should try and avoid. Prior to buying
products I will now consider whether I actually need them (agency) and try to avoid as
many of these chemicals as possible as I have learned any contribution to this issue
will make a difference.
Prior to these ideas being discussed in class, I related what health is simply to my
body and whether I was healthy. I now have the understanding that health is much
broader than that and relates to other countries working conditions and our
environment. My understanding of health over the last few weeks of class has
changed drastically.
Word count: 525

22nd March 2016

Health Education

Reference List
Dixon I 2013, The Apparel Truth-Shocking footage of sweatshops supplying Walmart,
Nygard, H&M, Nike & GAP, Sweat shops, viewed 23rd March 2016,
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fve0xjEyk4U>.
Germov J 2014, Second Opinion An introduction to Health Sociology, Oxford
University Press, Oxford.
Leonard A 2010, The Story of Cosmetics, The Story of Stuff Project, viewed 23rd
March 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfq000AF1i8>.
Women and Global Human Rights 2014, Women and Sweatshop Labor, Fashion
Crimes, viewed 22nd March 2016,
<https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~nshah/fashioncrimes/Sweatshops.html>.

22nd March 2016

Health Education

Reflective Journal- Part 2

Continuing on from the last journal I have gained more knowledge and learnt about
other topics and how they relate and have continued to change my understanding of
health.
Globalization is the development of businesses and organizations expanding across
international borders (Merriam-Webster 2015). In class we watched a video called The
economics of happiness, which looked at the trade market in 3rd world countries and
how the market has changed in 10 years (Economics of happiness 2015). It went into
detail about the types of occupations and the poor living conditions these workers
were exposed to. Global health inequality is a major issue between countries and
countries are grouped based on their living standards into socio-economic statuses
(Broom & Germov 2014). This video impacted my perception of health. Building on
from the previous journal about my knowledge of health, I now have a further
understanding of other countries health and how trading between countries works. To
help me further understand the market trading system and what really happens
behind the scenes I participated in a game called Star power. This game made me
reflect and understand on the real life trading system. At the end we had a discussion
and were told that the value of the chips were not equal in each group and this made
me relate it to real life and understand that people are born into poverty and how this
reflects on their health. Being mainly in the lowest socio economic group for the
game, it made me realize how these developing countries struggled with health and
the expanding economy. It made me realize how money is a large factor related to
health and how the trading system is unfair. The developing countries work much
harder and longer days than developed countries and do not receive the same
treatment and benefits. This experience has made me question the expensive
products I purchase and consider how much the product was actually made for and
how little money the manufacturer would have received.
Another issue that affects the perception of individuals is the concept of gendered
health. Prior to starting this health class I was unaware about the true difference
between gender and sex. According to Broom, Freij and Germov (2014), the term sex
refers to the biological differences between males and females (internal and external
sex organs), whereas gender describes the characteristics that a society describes as
masculine or feminine. A stereotype is a fixed, over generalized belief about a
particular group or class of people (McLeod 2008). As a class we created a generic
list that indicated the stereotype of categories between males and females. For
example, males are strong and females are weak. Some of these perceptions really
shocked me and made me understand how they can alter what health relates to.
These categories were related to the physical and perceptual differences between
males and females, however it is understood how these ideas of stereotypes are more
than likely to be assumptions and not a real indication of individuals. After creating
our list of stereotypes, I had to rate myself on the scale and it made me realize how
unrealistic gendered health really is and how attributes shouldnt be categorized
based on gender. Although stereotypes may not be a true representation of gendered

22nd March 2016

Health Education
health, depending on whether you are male or female can impact on the health
prospect for youre life. According to Broom, Freij and Germov (2014), depending on
your gender can predict how likely you are to develop a certain illness. For example
Coronary Heart Disease for males was 12,047 deaths compared with females being
10,467 deaths in 2009, these statistics show how gender can relate to health. I have
learnt that gender and health are dependent on one another and that gender does
play a large role on stereotypes and is a contributing factor to the diagnosis of many
illnesses.
Social appetite refers to the patterns of food production, distribution and consumption
and affects many peoples health and future wellbeing (Germov & Williams 2014).
After watching a video on Indigenous Australians and how they produce and
distribute food it was very alarming for me to find out that over 2 million Australians
are malnourished (The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance 2016). According to the
video it talked about how 300 farmers were forced to leave their properties due to not
selling enough product to afford to run the farm anymore. Germov and Williams
(2014) refer to the term McDonaldization of food being the continuing growth of
agribusiness of food production and consumption with the global food trade being
over US$1026 billion per year (Germov & Williams 2014). The social distribution of
obesity reveals that individuals situated in disadvantaged or remote areas are more
likely to be obese (Germov & Williams 2014). This pattern reveals the prevalence of
how the production and consumption of food affects health education. My
understanding of health has been developed from learning about the agribusiness of
food production and consumption and how social economic status affects the weight
distribution. From learning about the effort that goes into producing food on farms it
has made me consider when buying from shops to buy more products that are locally
made to support the workers in our country rather than buying from overseas.
Being 8 weeks into this health course I have learnt and expanded my knowledge on
what my first idea of health was. From learning about the health of many different
countries, it has made me realize the impact that it has on people. I look forward to
learning more about health and continue to expand my knowledge further.
Word Count: 943

Reference List
Economics of Happiness 2015, The Economics of Happiness, viewed 23 March 2016.
Germov J, Broom A, Freij M & Williams L 2014, Second Opinion An introduction to
Health Sociology, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
McLeod S 2008, Stereotypes, Simply Psychology, Viewed 2 May 2016,
<http://www.simplypsychology.org/katz-braly.html>.
Merriam- Webster 2015, Definition of Globalization, Globalization, Viewed 1 May
2016, <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/globalization>.
The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance 2016, viewed 27 April 2016.

22nd March 2016

Health Education

Reflective Journal- Part 3

This being the last journal, I have now covered and completed the content of the
health 1540 course. I have greatly expanded my knowledge from what I first thought
health was.
The private health insurance rebate, first introduced by the Howard Coalition
Government in 1999 as an incentive to buy private health insurance, was successfully
means-tested by the Gillard Labor government in March 2012 (Helen Belcher 2014,
p. 359). To repeal the legislation was the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, who argued
there would be increased pressure on our public health care system if people dropped
their private health care cover. Prior to this class I was unaware the need for health
insurance and how much it costs for treatment if individuals arent covered. In class
we went through the types of insurances we all had and discussed whether the
reasoning behind the type of insurance we had was historical, structural, cultural or
critical. Personally I follow the historical and structural reasoning why I am on private
health insurance, due to my parents choosing it for me and have never questioned
changing.
When reflecting on my own personal experience, I know from family illnesses, if we
did not have the expenses covered by private health care we would not have been
able to afford to pay for treatment. This has been drawn to my attention as a very
serious issue for many countries and individuals and I feel very grateful for always
having private health care.
Reflecting on class content, we were shown a video based on the difference in health
care systems across the world. I knew little about the types of health care and how
much it cost, however after watching the Moore (2007) documentary it made me
realize the number of people who cannot afford or even have access to health care,
especially in America. I truly sympathized with the victim stories from the
documentary; it made me appreciate Australias health care system. I learned that
America is an unfortunate country that has an unfair health care system. I was really
shocked to learn that so many people are ineligible to get health care if they currently
have, or previously had, certain types of illnesses. I really connected and sympathized
with the receptionist on this video, who had to guide customers through forms and
hear how pleased they were about finally getting health care, when she knew that
they most likely wouldnt be eligible for it (Moore 2007). This documentary expanded
my knowledge and understanding of health and how important health insurance is. I

22nd March 2016

Health Education
feel as though this issue of the eligibility to receive insurance needs to be changed
and that everyone has the right to good affordable health care.
So far this health topic has covered a lot of different facts on the health of Indigenous
Australians, however I did not realize how poorly they were treated and still today, in
some parts of Australia are treated differently to non-Indigenous Australians. In class
we watched a documentary about the health of Indigenous Australians, which was
very confronting as I was unaware the unfair laws, living conditions and the way police
treated them compared to non- Indigenous Australians. The documentary talked about
the impact that the stolen generation had on Australia and I was horrified to realize
that up until 2012, children were still being taken from their families and treated
poorly (Pilger 2013). As well as parents losing their children, the impact of a child
being taken from their family can have ever lasting serious impacts on that childs life.
According to the Australians Together Campaign 2012, children from the stolen
generation suffered physical, psychological or sexual abuse from their foster carers,
were forced to grow up in a white culture and forget their Indigenous Heritage. They
were told that their parents had died or abandoned them, they had poor living
conditions and suffered from illnesses like depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress
and suicide. Learning about the impact that this time had on the Indigenous
Australians, makes me realize how unfair life was for them. This has expanded my
understanding of their health and I realize that they are still not treated as equals and
it needs to change. In 2006 I went across the Simpson Desert with my family.
Travelling through all the small towns we came across many Indigenous Australians
living on the streets. It was very confronting and personally I was quite scared, but it
made me feel for these families that couldnt afford a home. One pub we went into,
we encountered a situation where the bar tender wouldnt allow the indigenous locals
to come into the pub. I found this was highly racist and unfair that they were treated
with that disrespect in their local town. From learning about Indigenous health, it has
made me more aware of the poor conditions they are still exposed to and when I
become a teacher, makes me want to educate children on the Indigenous culture and
how Australia was before settlement.
Health education and Health promotion are major areas that are addressed in every
day lives and I did not realize the need for further education on these topics prior to
learning about them myself. In class we watched two adverts regarding the use of
mobile phones whilst driving. In 2011 a government survey found that 59% of people
reported using their mobile phone whilst driving (CARS 2012). Numerous accidents
are caused due to the number of people caught using mobile phones whilst driving.
We were shown these two campaigns to help expand our understanding of why health
promotion can affect our own health and to determine the effectiveness of these
adverts in particular. The first advert was a guy driving whilst using his phone and
there was a song being played in the background. Personally, I did not find this advert
very effective and did not realize what it was meant to be promoting initially. The
second advert was promoting again, the dangers of mobile phone use whilst driving.
This clip featured 3 teenage girls in a car. The girl who caused the crash was the only
survivor and saw her friends die. This video was very confronting to me and made me
realize just how quickly an accident can occur. I feel as though this was a much more
powerful and effective advert compared with the first one as it made me imagine it
was myself in that situation.
In America this is an advert they put on daily TV to remind people the dangers of
using your phone whilst driving. I feel that due to the intense graphics used it
shouldnt be put on for anyone to see as it would be inappropriate for younger
children. After watching this video it made me draw on my own life experiences. I
admit I have checked my phone before whilst driving, however from having seen how

22nd March 2016

Health Education
quickly things can change and imaging the guilt and devastation from the outcome of
this accident, I will never touch my phone again whilst driving. Health promotion is
essential in teaching individuals about the impact things can have on our physical and
mental health. Cigarette packets are another example of how health promotion is
used. The pictures on the packages are there to remind people the damage they are
doing to their health. All cigarette packets feature a disturbing image of a body part,
showing what smoking will do to their body. The Labor Party has announced a plan
which would see a packet of 25 cigarettes cost more than $40 by 2020 (ABC news
2015). This is almost double what they cost currently. With the idea of increasing
cigarette prices and the disturbing images on the packaging, it is hoped that this will
decrease the number of people who are smoking and damaging their health. As a
future health educator I feel these advertisements are essential in promoting the
consequences of the choices people make. I hope to portray this message to future
generations to make them realize how important their health is.
Throughout this health course I have learnt a lot about the worlds health and myself.
My perspective has changed and I have expanded my understanding of what health
education is. All the topics in a way link together and initially I was unaware how they
all connected. I feel as though I have learnt a lot and look forward to continuing
learning about other aspects of health prior to becoming a health educator myself.
Word Count: 1424

Reference List
ABC News 2015, packet of 25 cigarettes to cost more than $40 by 2020 under
Labor, viewed June 2016, <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-24/packet-ofcigarettes-to-cost-40-dollars-under-labor/6967396>.
Australians together 2012, Discover Stories: Stolen Generations, viewed June 2016,
<http://www.australianstogether.org.au/stories/detail/the-stolen-generations>.
CARS 2012, Mobile Phone use & distraction whilst driving: State of the road, viewed
June 2016,
<https://www.police.qld.gov.au/EventsandAlerts/campaigns/Documents/mobile_phone
s_and_distraction_fs.pdf>.
Germov, J. (2014). Second Opinion: An Introduction to Health Sociology (5th ed.).
Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Moore, M 2007, Sicko: Health Insurance in the US: Canada.
Pilger, J 2013, Utopia: Indigenous Health.