Just have a quick question,
We have our first sac next week which is part A ( all sections upto NHPA's)
In terms of the content, for example when learning about the determinants, do we need to know in depth about all the aspects , for example BMI, cholestrol specifics, measuring blood pressure etc? or do we just need to have a brief understanding?
In the study design it mentions about determinants of health, and i've looked at a few past exams and it was never detailed to the point of asking about BMI or such, but could sacs be different?
Can anyone shed some light on how they approached studying for aspects like this?
Thank you !
It's important to have a brief understanding of all of these, like:
- know what BMI is (weight (kg) / height (m) squared), that BMI 30+ is overweight, that being overweight increases risk of CVD, type 2 diabetes and some cancers
- know that high blood pressure/hypertension increases risk of CVD
- know that high blood cholesterol increases fatty buildup in arteries, increasing risk of CVD
but no more.In general in the exam, it will ask for 'a biological determinant' (you choose) rather than something specific to explain a certain difference in health status; this way, whichever one you have learnt, you can apply.
Keep in mind that depending on the teacher SACs can require far more detailed knowledge than the exam. Ask your teacher for details.
To study, try practising questions - e.g. get a list of differences in health status between population groups, and then use one biological, one behavioural, one social and one physical environment determinant to explain each one, referring to your notes/textbook if stuck. (Use dot-point answers and skip anything that repeats itself, this can be time-consuming
).