Evaluate health practices currently used in New Zealand
This internal assessment asks Year 13 Health students to look closely at health practices used in New Zealand today and judge how useful or effective they are. You choose a health condition (like back pain, anxiety, asthma, or depression) and then compare at least two treatments for it — one must be a conventional Western medical treatment (like medication or physiotherapy) and the other must be a complementary, alternative, or traditional treatment (like naturopathy, aromatherapy, or Māori medicine). You explain how each treatment works, what it is based on, and weigh up its pros and cons in relation to overall wellbeing (hauora). At higher grades, you go deeper by comparing the treatments and linking bigger ideas about health and society to your conclusions.
You explain what each health practice involves, what it is based on (its philosophy or theory), and outline significant advantages and disadvantages of each practice in relation to hauora. Your evaluation covers the basics clearly and accurately.
You go deeper by directly comparing the advantages and disadvantages of your chosen practices against each other. You draw conclusions that are backed up by reasoned arguments — not just stating opinions, but explaining why one approach may be better or worse in certain situations.
You make meaningful connections between the underpinning philosophies of each practice and broader health concepts (hauora, socio-ecological perspective, health promotion, and attitudes and values). Your conclusions are fully justified and show real insight — you show you have thought critically about how and why these practices are valued differently and what that means for people's health.
Standards typically taken alongside or after this one. Same subject, grouped by level.