NCEA Level 3 Health: Analysis, Evaluation and Ethical Reasoning
The Level 3 Health domain tests explanation, evaluation and justified judgement, not recall. The four standards require analysis of a New Zealand health issue, analysis of an international health issue, evaluation of health practices used in Aotearoa New Zealand, and analysis of a contemporary ethical issue in relation to well-being. Answers must integrate evidence, health models and a clear judgement.
Core frameworks
- Determinants of health: social, economic, cultural, political and environmental factors that create health inequities.
- Socio-ecological model: individual, interpersonal, community, organisational and policy levels; use it to explain causes and intervention points.
- Māori and Pacific models: Te Whare Tapa Whā (wairua, hinengaro, tinana, whānau), Te Wheke and Fonofale; apply them to show holistic well-being.
- Ottawa Charter: healthy public policy, supportive environments, community action, personal skills, reoriented health services.
Analysing and evaluating
Explain significance (who is affected, trends), causes (determinants and models), consequences for well-being, and responses. Use specific evidence, such as statistics or research, to support each point. Evaluation needs explicit criteria: effectiveness, safety, accessibility, equity, cultural appropriateness, cost, sustainability and ethical acceptability. A judgement without criteria will not reach Excellence.
Worked example: youth vaping
A student argues school bans alone will fail. Using the socio-ecological model, they identify individual addiction, peer norms, retail density and commercial marketing. Te Whare Tapa Whā shows impacts on tinana (dependence), hinengaro (anxiety), whānau (conflict) and wairua (loss of self-determination). Applying the Ottawa Charter, they judge that healthy public policy (flavour restrictions), reoriented quit services and community action are stronger than education alone. The reasoning is explicit: because determinants operate at multiple levels, multi-level strategies are more equitable.
Traps
- Describing an issue instead of analysing causes and consequences.
- Naming a model without using it to explain.
- Treating 'evaluate' as 'list' - no criteria, no judgement.
- Giving an ethical opinion without weighing values, rights or frameworks such as deontology, consequentialism, virtue ethics or manaakitanga.