Teaching methods include lectures complemented by selected classroom exercises.
Contents
General concepts of public health, hygiene, and epidemiology: concept of health, current epidemiological scenario, and disease classification; public health tools, including epidemiology, statistics, and health management; prevention and its fields of application. Epidemiology and epidemiological methodology: epidemiological measures and data sources; study design, bias, and confounding; observational studies (cross-sectional, cohort, case-control), experimental studies, and secondary studies (systematic reviews and meta-analyses). Epidemiology and prevention of communicable diseases: (i) risk factors, sources and reservoirs of infection, and modes of transmission; (ii) environmental interventions, including disinfection and sterilization; (iii) population-based interventions, such as vaccinations, passive immunoprophylaxis, chemoprophylaxis, surveillance, and reporting; (iv) interventions in healthcare settings, including planning and organization, procedures for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (hand hygiene, use of PPE, management of equipment and environment), and healthcare waste management. Environmental and food hygiene: physical and chemical contaminants and environmental matrices; food contamination. Epidemiology and prevention of non-communicable diseases: (i) risk factors and assessment of intervention priorities; (ii) primary prevention interventions, health promotion, and health education (smoking, alcohol, nutrition, physical activity, social determinants), including health education methodology; (iii) secondary prevention interventions and screening (criteria, methodology, specific examples, and current and emerging fields of application); (iv) risk assessment, including applications of risk scores in public health, new biomarkers, and ethical aspects. Global health: physical and chemical contaminants and environmental matrices; pollution; climate-related effects on health; inequalities and international health emergencies; pandemic preparedness; international institutions. The healthcare system (→ addressed in other modules of the integrated course, with additional elements included here): (i) structure, financing, and health economics; (ii) healthcare management and its applications in hospitals and community settings, including quality of care, risk management, and evidence-based practice. In-depth study of Evidence-Based Practice: practical exercises using bibliographic databases.
Course Language
Italian
More information
For further information, please contact Prof. Francesco Gianfagna - francesco.gianfagna@uninsubria.it
