Course Syllabus
Sustainable Development Goals
Aims
At the end of the course, participants will have:
- An understanding of the main determinants of population health and main risk factors of disease;
- An understanding of the epidemiological research methods for the analysis of these determinants and risk factors;
- An understanding of the main strategies for promotion and protection of public health and the main organizations and agencies in charge of supporting the implementation of these strategies.
- An understanding of the Health care systems and the role of the different players involved to provide health care;
- An understanding of epidemiological tools to assess the global health.
Contents
The key aim of this course is to learn about the principal issues surrounding health and society. The course focus on the main determinants of population health and risk factors of disease, and explore how epidemiology and public health can more effectively assess, protect and promote the health of populations.
The course starts with concepts about disease, health and health promotion/protection/ prevention. Next, the course focus on behavioral, biological, socio-economic, environmental and access to care factors that influence the health status of individuals or populations. An introduction to the epidemiological basis for assessing the factors that influence the health status of individuals or populations is provided to give the methodological knowledge required for the course.
Specific attention is paid to the role of Public health in promote and protect health and addressing factors which influence the health. The course also discuss global health, the international organizations and agencies created to protect and promote global health and the tolls developed to assess global health. Furthermore, we address health systems developed in Italy and other countries to provide care to the populations.
Detailed program
The course will include:
- Introduction to the concept of health and the development of disease, health and public health concept.
- Introduction to determinants of health (behavioural, biological, socio-economic, environmental, and access to care) and inequalities in population health and risk factors of disease.
- Epidemiological basis for assessing the determinants of health and risk factors of disease (epidemiological study types, measures of disease occurrence and measures of effect).
- The role of public health in promoting, preventing and protecting health.
- The concept of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention; using examples from health behavior change, screening, vaccination and environmental change.
- The role, aims and actions of International/European health organizations and agencies (WHO, ECDC, EFSA) in promoting and protecting global health.
- The global burden of diseases (GBD) study as tool to assess, control and guide the public health interventions.
- The development of national health care systems.
- The Italian national health care systems and the role of the different players involved to provide health care.
Prerequisites
None.
Teaching form
Lessons and combined individual/group work will be conduct to address the aim of the course.
Lessons in attendance.
Textbook and teaching resource
Handouts and selected papers from international peer-reviewed journals.
Semester
1st semester
Assessment method
Written exam: multiple choice questions plus one exercise.
Office hours
By appointment, writing to ippazio.antonazzo@unimib.it
