Ateneo - UPO

Characteristics of Hygiene, Public Health, Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology. The Public Health model. Risk factors and risk behaviors. The natural history model: primary and secondary prevention interventions. The health inequalities. The Infectious Risks. Hygiene of food and water. The environmental health risks. Epidemiological study designs and the hierarchy of scientific evidence.
Frequency, association and impact measures.

Material (slides and exercises) used during the course and provided through the UPO website www.dir.uniupo.it.
Suggested textbooks:
- Bonanni, Bonaccorsi, Maciocco. Manuale di igiene e sanità pubblica. Carocci, 2021.
- Barbuti S., Belelli E., Fara G.M., Giammanco G., Monduzzi Editore. «Igiene», «Igiene e medicina preventiva 2° Vol».
- Faggiano, Donato, Barbone. Manuale di Epidemiologia per la Sanità Pubblica. Centro Scientifico Editore.

The course aims to provide the students the basis of general Hygiene, Public Health, Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine and to introduce the students to specialistic contents (e.g. risks related to food and water, environment, infectious, primary and secondary prevention interventions). The students will also develop abilities in research methods, including the ability to recognize and distinguish the various types of epidemiological studies, describing their characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, calculating and interpreting epidemiological measures of frequency, association and impact.

Basic Mathematics and Biology.

Interactive lectures.
Exercise sessions reading, calculating and interpreting scientific data.
MS-Powerpoint presentations, Exploring websites.

30 hours of interactive lectures on hygienistic contents.
18 hours of lectures and exercises on epidemiology methods.
Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-
students-physical-or-learning-disabilities.

The exam will consist in a written test including 48 questions. Duration 60 minutes.
30 questions of Hygiene and Public Health: multiple choice questions with only one correct answer.
18 questions of Epidemiology methods including calculation of frequency, association and impact measures and multiple choice questions with only one correct answer.
No penalization for incorrect answers.
No oral exam.
It will be possible for students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs to use specific additional tools (conceptual schems, additional time, other measures). It is recommended to submit conceptual schems to teacher evaluation and approval some days before the exam, in order to allow any changes.

1. The Public Health model
2. Models for defining priorities of intervention and problem solution
3. Risk factors and risk behaviors
4. The natural history model of a disease and the prevention interventions
5. Primary prevention interventions: health promotion and vaccines. The problem of vaccine hesitancy
6. Secondary prevention interventions: cancer screening and validity measures of screening tests
7. Health inequalities
8. Infectious Risk and the Healthcare Associated Infections. Asepsis, disinfection, and sterilization methods
9. Water hygiene and characteristics of drinking water
10. Food hygiene and control measures: HACCP protocol
11. Environmental health risks, and pollutants: Pb, No2, So2, O3, PM10, radon, asbestos, noise; climate change; electromagnetic fields
12. Indoor risk surveillance and characteristics of safe homes. Legionellosis, CO
13. Environmental decontamination
14. The evaluation of environmental hazard impact: VIA, VIS, VAS
15. The role of Epidemiology for Public Health: aims, history, the hierarchy of scientific evidences
16. Causality criteria
17. Frequency measures: incidence, prevalence; rates and standardized rates
18. Association measures: OR, RR, RRR, ARR
19. Impact measures: RA, RAE; NTT
20. Observational descriptive studies: health statistics, ecological, prevalence, sources of data
21. Case-control studies
22. Cohort studies
23. Experimental studies: RCTs
24. Literature reviews and meta-analysis; the Cochrane Collaboration and the Cochrane Reviews.

Knowledge and understanding:
- to acquire knowledge on general hygiene, preventive medicine, epidemiology and public health;
- to know and understand the model for the solution of health problems according to public health approach;
- to know risk factors and health determinants;
- to know methods for preventing infectious diseases;
- to know the characteristics of population screening for cancer diseases;
- to know principles of asepsis, disinfection and sterilization;
- to know the health risks related to food;
- to know the health risks related to environment;
- to know the methods of epidemiological research;
- to know the epidemiological measures of frequency, risk and impact;
- to acquire knowledge, understanding and ability to speak using the scientific language.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
- to describe the characteristics of the model for solving health problems according to public health approach;
- to draw the natural history of a disease, describing risk factors and prevention interventions to be applied in the various phases of life;
- to describe the strategies for immunization of children, adults and subgroups at risk;
- to describe the characteristics of the population cancer screening;
- to describe the environmental health risks;
- ti discuss the impact of inequalities on the health of various population subgroups;
- to recognize and distinguish the various types of epidemiological studies;
- to schematically plan an epidemiological study;
- to calculate and interpret epidemiological measures;
- to summarize the results of research using scientific language.

Autonomy of judgment
- to evaluate the appropriateness and the reliability of measures to control health risks related to water, food, infections, indoor and outdoor environment;
- to interpret statistical results of epidemiological studies, using a scientific approach;
- to assess the reliability of the results of an epidemiological study;
- to assess the causality of an epidemiological relationship.

Communication skills
- to describe scientific data by interpreting the phenomena in the light of the knowledge acquired;
- to use scientific language;
- to argue the interpretation of a health phenomenon or scientific data;

Learning skills
- to develop independent and peer study skills;
- to demonstrate ability and autonomy in seeking the information needed to solve problems or uncertainties.
- to develop skills to research and use self-learning opportunities;
- to acquire the ability of self-updating autonomously, through reading texts and scientific papers, also in English.