Hygiene and public health (2019/2020)

Learning outcomes

According to the WHO, the "Health" can be defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. Hygiene and social medicine are intended to identify the causes and the factors of the disease and their removal, promoting the improvement of health status, with a special look at the organization of health services. The main tool of hygiene is the epidemiology that, through the study of the distribution of diseases in the population, allows to identify the cause of diseases and the factors that promote the health. Consequently, the course aims to provide students with elements of epidemiological methodology, health promotion and disease prevention in the general population. It also provide some elements of planning and organizing intervention of health promotion and disease's prevention and assessment of the action taken.
Therefore, the course is divided into three modules:
- Study of the epidemiological methods and the profiles of the most important infectious and chronic diseases;
- Study of the problems and techniques preventing the most important infectious and chronic diseases in the general population.
- Organization of the National Health Service and tools for evaluation of the effectiveness of intervention in public health.

• Community and health: role and goals of hygiene.
• Epidemiological Methodology: definitions of key measurement tools in epidemiology; planning of an epidemiological study; study design and its aims. Observational and experimental studies.
• epidemiological models of the disease's onset: the concept of cause and risk factors;
• The classification of the interventions in prevention: primary, secondary and tertiary ;
• Infectious diseases: general epidemiology with emphasis on direct-transmitted diseases (sexual and vertical), to food-borne diseases and to those imported with immigration;
• Prevention of infectious diseases. Principles of disinfection and sterilization. Vaccinations;
• chronic degenerative diseases: the approach to the epidemiological knowledge and preventive measures concerning the following diseases: ischemic heart disease; diabetes; cancer of lung , breast, cervix, colorectal;
• Aspects sanitation of food;
• History of the birth of health systems;
• Organization of the National Health Service.
• Quality assessment instruments and effectiveness of health interventions

Written Test with open questions and, if necessary, oral interview