ECTS credits ECTS credits: 3
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Student's work ECTS: 51 Hours of tutorials: 3 Expository Class: 9 Interactive Classroom: 12 Total: 75
Use languages Spanish, Galician
Type: Ordinary subject Master’s Degree RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: Psychiatry, Radiology, Public Health, Nursing and Medicine
Areas: Preventive Medicine and Public Health
Center Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
Call: Second Semester
Teaching: With teaching
Enrolment: Enrollable | 1st year (Yes)
Objectives of the subject
Main objective:
To know the role of environmental Epidemiology as a methodological tool to approach the main public health problems associated with the environmental environment and to identify the health problems of the community, analyze them in their different aspects (biomedical, environmental, social, economic and legal) by means of application of epidemiological methods, and propose the adoption of appropriate preventive measures, recognizing and evaluating the relationships between the environmental factors and the health of the community.
Specific objectives:
To know the applications of the different epidemiological designs in the study of environmental risks for the human population.
To know the main aspects of the epidemiological analysis of environmental research and its correct interpretation.
Review the most current evidence in the various areas of environmental health and the most appropriate preventive and corrective measures.
Give the student the tools to be able to analyze critically the environmental situations that pose a health risk.
Contents:
Introduction to Environmental Epidemiology (EA).
Environmental risk. Risk assessment.
Exposure and effect.
Environmental surveillance.
Practical applications of environmental Epidemiology to specific problems
Design of an EA study.
A) INTRODUCTION
Environmental epidemiology. Definition. Scope of application. Historical evolution: most relevant episodes.
B) ENVIRONMENTAL RISK
Concept and types of environmental risks:
1) According to the exposure:
Unique event located.
Event located in the long term.
Fuzzy risk in the long run.
2) By the nature of the agent:
Physical risks.
Chemical risks.
Biological risks.
3) Due to the magnitude of the risk:
Greater Risks.
Weak risks.
"Diluted" risks.
C) EXPOSURE:
Concept of exposure.
Evaluation and measures of the exposure.
Input paths. Intensity.
Duration.
Dose.
Occupational exposures.
D) EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE:
Effects assessed as a result of the exposure:
Direct: Morbidity. Mortality Physio-pathological changes, etc.
Indirect: work absenteeism, increased urgent consultations and hospital admissions.
E) ENVIRONMENTAL VEHICLE
Procedures.
Methods
Indicators.
The Eco-surveillance and the Sentinel Phenomena of Health (SHE)
Use of biological markers in the environmental monitoring of weak risks.
F) APPLICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY:
Study of specific contaminants most current
Ecology and Health. In: Piedrola Gil- Preventive Medicine and Public Health. Ed. Elsevier, 12th ed. Barcelona, 2016
Sánchez.Villegas A et al. "Environmental health. Physical environment. Atmospheric contamination. "In: Martínez González MA Ed: Concepts of Public Health and preventive strategies. A manual for health sciences. Pp277-282. Ed. Elsevier.Barcelona, 2013.
PAHO Environmental and occupational epidemiology. In: Bonita R et al: Basic Epidemiology. 2nd ed. Cient y Técnico Pub nº 629.OPS, 2008: pp 185-208.
* Ahlbom A, Norell S. Fundamentals of epidemiology. 6th ed. XXI Century of Spain Eds. Madrid, 2007.
European Environmental Agency. Environment and Health. EEA, Copenhagen 2005.
Martínez Navaro, F et al. Epidemiological surveillance. Mc Graw-Hill Interamericana.Madrid, 2004.
WHO. Environmental health indicators: Framework and methodologies. WHO, Geneve 1999,
Steenland K, Savitz DA. Topics in Environmental Epidemiology. OUP, New York, 1997.
* Argimón JM, Jiménez J. Methods of research applied to primary health care. Harcourt Brace eds. Madrid, 1996.
Bard D. Principales de la evaluación de riesgos para la santé publique liés aux environmental expositions. Rev Epidém et Santé Publ 1995; 43: 423-431.
García García AM, García Benavides F. Causality in occupational health: The case Ardystil.Gac San.1995; 51 (9): 371-79.
Wills JT, Briggs DJ. Developing indicators for environment and health. Wld statist fourth 1995; 48: 155-163.
* Norell S. Diseño de estudios epidemiológicos.1ª de. XXI Century of Spain Eds. Madrid, 1994.
Elliot P, Cuzick J, English D, Stern R, eds. Geographical and Environmental Epidemiology: Methods for Small-Area Studies. OUP, Great Britain, 1992.
PAHO The challenge of epidemiology. Problems and readings selected. Pan American Health Organization. Publ Cient. No. 505.
Washington-USA, 1988.
Competences of the degree to which the subject contributes:
The student will be able to identify the health problems of the community, analyze them in their diverse aspects (biomedical, environmental, social, legal economic), through the application of epidemiological methods, and propose the adoption of the most appropriate preventive measures.
Recognize and value the relationships between the environmental factors and the health of the community
Specific competences of the subject:
Be the one to design epidemiological studies in the environmental framework and to interpret their results.
As it is a non-contact module, the teacher will provide the students with the materials needed to understand and respond to the teaching objectives, and solve the works and exercises that will be used for the final evaluation.ticles, highlighting the sections, the most relevant and updated bibliography and the objectives that the student must achieve, with their management.
The teacher will focus the objectives with questions that promote the reasoning, putting at the disposal of the alumnado the electronic mail of the own virtual classroom besides the own institutional one for resolution of doubts, and permanent communication. Priority will be given to the search of materials that are related to the theoretical cont
The contents of the topics will be based on presentations in pdf, documents and compulsory reading arents.
As it is a non-contact module, the teacher will provide the students with the materials needed to understand and respond to the teaching objectives, and solve the works and exercises that will be used for the final evaluation.
The contents of the topics will be based on presentations in pdf, documents and compulsory reading articles, highlighting the sections, the most relevant and updated bibliography and the objectives that the student must achieve, with their management.
The teacher will focus the objectives with questions that promote the reasoning, putting at the disposal of the alumnado the electronic mail of the own virtual classroom besides the own institutional one for resolution of doubts, and permanent communication. Priority will be given to the search of materials that are related to the theoretical contents.
It is recommended to dedicate two or three hours of personal work of the student, to the reading of the materials and to the resolution and elaboration of the responses to the periodic works and to the final evaluation.
Participation online through e-mail and virtual classroom. Resolution and delivery of periodic works.
The communication with the students will be done through the electronic mail, the virtual classroom and the necessary telephones, trying to facilitate the interactive dynamic as much as possible.
Alberto Ruano Raviña
Coordinador/a- Department
- Psychiatry, Radiology, Public Health, Nursing and Medicine
- Area
- Preventive Medicine and Public Health
- Phone
- 881812267
- alberto.ruano [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Professor
Maria Leonor Varela Lema
- Department
- Psychiatry, Radiology, Public Health, Nursing and Medicine
- Area
- Preventive Medicine and Public Health
- leonor.varela [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
Monica Perez Rios
- Department
- Psychiatry, Radiology, Public Health, Nursing and Medicine
- Area
- Preventive Medicine and Public Health
- Phone
- 881812277
- monica.perez.rios [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer