57138 - General and Applied Hygiene

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student: has acquired knowledge of the determinant factors of health and disease; knows the fundamental means to prevent the main infectious and non-infectious diseases; knows the appropriate elements for conducting health educational campaigns 

Course contents

BASIC HEALTH DEMOGRAPHY: Measuring the frequency of health events: birth rate, death rate, incidence and prevalence of diseases, lethality rate. 

EPIDEMIOLOGY:  Health, risk, disease. Health/disease dynamics. The state of population health. Mental health problem, disability, addiction.

GENERAL EPIDEMIOLOGY OF INFECTIOUS AND PARASITIC DISEASES: General epidemiology: general aspects. Reservoirs and sources of infection. Routes of entry and elimination of infective agents. Direct and indirect transmission (through inanimate vehicles and vectors) of infectious diseases. Ways in which diseases may appear in the population (sporadic, endemic, epidemic and pandemic).

BASIC GENERAL PREVENTION: Aims and methods of prevention. Primary prevention, secondary prevention, tertiary prevention. 

GENERAL PROPHYLAXIS FOR INFECTIOUS AND PARASITIC DISEASES: Notification of infectious diseases, making diagnosis (direct and indirect); quarantine measures (isolation in hospital or at home, health surveillance). 
Disinfection and sterilisation using physical methods. Disinfection using chemical methods. Disinfection with chemical media in gaseous state. Some applications of disinfectants. Antiseptics. 
Vaccine prophylaxis. Constitution, requisites, ways of administering vaccines; precautions and contraindications. Schedule for compulsory vaccines in newborns. 
Seroprophylaxis. Immune sera of animals, human immunoglobulins (normal and specific).

FOOD HYGIENE. 
Foodborne diseases: Clostridium botulinum, salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens.

HEALTH EDUCATION: Methods of analyzing needs and selectives objectives, sharing of objectives. Methods of transmitting the message. Planning a health educational campaign targeting individuals, groups, schools.

  

Readings/Bibliography

Comodo N, Maciocco G. Igiene e Sanità Pubblica. Manuale per le professioni sanitarie. Roma, Carocci Faber, 2011.

Lanciotti E. Igiene e Medicina sociale e di comunità. Milano, McGraw-Hill, 2011.

Signorelli C. Igiene. Roma, SEU, 2009.

Teaching methods

Lectures, guided group work on the planning and implementation of health education programmes, brainstorming.

Assessment methods

Oral examination to assess the learning of the various aspects of the subject and evaluate the critical capacity of students

Teaching tools

Video projector, PC.

Office hours

See the website of Anna Bergamaschi