.
Public Health
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:10.00
Study Course Accepted:20.03.2024 14:20:46
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | SVUEK_107 | LQF level: | Level 7 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 4.00 | ECTS: | 6.00 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Clinical Medicine; Public Health | Target Audience: | Information and Communication Science | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Lauma Spriņģe | ||||||||
| Study Course Implementer | |||||||||
| Structural Unit: | Department of Public Health and Epidemiology | ||||||||
| The Head of Structural Unit: | |||||||||
| Contacts: | Riga, Kronvalda bulvāris 9, svek rsu[pnkts]lv, +37167338307 | ||||||||
| Study Course Planning | |||||||||
| Full-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 12 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 24 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 12 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 24 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 48 | ||||||||
| Study course description | |||||||||
| Preliminary Knowledge: | Basic knowledge of human biology. | ||||||||
| Objective: | The aim of the course is to extend knowledge and improve competence of basic issues of the modern society; to introduce the diversity of issues to be addressed in public health and the applicable methods of cognition. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Public health, its sectors and key tasks. A brief insight into the history of public health. Health in all policies. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Evidence-based public health practice, its main activities. Public health problem characteristics, clarification of problems. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Definitions of health, its subjective and objective assessment. Individual and population health, basic methods in health research. Disease. Defining a case of disease. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Health evaluation approaches: health as absence of disease; health as optimal functioning; health as a component of quality of life. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Prevention, its explanation. Types of prevention. Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | High risk individuals' and population prevention strategies. Key prevention activities in the context of public health. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | Infectious diseases as a problem of public health. Foundations of infectious disease epidemiology, risk groups. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Chronic infectious disease impact in public health. Burden of dangerous infectious diseases. International priorities in the field of infectious diseases. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | Chronic non-communicable diseases as a public health problem. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 10 | Chronic non-communicable diseases, their major risk factors – smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, obesity. The WHO global strategies to reduce the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 11 | Emergencies in the context of public health. Emergency and disaster definitions and classifications. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 12 | Disaster medicine system and its principles. International rules of health protection. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 13 | Adolescence. The role of family, school and peers in adolescence. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 14 | Main health problems in adolescents in Latvia and globally. Main risk factors. Health behaviour related problems in adolescence. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 15 | Violence, research of violence in the context of public health. Violence related health consequences. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 16 | Violence against children. Violence against women. Strategies and activities for violence prevention. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 17 | Maternal and child health issues as a public health problem. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 18 | Maternal and child health issues up to age of one. Health indicators, risk factors, prevention. Major health problems and risk factors for a child after age one and adolescents. Political directions of public health in improving the health of children and adolescents. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 19 | Mental health as a public health problem. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 20 | Mental health in terms of public health. Diversity of mental disorders. Risk factors. The main aspects of prevention and healthcare of mental disorders. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 21 | Addictive diseases as a public health problem. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 22 | Addictive diseases in terms of public health. Diversity of addictive diseases. Risk factors. The main aspects of prevention and healthcare of addictive diseases. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 23 | Accidents, trauma and violence as a public health problem. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 24 | Accidents/ injuries and their indicators, types and risk factors. Risks in different age groups. Prevention strategies. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | Work in small groups, case analysis, compilation of statistical data and analysis, the end-of-course written examination. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | Accuracy of answers in the written examination. Activity and participation in classes. | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | |||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | Students will: • Define the concept of health and name the main categories of health affecting factors. • Name health indicators to be used for assessing health and applicable data sources. • Formulate functions of the public health sector. • List the main areas of activity of public health nowadays. • List key public health issues and their causes and prevention options. | ||||||||
| Skills: | Students will: • Classify health determinants. • Explain the nature of the indicators used for assessing health and opportunities of using them. • Differentiate and compare various health information sources. • Apply the concepts used in public health. • Analyse indicators and information characterising the public health issues. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | Students will: • Relate and generalise health assessment and measurement issues to public health practice. • Justify the nature of public health sector and its role within historical and demographic context. • Critically assess and justify the problems and the situation in public health using data sources used in public health. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Baltiņš M. Lietišķā epidemioloģija, Zinātne, 2003. | ||||||||
| 2 | Frances Wilson and Andi Mabhala. Key concepts in public health. Los Angeles: Sage, 2009. 312 pg. | ||||||||
| 3 | Unwin, Nigel Carr, Susan Pless-Mulloli, Tanja. An Introduction to Public Health and Epidemiology. Open University Press, 2007. | ||||||||
| Additional Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Brown B, Crawford P, Carter R. Evidence-Based Health Communication. Open University Press, 2006, 217 pg. | ||||||||
| 2 | Schiavo R.: Health Communication: From Theory to Practice (2nd Edition). Wiley, USA, 2013, 658 pg. | ||||||||
