| Title: |
Global Environmental Health |
| Keywords: |
Toxic agents/environmental hazards
Epidemiology
|
| Country: |
Spain
|
| Institution: |
Spain - Barcelona Institute for Global Health - University of Barcelona
|
| Course coordinator: |
Mark Nieuwenhuijsen
|
| Date start: |
2021-04-26 |
| Date end: |
2021-05-05 |
| About duration and dates: |
One day prereading + 7 days of online classes |
| Classification: |
advanced optional
|
| Mode of delivery: |
Blended-learning
|
Course location:
School of Medicine - University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain |
|
| ECTS credit points: |
3 ECTS credits
|
SIT:
Independent study hours: 47
Online classroom hours: 28 (14 x 2h sessions)
Online sessions in the mornings from 9:00 to 13:30 with 30 min break.
Total hours: 75 |
|
| Language: |
English
|
Description:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1.
Critically discuss relevant literature on environment and health.
2.
Apply principles of exposure assessment, epidemiology, and health impact assessment to the field of environmental health.
3. Utilize key methods to assess environmental impacts on health.
4.
Apply scientific evidence to explain the relationship between environmental conditions and health effects. |
|
Assessment Procedures:
The assessment will have an individual component (50%) and a group component (50%). The individual component will be evaluated through written answers to questions (30%) and participation (20%). The group component will be assessed through the final case study (50%). A fail in one part compensates as long as the combined mark is 5 (10maximum mark):
1. Written answer to questions (30%): Students will be provided with two papers and instructed to submit written answers to a set of questions (5-6 per paper) raised based on those two papers. They will have one week after receiving the questions to hand in their answers.
2. Final case study (50%): Working in small groups during the course of the module, the students are requested to develop a protocol for a case study to evaluate the health implications of a source of environmental pollution on residents of a hypothetical city based on a pre-established guideline offered by instructors on the first day of the module. The groups will present their protocols in public on the last day of the module and receive feedback from their fellow students as well as the module instructors.
3. Participation (20%):
Participation will be assessed based on active engagement in discussions (10%) and self-evaluation of participation (10%).
The final grade will be communicated within 15 days after the submission of the case study.
Re-sit: Students who fail to pass in the first instance will need to submit an individual new case study within 15 days since ordinary grade communication. |
|
Content:
The course is comprised of six lecture sessions of four hours each, and one of 2 hours:
1.
Introduction to the course, environment and health and overview of methods used in environment and health: This session provides an introduction to the course and the main methods used in environment and health including study designs, methods and tools used, and main exposures studied.
2.
Environmental exposure assessment and measurement error. This session covers the development and execution of exposure assessment used in environmental epidemiological studies, and deals with the principal tools and knowledge necessary for environmental epidemiological studies including questionnaires, GIS, personal monitoring, modeling and biological monitoring, and the impact of measurement error on health effect estimates.
3.
Chemical pollutants and health. This session covers the main methods used to assess the health impacts of chemical pollutants (e.g. pesticides, POPs, phthalates, Bisphenol A, PFOS/PFOA) and the current status of knowledge on the associations between the exposures and health.
4.
Ambient exposures and health: air pollution, noise, UV and green spaces. The session imparts the main methods used to assess the health impacts of air pollution, noise, UV and green space, and the current status of knowledge on the associations between the exposures and health. Issues regarding risk-benefits will be discussed.
5.
Water and health. The session covers the main methods used to assess the health impacts of water contaminants both chemical and microbial, and the current status of knowledge on the associations between the exposures and health. Issues regarding risk-benefits will be discussed.
6.
Climate change, chemical incidents and natural disasters. This session addresses the main methods used to assess the health impacts of climate change, chemical incidents (e.g. Bhopal, Seveso, Chernobyl) and natural disasters (e.g. volcanoes, heat waves), and the current status of knowledge on the associations between the exposures and health.
7.
Healthy urban living. This lecture provides an overview of how different aspects of urban form and planning such as transport and built environment types can affect health. |
|
Methods:
The 2h online sessions will consist of 90 minutes lectures followed by open discussions.
Independent study hours (47) are to be dedicated to course pre-readings, reading papers for each session, answering written questions and preparing the final case study. |
|
Prerequisites:
Students must have an advanced level of English: TOEFL test score 213 computer-based or 550 paper-based or 79-80 internet-based or IELTS band 6.0; or equivalent.
A background in basic epidemiology and statistics is required (equivalent to core course). |
|
Attendance:
30 maximum students; 10 maximum tropEd students |
|
Selection:
Students will be selected for this course based on a CV and letter of motivation. |
|
Fees:
525 € fee plus approx. 90 € university |
|
Scholarships:
There are no scholarships available for this course at the present time. |
|
Major changes since initial accreditation:
There have not been major changes in the learning objectives and methodology. The only relevant change on the content is that the course has been extended one day to include a session on Urban Health.
We have decided to change the grade assessment. While until now assessment was exclusively individual, now a combination of group-based and individual has been established. The share of each grade assessment component has also been altered, downsizing participation to 20% (previously 30%). |
|
tropEd accreditation:
Accredited in June 2014. Re-accredited in October 2018. This accreditation is valid until October 2023. |
|
| Email Address: |
mark.nieuwenhuijsen@isglobal.org |
| Date Of Record Creation: |
2014-06-17 04:53:41 (W3C-DTF) |
| Date Of Record Release: |
2014-06-17 10:04:04 (W3C-DTF) |
| Date Record Checked: |
2019-08-14 (W3C-DTF) |
| Date Last Modified: |
2021-01-29 15:21:37 (W3C-DTF) |
