Methdology of Investigation/Population Health IV

Recommended Prerequisites

Knowledge and skills that students should know how to use before they begin studying this curricular unit:

A: Knowledge:

It is taken for granted that students already have basic knowledge before they begin studying this unit which is enough to acquire its content. This basic knowledge includes specially the following items:

- Biostatistics – know how to use the main descriptive and inferential statistics techniques.

- Sociology – ability to understand the main sociological problems.

- Medicine History – knowledge concerning evolution of Medicine throughout times.

- Medical Pathology – basic knowledge about the main diseases and risk factors.

- Planning in health and knowledge of Health Systems and Services (within the National Health Service).

B. Skills and Attitudes:

English Language – ability to read, understand, write and speak English at a level which is enough to understand the recommended bibliography and communicate scientifically.           

Teaching Methods

Theoretical lessons

Learning Outcomes

The course has as general educational objective to allow the students, in an initial phase of their preparation, to contact with environmental health, and decisive behavioural and biological factors of disease and with the organization of Healthcare in order to recognize their significance, and trying to motivate them for the communitarian aspects that are beneath its origin and also for the communitarian consequences.

Knowing that the Investigation constitutes the base to get indispensable information to all and any valid action, the students will be trained in the basic methodological principles, as well as on the importance of investigation ethics. The innumerable problems of social medicine are under the responsibility of some specific institutions that the students will have to visit and to register how much they contribute to the community Health and their forms of intervention. The social approach of Medicine is determinant for the prevention and promotion of health     

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Forms of acting in Medicine:

Quality of the health of the populations:

Civilization Level

Sanitary level

History of the health

Community health:

Demographic revolution

Industrial development

Economical repercussions

Repercussions in the health of the communities

Social problems

Promotion of community health

Notion of public health

Fields of health (concept): Human Biology

Environment

Behaviours

Organization of healthcare

Models of community health

Human Biology  - limited action

Environmental intervention - health protection

Intervention on life styles - health promotion

Intervention on systems of healthcare - Services of preventive medicine

History of the community health

Screening

Types of Screening 

Dangers of application of Screening

Characteristics of Screening Tests

Indications

Dangers of application of Screening

Systems of Healthcare

Occupational Health

Importance and history

Main types of occupational diseases

Environmental Health     

Head Lecturer(s)

Salvador Manuel Correia Massano Cardoso

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Exam: 100.0%

Bibliography

• Notas epidemiológicas - Salvador Massano Cardoso - Faculdade de Medicina

- Coimbra, 2005.

• Sistemas de Saúde - Gonçalves Ferreira (Fundação Caloust Gulbenkian).

• Community Health - Green and Anderson (Times Mirror/Mosby - STo Louis,

1986)

• Survey Methods in Community Medicine - J.H. Abramson (Churchil Livingston

- Edinbourgh).