Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE MDS3022

 
TITLE Public Health

 
UM LEVEL 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 6

 
ECTS CREDITS 2

 
DEPARTMENT Faculty of Medicine and Surgery

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit introduces the medical student to the areas such as occupational health, health management, health promotion and preventive medicine, environmental health, notification and control of infectious diseases and themes such as equity, evidence-based medicine, and health care services organisation. Each of the areas within Public Health will also outline the Legal framework within which each area developed and operates.

Study-unit Aims:

The main aims of the unit are to provide core public health knowledge required of every doctor, including arrangements of health services, sourcing evidence for decision making (including health economic aspects and health technology assessment), legal requirements (particularly around disease surveillance), preventive medicine, and social determinants and inequities in health (especially in the area of non-communicable disease).

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

• Identify the different health care services;
• Identify which European and global databases provide comparable health related indicators for Malta and other countries;
• Describe the key elements of a Health Technology Assessment;
• Briefly explain health economics and its underlying principles;
• Describe the importance of and the essentials of health promotion, preventive medicine occupational health and environmental health;
• Outline the basic principles of preventive medicine;
• Distinguish public health interventions which are evidence-based;
• Describe how evidence-based approaches have been integrated into public health policy;
• Describe the major drivers for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs);
• Discuss the procedures related to infectious disease notification, surveillance, and control;
• Distinguish between the major issues governing equity in health, health care policy and management and the wider determinants of health (social, environmental, and economic).

2. Skills
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

• Discuss how public health can utilise health information, social and behavioural interventions as well as health policy and law to improve the health of populations;
• Outline the main factors driving ill health including the financial and social determinants of health and how these lead to health inequities;
• Describe the impact of the environment and communicable diseases on the health of populations;
• Outline the burden of chronic diseases on morbidity and mortality and approaches to prevention, early detection, and disease management;
• Discuss the criteria for evaluating health systems including issues of access, quality, and cost;
• Identify the roles of public health in addressing the needs of vulnerable populations and health disparities;
• Analyse the determinants of morbidity and mortality in a new situation;
• Debate issues related to the health of the public and the control of major health problems;
• Utilise European and global databases which provide comparable health related indicators for Malta and other countries;
• Discuss the key elements of a Health Technology Assessment and be able to make a case for the procurement of a new medicine or medical technology;
• Explain the organisation of public health care services and the contributions of health professionals;
• Discuss laws and regulations, issues, risks, and strategies related to occupational health;
• Explain the essentials for promoting health and understand behavioural change theory;
• Describe the principal challenges and strategies in health economics.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Texts

- Donaldson L.J & Donaldson R.J (2018) Essential public health, fourth edition (revised). CRC Press.
ISBN 9781909368958

- Lecture Notes: Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine [Paperback]. Yoav Ben-Shlomo (Author), Sara T Brookes (Author), Matthew Hickman (Author). Wiley-Blackwell; 7 edition (2013).
ISBN-10: 1444334786
ISBN-13: 978-1444334784

Supplementary Readings

- Mary-Jane Schneider (2016) Introduction to public health,fifth edition. SSudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Barlett Publishers LLC.
ISBN-10: 1284089231
ISBN-13: 978-1284089233

- Turnock.B.J (2020) Public health, what it is and how it works, fseventh edition, Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Barlett Publishers LLC. ISBN-10: 1284181200
ISBN-13: 978-1284181203

- Detels.R et al. (2021) Oxford textbook of Public Health, fseventh edition. Oxford University Press (OUP). (https://academic.oup.com/book/36249)

- Essentials of Environmental Health (Essential Public Health). Robert H. Friis. Jones & Bartlett Learning; 3rd edition (2018).
ISBN-10: 9781284123975
ISBN-13 : 978-1284123975

- Foundations for Health Promotion, 3e (Public Health and Health Promotion). Jane Wills (Author) Bailliere Tindall; 5 edition (2022). ISBN-10: 0702085065
ISBN-13: 978-0702085062

- Medical Statistics Made Easy, 4th edition. M Harris (Author), G Taylor (Author). (2020)
ISBN-10: 1911510630
ISBN-13: 978-1911510635

- Managing Infodemics in the 21st Century. T Purnat (Author), T Nguyen (Author), S Briand (Author). (2023) https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-27789-4.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Independent Study

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Examination (1 Hour) 100%

 
LECTURER/S

 

 
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The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit