MPH1003 - Environmental influences on health

Leader: Professor M Sim & B Priestly

Offered

Alfred Hospital Second semester 2008 (Day)

Synopsis

Environmental influences on health including infectious diseases and occupational hazards. Physical, chemical and biological hazards. Principles of environmental & occupational hazard assessment and control, including risk. Methods of hazard management. How to communicate environmental hazard and risk data.

Objectives

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Nominate the important chemical, physical and biological factors in the environment and the risks to health from environmental factors in Australia.
2. Demonstrate fluency with the terminology used to describe chemical, physical, and microbiological hazards encountered in the community.
3. Critically appraise published epidemiological articles related to environmental health risks.
4. Relate methods to identify common hazards in environmental media such as water, air and food, and methods to assess the degree of risk from these hazards.
5. Nominate common interventions used to control environmental risks and prevent injury, including standard setting, and the key personal, social and economic factors that inhibit, control or lessen their impact.
6. Effectively and sensitively communicate information and principles about environmental hazards and risks.

Assessment

Case study 25%
Literature review 50%
Multiple-choice question examination 25%.

Contact hours

2 contact hours per week