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Continuing Professional Development - MSc Programme Modules (London-based)

ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY (1301)

ORGANISER: Dr Paul Wilkinson

DATES: 22 February 2012 to 23 March 2012 (2.00pm Wednesday to 5pm Friday)


AIM
To give students a theoretical and practical understanding of the design and analysis of studies in environmental epidemiology, with the main emphasis on the industrialized world.


OBJECTIVES
By the end of this module students should be able to:

  1. describe the main methodological issues in environmental epidemiology, specifically those relating to the investigation of the health effects of pollution of air, water and land, climate change, and the health effects of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation;
  2. assess and critically interpret scientific data relating to potential environmental hazards to health;
  3. plan, conduct and interpret the initial investigation into a putative disease cluster;
  4. describe the principles of geographical and time-series studies for the investigation of the health effects of environmental exposures, and the specific value of Geographical Information Systems as an investigative tool;
  5. describe the principal issues relating to waste water and excreta re-use, and the epidemiological investigation of associated health effects;
  6. describe the methods of quantitative risk assessment.


CONSTITUENCY
The module is compulsory for students taking the Environment & Health stream of the MSc in Public Health.  All students will require a sound basic knowledge of epidemiology (i.e. the equivalent of the Basic or the Extended Epidemiology Linear Module).


CONCEPTUAL OUTLINE
The module consists of the following components:

  1. A series of lectures/seminars (10-12 sessions) and small-group discussions covering key issues in environmental epidemiology: methods for investigating environmental hazards; climate change; estimation of exposure and problems of measurement; analysis of  health and exposure data using Geographical Information Systems and time-series methods (computer-based practical);  disease clusters; investigation of health effects of air pollution, electromagnetic fields, hazardous waste, stratospheric ozone depletion; water-related health risks; risk assessment.
  2. Critical review of key papers on air pollution epidemiology and case studies of other environmental hazards to health.


TEACHING STRATEGY
Series of lectures/seminars and guided reading; case studies and critical review of the literature (individual, small group and class work); private study.


LEARNING TIME
The module is made up of 150 Notional Learning Hours – 30 hours contact time, 20 hours directed self-study, 60 hours self-directed learning, and 40 hours assessment, review and revision.


ASSESSMENT
The assessment will take the form of a multiple-choice test (one-hour and 15 minutes) covering all aspects of the module.

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