SFOK16011U Children and Environmental Health

Volume 2016/2017
Education

MSc in Public Health Science
BSc in Public Health Science

Content

The course will be based on the textbook of children's environmental health edited by Philip Landrigan and Ruth A Etzel from Oxford University press with introduction to pediatrics, exposure science, environments, environmental hazards, prevention and control of diseases and legal and ethical aspects.

The course describes exposure, toxicology and epidemiology of exposures to children from outdoor and indoor emission sources. Assessment of hazards from exposure to air pollution, food, consumer products

Exposures is for a large part based on review of available data on exposure, toxicology andepidemiology by international expert committees. It describes an integrated approach to hazard identification of environmental exposures, using information on exposure assessment, toxicology and epidemiology. The curriculum encompasses individual risk evaluations including human biomonitoring studies.

Children and cognitive and behavioral adverse effects from prenatal and early childhood environments will be presented by clinical experts

Learning Outcome

Knowledge

Understading most common diseases in children, how to prevent, diagnose and treat including paediatrics

Understanding problems of exposure assessment for components in air pollution, food and consumer products specifucally related to children, taking different age groups into account

Understanding children health epidemiology applying the Bradford Hill criteria

Understanding integrated hazard identification procedure

Understand the special ethical and legal demands related to studies with children

Skills

Critical insight into prevention, diagnosing and  treatment by paediatric expertise

Participate in development and validation of exposure assessment of children

Analyse exposure-response relationships

Apply methods for exposure assessment for air pollution exposures, food borne exposures and exposures from cinsumer products, including human biomonitoring

Perform risk assessment and risk communication of adverse effects from the envornment og childrens health

Competences

Critical insight into prevention, diagnosing and  treatment by paediatric expertise

Extract and discuss strength and weaknesses of relevant toxicological and epidemiological literature

Discuss exposure and outcome assessment with relevant specialists

Critically evaluate and interpret toxicological and epidemiological studies, design and data

Discuss and apply the results on toxicological and epidemiological studies in hazard identification of childrens environmental exposures

Apply the special ethical and legal demands related to studies with children in a study protocol

The students should specifically be able to

define the most common paeditric challenges related to environment

define the specific vulnerability of children to environmental exposues

name the major exposure routes and sources

describe the major diseases of environmental origin in children

describe risk assessment and risk management

analyse the major ethical and legal issues related to studies with children

The course will be based on the textbook of children's environmental health edited by Philip Landrigan and Ruth A Etzel from Oxford University press and monographs/scientific papers to be discussed in the class by presentations of the students.

The student must have passed the bachelor course in Environmental and Occupational Health, Introduction to Epidemiology and International Health.
Knowledge on BSc level within the following areas: environmental and occupational health, basic epidemiology and international health.
Class room discussions from the text in the textbook and the original literature provided. The course aims at engaging the students by student presentations of selected issues.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 50
  • Course Preparation
  • 180
  • Exam
  • 45
  • Total
  • 275
Credit
10 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
The students will be asked for a self selected assignment with atopic within Childrens Environmental Health.
Individual written assignment to be worked on throughout the course and handed in on the last day of the course.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
One internal examiner.
Exam period

See the exam schedule here: http://sund.ku.dk/uddannelse/vejledning-information/eksamensplaner/folkesundhedsvidenskab/

Re-exam

See the exam schedule here: http://sund.ku.dk/uddannelse/vejledning-information/eksamensplaner/folkesundhedsvidenskab/

Criteria for exam assesment

To achieve the maximum grade of 12, the student must be able to:

Knowledge

Understand problems of exposure assessment for components in air pollution, food and consumer products specifucally related to children, taking different age groups into account

Understand children health epidemiology applying the Bradford Hill criteria

Understand integrated hazard identification procedure

Understand the special ethical and legal demands related to studies with children

Skills

Demonstrate independent skills in assessing inportant environmental health problems for children, the prevention , regulation and ethical and legal aspects.

Competences

Define the most common paeditric challenges related to environment

Define the specific vulnerability of children to environmental exposues

Name the major exposure routes and sources

Describe the major diseases of environmental origin in children

Describe risk assessment and risk management

Analyse the major ethical and legal issues related to studies with children