Learning objectives
At the end of the integrated Health Promotion course the student will have acquired the knowledge and the professionalizing tools necessary for nursing practice and culture. Will be able to design and implement health promotion strategies aimed at users of health facilities, families and the community.
The aim of the course is to provide the student with the basics to understand the meaning of the concepts of danger, risk and risk factor for health. The course aims to promote understanding by the healthcare professional of the possible health implications of exposure to various risk factors. At the end of the course the student must be able to know and use the personal protective equipment in the required context, as a measure to prevent physical, chemical and biological risk.
Course unit content
The integrated course provides the fundamental knowledge related to the design and implementation of health promotion strategies, describing the concept of health as a dynamic, multidimensional, individual and social process.
Education and promotion to health in the nursing area, finds its foundation in the professional profile in health prevention and, especially in the development of the concept of health through documents that over the years have been developed by the World Health Organization, to promote health through healthy lifestyles.
Furthermore, the course provides the fundamental knowledge relating to the current legislation on safety, health and protection in the workplace. The basic concepts of occupational medicine and the issues necessary to know the causal links between exposure to risk agents and the emergence of occupational diseases will be addressed, with particular reference to occupational risks in the healthcare environment.
Full programme
GENERAL HYGIENE:
DEFINITION OF HEALTH AND DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH/DISEASE
Evolution of the definitions of health and the concept of a health-disease continuum.
THE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL METHOD
Definition of epidemiology; the main epidemiological measures: proportions and rates, prevalence and incidence, relative risk, odds ratio; the concept of causality, the Bradford Hill criteria of causality; epidemiological studies (descriptive-analytical) and notes on randomized clinical trials.
GENERAL EPIDEMIOLOGY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Microorganisms and us (saprophytes, commensals and pathogens), infection and disease; contagiousness, diffusivity, pathogenicity, virulence;
Sick and infected reservoirs and sources (humans - healthy, precocious, convalescent and chronic carriers);
Mechanisms (ways) of transmission: direct, semi-direct, indirect transmission; vehicles and carriers.
THE "LEVELS OF PREVENTION": primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary.
GENERAL PREVENTION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Notification, diagnostic assessment, isolation, health surveillance, epidemiological investigation;
Disinfection: main disinfectants and applications in the health sector;
Sterilization: main sterilization methods (critical, semi-critical and non-critical instruments);
Asepsis (maintenance of sterility);
Antisepsis (killing and removal of pathogens);
Active and passive immunoprophylaxis: what are vaccines, main types, general theory of active immunization; vaccination campaigns; vaccinations for childhood, adolescence, adults and at-risk categories; Immunoglobulins.
SPECIAL PREVENTION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES: notes on etiology, epidemiology, prevention
Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Tuberculosis, Influenza, Meningitis, Measles, Varicella, Parotitis
Hepatitis A, Food-borne diseases and food-borne infections
Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS
Agents of foetopathies: Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, Toxoplasmosis
BASICS OF GENERAL EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PREVENTION OF NON-INFECTIOUS DISEASES
The Burden of disease, screening.
HEALTH CARE-RELATED INFECTIONS: definition, epidemiology, risk factors, preventive measures.
SPECIAL PREVENTION OF SOME CHRONIC DEGENERATIVE DISEASES
Neoplastic disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease.
ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE
Water (resource and drinking water criteria); Air (air pollution); Soil (waste disposal).
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND RADIOPROTECTION:
Introduction to Occupational Medicine and general concepts. Historical notes on the birth and evolution of Occupational Medicine. Current legislation on the protection of safety and health at work. Occupational accidents and diseases. Biological risk: definition of biological agent, characteristics and classification of biological agents according to Legislative Decree 81/2008. Main biological agents present in the health sector. Biological accident and immunoprophylaxis. Standard precautions. Chemical risk: definition of chemical agent. Carcinogens and mechanism of action. Notes on toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics. Main chemical risks in the health sector: latex, glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde, liquid nitrogen. Organisational/transversal risk: shift work. Related stress-work. Burnout. Physical risk: ionizing radiation. Radioprotection.
NURSING IN THE PROMOTION OF HEALTH AND THERAPEUTIC EDUCATION:
In the first part, the course outlines the ethical, legislative and deontological aspects of the nursing profession. This premise becomes necessary to form the conceptual framework of the authority and awareness of nursing action.
Health education and promotion and therapeutic education in the Nursing area find their foundations both in the professional profile, in health prevention, and above all in the World Health Organization, with the development of the concept of health through documents that over the years they were developed to promote health through healthy lifestyles, such as: nutrition, movement and the elimination of risky behaviors (smoking, alcohol, etc.).
Bibliography
Barbuti,Fara,Gianmanco et al."Igiene"terza edizione,Monduzzi Editore 2014
Carlo Signorelli "Igiene Epidemiologia Sanità Pubblica" quinta edizione Società Editrice Universo 2011
Lezioni di Medicina del Lavoro. Mutti A, Corradi M. Ed. Berti
Teaching methods
Lectures will be held on-site in compliance with safety standards, provided that further instructions on the ongoing health emergency are not implemented. Supporting material will be available on the specific, student-reserved platform (Elly).
Assessment methods and criteria
The assessment of the achievement of the objectives of the course is through a written test. The test consists of multiple choice questions on the course contents (reference texts + documents uploaded to Elly during the course). There is no penalty for incorrect answers.
Students with DSA/BSE must contact the University Reception and Inclusion Centre in advance (cai@unipr.it).
