75218 - "Occupational Epidemiology"

Learning outcomes

The main objective of this course is to provide basic knowledge on the following items:

-basic principles of the evidence-based prevention

-distribution of occupational diseases and injuries at work

-introduction to the main methods of the epidemiological studies used in public health

-relation between socio-economic inequalities and disease

Course contents

Evidence-based prevention (part 1): introduction to evidence-based prevention; human population and exposure variability; pros and cons of observational studies and trials in public health; randomized controlled trials and cluster randomized controlled trials; efficacy and effectiveness; effectiveness of a preventive intervention: data collection, data synthesis and evaluation of the evidence; traditional review of the literature; systematic review and metanalysis in evidence-based prevention.

Evidence-based prevention (part 2): Cochrane Collaboration and Cochrane Work; methodology in conducting a systematic review: search strategies; use of PubMed for literature search; systematic reviews: study selection and quality appraisal; introduction to writing a Cochrane review; development and evaluation of a preventive intervention.

Readings/Bibliography

Teaching materials (accessible through VIRTUALE platform), scientific articles about methodology and examples of intervention studies aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of preventive interventions.

Baldasseroni A, Olimpi N. EBP e Lavoro. L'efficacia degli interventi per la prevenzione degli infortuni sul lavoro. Istituto Superiore di Sanità e Regione Toscana, 2009. This text can be downloaded at http://www.epicentro.iss.it/ebp/pdf/dossier09.pdf

Geoffrey Rose. Rose's Strategy of Preventive Medicine. OUP Oxford, 2008.

A self-evaluation test will be provided.

Teaching methods

Lectures

Case discussion

Small group work

Computer exercises (using PubMed)

To attend lab room activities, students have to take an online class about “formazione sulla sicurezza nei luoghi di studio” (module 1 and 2).

Assessment methods

The exam of Occupational Epidemiology is composed of two steps:

1) Writing an essay on the evaluation of the effectiveness of a preventive intervention stating the criteria used to search the literature.

This essay will be evaluated on the following criteria: a) search strategy; b) preventive intervention; c) type of study design; d) clarity of the text.

The students have to send the essay by email one week before the exam. Only students with a positively evaluated essay could be enrolled to the final exam.

2) Oral examination: discussion of the essay and posing of two questions (duration about 20 min).

The final score will be calculated as the average of the single scores. The evaluation of the exam will be expressed as a mark out of 30.

Students must sign up using AlmaEsami. Late exam registrations are not admitted.

For “Science of Prevention in Public Health 2”, the final score will be calculated as weighted average of the individual marks of the following exams:

• Occupational Epidemiology (3 CFU)
• Public Health (3 CFU)
  

To be noted that Prof. Curti (lecturer in Occupational Epidemiology) will be in charge of the recording of the final score.

Teaching tools

Whiteboard, PC, video projector, computer lab.

Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) are invited to inform the teacher of their needs in order to adopt appropriate measures or tools.

Office hours

See the website of Stefania Curti