19967 - Hygiene applied to Sport and Motor Activities

Learning outcomes

The students will acquire basic knowledge of epidemiologic methods and the general principles of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. They will learn about the appropriate tools for a correct preventive approach towards problems of health/disease involving the individual and the collective group. In the second part of the course the students will look in more detail at methological aspects, prevention tools and health education measures with specific attention to their application to motor activity and sports.

Course contents

1) EPIDEMIOLOGY Health, risk, disease. Health/disease dynamics. The state of health of the population. Scopes and methods of epidemiology. Determinism of diseases: causes and aetiologic agents; risk and risk factors. Definition of models and introduction to the epidemiological study of infectious diseases and multifactorial diseases. Epidemiological studies. 2) GENERAL EPIDEMIOLOGY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES Microorganisms. Host-parasite relationships: parasitism-symbiosis, pathogenicity, opportunistic organisms, endogenic flora, “taxonomy” of pathogenic organisms. The bacteria cell, viruses: structure and physiology. Immune response. Sources and vehicles of infection, ways of transmitting infections. 3) THE BASES OF PREVENTION General principles of individual, community and collective prevention. Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. General guidelines for prevention of infectious diseases: direct prophylaxis (notification, quarantine measures, diagnostic ascertainment, health surveillance, epidemiologic survey, disinfection, disinfestation, sterilization), specific prophylaxis (immunoprophylaxis and chemoprophylaxis) and indirect prophylaxis. 4) EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PROPHYLAXIS OF SOME INFECTIOUS AND PARASITIC DISEASES Relations between physical activity and infectious diseases. Tetanus, tick borne diseases, swimming-pool infections (skin infections, conjunctivitis, otitis, pediculosis, scabies), viral hepatitis, AIDS, meningococcin infections. Immunoprophylaxis in the athlete: anti-tetanus, anti-hepatitis B, anti-influenza vaccines. Prophylaxis during international travel: traveller's diarrhoea, cholera, hepatitis A, yellow fever, malaria. 5) EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PROPHYLAXIS OF MULTIFACTORIAL DISEASES Diseases of social importance, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic-obstructive bronchopneumopathies. Models of environmental and behavioural prevention. 6) HEALTH EDUCATION Methods of analyzing needs and of selecting objectives, sharing of objectives. Methods of transmitting the message. Planning a health education campaign: priorities, objectives, indicators and actions. Targets for the campaign: individuals, groups (formal and informal), schools. Tobacco smoking. Doping. Food Education: principles of food hygiene, the prevention of the transmission of infectious diseases, of food poisoning and of toxics. 7) ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE Hygiene in the school environment: building characteristics, microclimate, problems concerning the air, lighting and acoustics of classrooms and of the school gymnasium. Hygiene of sports facilities: problems concerning building characteristics, microclimate, sports equipment, CIO and CONI regulations; swimming pool hygiene, depuration methods of swimming pool water. Structural and procedural safety in motor activities for the prevention of accidents.

Readings/Bibliography

brandi, liguori, romano spica: igiene e sanita’ pubblica per scienze motorie, antonio delfino editore, roma, 2009
gullotti, pignato. giammanco: igiene per scienze motorie, monduzzi editore, bologna, 2003.
leoni: igiene in piscina, editrice il campo, bologna, 2007.

Teaching methods

Lectures, educational visits to sports structures, guided group work on the planning and implementation of health education programmes

Assessment methods

Oral examination to assess the learning of the various aspects of the subject and evaluate the critical capacity of students.

Teaching tools

video projector, pc, internet

Office hours

See the website of Erica Leoni