78850 - Occupational Hygiene and Safety

Learning outcomes

The course provides the knowledge required to describe production cycles and health risk factors that are most commonly encountered in the occupational field.

The course aims at increasing the knowledge on methods of occupational risk assessment.

Course contents

The course aims at increasing the knowledge on etiology of the main occupational diseases and their prevention.

Results and limits of risk assessment and dose response relationship are discussed.

Contents:

Occupational Medicine: general background and evolution of working conditions, modern occupational medicine

Sustainable work ability.

Risk assessment and occupational hygiene: exposure limits to noxious agents, environmental and biological monitoring.

Musculoskeletal disorders due to biomechanical overload.

Reproductive hazards in the workplace.

Return to work interventions and health promotion in the workplace.

Readings/Bibliography

Aw TC et al. Poket Consultant: Occupational Health. Fifth Edition, Blckwell Publishing, 2007

Agius RM et al. Practical Occupational Medicine. Second edition. Hodder Arnold Publication, 2006

Levy BS et al. Occupational and Enviromental Health. Sixth Edition, Lippincott William & Wilkins, 2010

Ladou J. Current Occupational & Enviromental Medicine. Fourth Edition, McGraw Hill, 2007

Teaching methods

Lectures (PP presentations)

Risk assessment, environmental and biological monitoring results are discussed.

Clinical case reports and fitness for duty are presented.

Assessment methods

At the end of the course, the lecturer will point students to a selection of scientific articles related to the topics covered in class.

The student will be required to choose one scientific paper from the suggested ones, review it, conduct in-depth research by searching databases for (at least 3) additional related articles, and write a written text (project work) integrating and discussing the contents.

The text will be handed to the lecturer and presented orally on the day of the exam.
The work may be done individually or in groups of two students.
Assessment will be made in relation to content, written and oral form of expression.

Excellent grade 30/30 possibly with honors:
Comprehensive content, supported by finding more supplementary sources than the minimum required (>3 articles), inclusion in the text of the criteria used to search databases (keywords, MESH terms...), integration of information and individual contribution in the discussion. Written and oral expository clarity, use of specific technical terminology.

Very good rating 27-29/30:
Comprehensive content, supported by finding more supplementary sources than the minimum required (>3 articles), integration of information and individual contribution in discussion. Written and oral expository clarity, use of proper terminology.

Fair rating 23-26/30
More than sufficient content, supported by finding the minimum number of required supplementary sources (3 articles), integration of information in the summary of findings. Fair written and oral clarity of exposition.

Sufficient assessment 18-22/30
Sufficient content, supported by finding the minimum number of required supplementary sources (3 articles), description of results without proper integration and discussion. Sufficient written and oral expository clarity.

Teaching tools

Lectures will involve Power Point presentations, videos and images of manual jobs.

Scientific papers analysis.

Office hours

See the website of Roberta Bonfiglioli