Environmental Medicine

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved

Course Description Version:8.00

Study Course Accepted:12.08.2024 08:44:44

Study Course Information
Course Code:		AUVMK_014		LQF level:		Level 7
Credit Points:		2.00		ECTS:		3.00
Branch of Science:		Clinical Medicine; Public Health		Target Audience:		Medicine
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:		Jeļena Reste
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:		Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:		Riga, 16 Dzirciema Street, avmkrsu[pnkts]lv, +371 67060816
Study Course Planning
Full-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)		0	Lecture Length (academic hours)		0	Total Contact Hours of Lectures		0
Classes (count)		11	Class Length (academic hours)		3	Total Contact Hours of Classes		33
Total Contact Hours								33
Study course description
Preliminary Knowledge:
Basic knowledge in chemistry, biochemistry, physics, microbiology, propedeutics, and physiology.
Objective:
To acquire knowledge about the importance of various environmental factors (air, water, nutrition, soil, habitats, work environment), adverse environmental factors, environmental pollution, their impact on health, identification, measurement, evaluation, prevention and control of harmful environmental factors.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.	Topic			Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	The introduction to the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Environmental health and medicine, role, tasks, assessment methods. Environmental pollution exposure routes and effects on human health. The importance of human biomonitoring. Water as a component of the environment. Methods for obtaining drinking water. Mandatory harmlessness and quality requirements for drinking water. Evaluation of drinking water quality. Obtaining of non-infectious water in extreme situations.			Classes		1.00	laboratory
2	Workshop – Water as an environmental factor. Effects of water pollution on human health. Analysis of scientific publications and literature on current water pollution problems, presenting the results.			Classes		1.00	auditorium
3	Quality of nutrition as a prerequisite for health. Nutrition sufficiency, balance, diversity, pollution, and safety. Food safety and quality assurance. Food quality determination of vegetables and fruits.			Classes		1.00	laboratory
4	Food safety: production, packaging, storage, transportation, preparation, distribution, etc. Food poisoning. Requirements for catering establishments and sanitary control thereof. Determination of the quality of animal products.			Classes		1.00	laboratory
5	Workshop – Food as an environmental factor. Effects of food pollution on human health. Analysis of scientific publications and literature on current problems with food safety, presenting the results.			Classes		1.00	laboratory
6	Air as part of the environment. Climate change and human health. The role of microclimate in preserving health. Microclimate in housing, public facilities, health facilities and workplaces. Determination and assessment of air temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure.			Classes		1.00	laboratory
7	Air pollutants. Indoor air quality. Air motion detection methods and evaluation. Carbon dioxide as an indicator of the indoor air pollution. Indoor air exchange effectiveness. Typical air pollutants at workplaces, principles of airway protection measures.			Classes		1.00	laboratory
8	Meaning of natural and artificial lighting. Determination and evaluation of natural and artificial lighting indicators. Natural and artificial lighting in dwellings, public and health care institutions and workplaces. Physical environmental pollutants and work hazards.			Classes		1.00	laboratory
9	Work environment, hazards, risks and prevention principles. Risk assessment methods. Chemical and biological occupational hazards. Individual protective equipment.			Classes		1.00	laboratory
10	Principles of ergonomics in everyday life and working environments. Psychoemotional risks at work. Hygienic assessment of workplaces in different institutions and industrial environments. The environment in healthcare facilities as a therapeutic factor for patients. Environmental health of healthcare facilities. The most characteristic occupational risk factors in the work of medical personnel.			Classes		1.00	laboratory
11	Workshop on air as a component of the environment and harmful factors of the working environment. Effects of air pollution on human health. Analysis of scientific publications and literature on current air pollution problems. Reports on problems and opportunities for improvement of working environment conditions.			Classes		1.00	laboratory
Assessment
Unaided Work:
Acquisition of extended knowledge, skills and competence from the training materials in e-study environment, from presentations, discussions on the students’ reports and research. Development of reports on pollution of air, drinking water, river beds and food contamination. The analysis of situation tasks. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal.
Assessment Criteria:
In the assessment of student’s knowledge the total individual contribution and quality of work during the whole course is taken into account: • participation and activity in practical classes and seminars, successful implementation of teacher’s tasks (20%); • quality of completion of practical work protocols (20%); • topicality of the independent work and quality of presentations (30%); • regular tests on issues of environmental medicine during the course and at the end of the course (30%). Method of testing: cumulative exam
Final Examination (Full-Time):		Exam
Final Examination (Part-Time):
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:		Students will have obtained basic knowledge of environmental health and they will be able to describe: • the role of environmental health, its principles, trends, objectives and practical application; • methods of measuring pollution and contamination and preventive measures to reduce pollution; • requirements for planning, improvement, and exploitation of housing, public buildings, educational and healthcare institutions; • nutrition, food quality, its epidemiological and toxicological significance; • genetically modified food, food additives, food poisoning and their impact on health; • work environment main hazards, their measurement and assessment principles, prevention methods.
Skills:		Students will be able to: • independently critically analyze, apply ecological arguments to justify their point of view and to assess environmental health as a preventive branch of environmental science and medicine in preserving and strengthening of human health; • inspect and evaluate various surroundings and objects (dwellings, health and social care institutions, educational institutions, catering establishments), assess measurable parameters (microclimate, lighting, air, water, soil pollution) and discover risk factors; • identify and assess the quality of food and pollution; • analyze food poisoning cases; • identify environmental health hazards for the health, growth and development of children and teenagers; • solve practical problems concerning pollution of different components of the environment.
Competencies:		Students will be able to: • recognize the connection between health condition and environmental factors; • apply the reasoning logic and rhetoric skills in order to analyze practical situations; • develop recommendations and measures for prevention or reduction of hazardous factors to ensure optimal interaction between the human body and the environment; • take responsibility and demonstrate managerial skills in environmental safety for the sake of interests of an individual or the whole society.
Bibliography
No.	Reference
Required Reading
1	Eglīte M. 2008. Vides veselība. Rīga: RSU. (latviešu plūsmas studijām; latviešu valodā pieejamā grāmata ar visu nepieciešamo informāciju studiju kursam)
2	Dundurs, J. 2015. Environmental & Occupational Medicine. Rīga: RSU. (pieejams pdf fails kursa e-studiju mājaslapā)
3	LaDou, J., Harrison, R. J. 2021. CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 6th ed. McGraw Hill. Access Medicine. Iegūts no: via Access Medicine
4	Ārvalstu studentiem/For international students:
5	Dundurs, J. 2015. Environmental & Occupational Medicine. Rīga: RSU. (pieejams pdf fails kursa e-studiju mājaslapā)
6	LaDou, J., Harrison, R. J. 2021. CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 6th ed. McGraw Hill. Access Medicine. Iegūts no: via Access Medicine
Additional Reading
1	Ahluwalia, V. K. 2014. Environmental Pollution and Health. Energy and Resources Institute. Iegūts no: via ProQuest Ebook Central
2	Ayres, J. G., Harrison, R.M. et al., eds. 2010. Environmental Medicine. London: Hodder Education. iegūts no: via ProQuest Ebook Central
3	Frumkin, H. 2016. Environmental Health. From Global to Local. 3rd ed. Jossey-Bass A Wiley Brand
4	Oxford Handbook of Occupational Health
Other Information Sources
1	Pruss-Ustun, A., Bos, R., et al. 2008. Safer Water, Better Health: Costs, Benefits and Sustainability of Interventions to Protect and Promote Health. Geneva: World Health Organization.
2	Vides zinātne. LU akadēmiskais apgāds, 2008
3	Ārvalstu studentiem/For international students:
4	Pruss-Ustun, A., Bos, R., et al. 2008. Safer Water, Better Health: Costs, Benefits and Sustainability of Interventions to Protect and Promote Health. Geneva: World Health Organization.