GLOBAL CHANGES AND HEALTH
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Full programme
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
For a good understanding of the course, it will be useful to know the basics of climate changes and toxicology. Basics of general biology and environmental chemistry are also very useful. Understanding of the written and oral English language is taken for granted.
Oral exam related to the content of the teaching material provided on the e-learning platform. To pass the test the student should demonstrate adequate knowledge of the topics covered by the course and the ability to properly master this knowledge. The terminological correctness and the skill to propose a correct methodological approach for assessing risk and impacts in hypothetical scenarios (living and working environments) will be positively evaluated.
More in detail, the assessment of knowledge and skills gained during the course will be verified through an oral test lasting about 30 minutes. The oral exam is aimed at ascertaining: 1) the ability to fully present a topic (or part of a topic) covered in the course; 2) the ability to respond concisely and precisely to a specific request; 3) the ability to use the knowledge and skills acquired in order to analyse problems explicitly addressed in the course and propose appropriate methodologies for their resolution. The exam will focus on at least 3 questions related to the teaching program with the aim of assessing the learning level and the critical evaluation of topics, the correctness of terminology, the ability to correctly apply the acquired knowledge to real cases.
TRAINING OBJECTIVES
The general objective of the teaching activity is to provide the student with the knowledge of the main environmental stressors, such as the climate change, the current trends and perspectives of some key environmental stressors of anthropic and natural origin. The teaching activity will be focused on the global trends of the most important factors of environmental criticality worldwide, in relation to their ability to alter the health status of susceptible populations and individuals.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Once the course will be completed, students will be able to analyse and assess, based on scientific evidence, the main challenges represented by the impacts of global changes on human health in current scenario.
- Global Megatrends
- Environmental challenges and policies in a global context
- Global burden of disease
- Risk factors and impacts on mortality and disability
- Worldwide air pollution trends, sources and cross-country comparisons
- Climate change and health
- Global pandemics
- Health effects of natural toxins in the world
- The transport sector: environment and health
- Main environmental stressors, temporal trends and perspectives at global level
- Global waste management
- Noise pollution and health impacts in urban environments
- Global Megatrends: Diverging global population trends,
towards a more urban world, changing disease burdens and risks of pandemics
- Environmental challenges and policies in a global context
- Global burden of disease.
- Risk factors and impacts on mortality and disability: temporal trends, environmental risk factors, socio-economic inequalities and still life
- Worldwide air pollution trends, sources and cross-country comparisons
- Long-range transport of pollutants
- Role of air pollution on aging and disease
- Climate change:
- the role of production processes and lifestyle patterns on climate-changing emissions
- heat islands in cities and health impacts on the general population and susceptible subjects
- climate change and occupational health
- climate change and infectious, vector-borne and zoonotic diseases
- Global pandemics:
- pandemics of the past: environmental and sanitary causes
- the COVID-19 case
- transmission of infections indoors and outdoors
- environmental and meteo-climatic co-factors associated with COVID-19 infection and mortality
- COVID-19 risk management for the general population and workers
- Health effects of natural toxins in the world
- The transport sector: environment and health
Frontal teaching via teleconference, alternating the presence in the classroom between Como and Varese and with slide support.
Case studies, scientific papers and reports from the grey literature will be also presented for most of the topics.
Web-based interactive tool will be also used as methodological approaches of teaching for effective learning
The teacher is available in the classroom after the lessons and in his office (DiSAT, Floor -1 “Anello” building in via Valleggio 11, Como), by appointment requested by e-mail (andrea.cattaneo@uninsubria.it)
Professors
Borrowers
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Degree course in: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
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Degree course in: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES