Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Public Health
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, English
If the student is enrolled for the English track then classes for that subject will be taught in the same language.
Teaching staff
Students who wish to talk to teachers can stay after class or by email
michelzabalza@gmail.com
Introduction
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family.”
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 September 1948
“Health is the physical, mental and social state that allows us a functional capacity (capacity to work, study, enjoy life...) and not only the absence of disease.”
The preservation of health, so precious yet so fragile, is a responsibility that is both individual and communitary. For this reason, professionals working in the field of healthcare must put special emphasis on the knowledge of the determinants of health and on the consequences of our daily activities on each of them, both from the perspective of our habits and behaviours as citizens, as professionals, and from the perspective of the behaviours that we should recommend that our patients follow.
In this little “agora” that lecturers and students will share to discuss prevention and health issues, we hope to awaken the curiosity and interest of students so that each of them learns to generate throughout his or her life a critical view of things – questions and attitudes that move us all towards achieving a healthier world.
Providing the tools for applying preventive methodologies in the routine professional practice, both at the clinical level and as habits and attitudes of environmental preservation.
Pre-course requirements
There are no prerequisites
Objectives
1. Objectives related to content
Knowing the principles on which the study and implementation of preventive medicine and community health is based.
1.2 Knowing communicable diseases that may affect their future clinical practice
1.3 Understanding the epidemiology and prevention of the most prevalent diseases.
1.4 Identify and properly use the terminology of the subject of Preventive and Community Medicine.
1.5 Knowledge of the interaction between our tools and clinical waste generated and the impact on the environment, prevention methods.
1.6 Understand simple articles published in specialized magazines in Preventive and Community Dentistry, with critical attitude interpreting and applying the understanding of them to new situations.
2.Actitud
21. Promote stimulus for research and knowledge of the determinants of health and their involvement in the improvement of health in their work environment and their community.
2.2 Encourage students to continue their training throughout their working life and actively seeking appropriate information sources by scientific evidence.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 17 - Understanding and recognising the principles of ergonomics and safety at work (including the control of cross infection, radiation protection and occupational and biological diseases).
- 20 - Obtaining and creating a medical record containing all the relevant information.
- 21 - Knowing how to undertake a full dental exam, including the necessary X-ray and complementary exploratory tests, as well as obtaining suitable clinical references.
- 22 - Having the ability to make an initial diagnostic judgement and establish a reasonable diagnostic strategy, as well as being competent in recognising situations that require urgent dental treatment.
- 23 - Establishing a diagnosis, prognosis and suitable treatment planning for all the different clinical areas of Dentistry, being competent in terms of the diagnosis, prognosis and writing up the dental care plan for patients who require special care, including medically compromised patients (such as diabetics, those with hypertension, a depressed immune system or are anticoagulated, etc) and patients with disabilities.
- 26 - Knowing how to plan and undertake multidisciplinary, sequential and comprehensive dental treatment of limited complexity for patients of all ages and conditions and for patients who require special care.
- 27 - Outlining and proposing suitable preventative measures for each clinical situation.
- 28 - Acquiring clinical experience under suitable supervision.
- 29 - Recognising the underlying causes of dental health in the population, whether genetic, lifestyle, demographic, environmental, social, economic, psychological or cultural.
- 30 - Recognising the role of the dentist in actions to prevent and protect against oral diseases, as well as the maintenance and promotion of good health, both at an individual level and a community level.
- 31 - Knowing about the National Healthcare System, as well as the basic aspects of healthcare legislation, clinical management and the correct use of healthcare resources, and understanding the importance of the role of the dentist in the field of Primary Healthcare
- 35 - Knowing the scientific principles of sterilisation, disinfection and the antiseptics necessary to prevent cross-infection in dental practice
- 36 - Knowing the danger of ionising radiation and its impact on biological tissue, as well as the legislation that regulates its use. Knowing how to manage dental radiodiagnostic facilities
- 37 - Undertaking the x-rays that are necessary in dental practice, interpreting the images obtained and learning about other important image-based diagnosis techniques
- 38 - Being aware of clinical and laboratory-based procedures and diagnostic tests, knowing their reliability and diagnostic viability and being competent in interpreting the results
- 40 - Identifying the main reason for the consultation and the history of the current disease. Creating a general medical record and a clinical record which accurately reflect the patient's notes
- 44 - Knowing about and being able to use the basic tools and equipment for dental practice
- 45 - Applying the principles of ergonomics to dentistry work, both at an individual level and a work-group level where appropriate, also in terms of the principles of the prevention of work-related accidents in dental practice
- 46 - Providing a comprehensive approach to oral care and applying principles to promote good oral health and the prevention of oral and dental diseases
- 47 - Educating and motivating patients in the area of oral and dental diseases, controlling pathogenic oral habits,
- 48 - Being aware of the effects of tobacco on oral health and participating in measures which help patients who want to give up their smoking habit. Also, knowing about the complex interaction between the environmental, social and behavioural factors related to oral and general health
- 49 - Knowing the procedures to carry out an oral healthcare diagnosis in the community and how to interpret the results
- 50 - Knowing the repercussions demographic and epidemiological trends have in terms of dental practice
- 51 - Knowing about the organisation and provision of oral healthcare in the community, both private and public, as well as general healthcare and the role of the dentist in these fields
- 52 - Creating and carrying out oral healthcare programmes and knowing about the inter-institutional and inter-professional coordination that is required to do so
- 55 - Recognising that the patient is the centre of attention and that all the interaction, including the prevention, diagnosis, planning and carrying out of the treatment and maintenance, and must support their best interests, always avoiding any type of discrimination and respecting confidentiality
- 63 - Having knowledge of human nutrition, particularly the connection between nutritional habits or diet with the maintenance of good health and the prevention of oral and dental diseases
- 66 - Taking and interpreting x-rays and other image-based procedures that are important in dental practice
- 67 - Creating diagnostic models, setting them up and taking inter-occlusal registrations
- 81 - Evaluating and treating patients with caries or other dental non-carious pathologies and being able to use all the material required for restoring the shape, function and aesthetics of the tooth in patients of all ages
Learning outcomes of the subject
- 2.03 - Analyze social aspects that influence in the behavior of healthy and sick person
- 2.04 - Know the behavioral sciences and communication that facilitate dental practice
- 2.06 - Develop appropriate research questions
- 2.07 - Prepare a report / publication according to scientific disclosure regulations (CONSORT)
- 2.08 - Know how to read scientific literature critically and recognize its parts
- 2.09 - Designing a research protocol
- 2.10 - Understand the fundamental concepts related to epidemiology and the scientific process
- 2.11 - Understand and interpret the fundamental concepts of bio statistics related to dentistry
- 2.12 - Use of specific IT tools
- 2.49 - Conduct surveys to determine the health risk of a population
Syllabus
1.1. Objectives relating to content.
1.2. To know the principles on which the study and application of preventive medicine and community health is based.
1.3. To know the transmissible diseases that may impinge on the student’s future clinical practice.
1.4. To know the epidemiology and preventive measures for the more prevalent diseases.
1.5. To define and make judicious use of terminology from preventive and community medicine.
1.6. To know the interaction between our work tools and the clinical residues that are generated and environmental impacts, together with the prevention methods.
1.7. To understand simple articles published in specialised journals in preventive and community dentistry; to interpret them with a critical attitude and to apply their understanding to new situations.
- Attitude.
2.1. To promote interest in research and knowledge of the determinants of health and their involvement in health improvement in the work environment and in the community.
Teaching and learning activities
In person
Theory classes: 12 hours
Case study classes: 3 hours
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
Specifically, evaluation of each student will be as follows:
Theoretical examination: 100%
Case method 10%
Bibliography and resources
Medicina Preventiva y salud Pública. Gonzalo Piedròla Gil.
Vacunaciones preventivas. Principios y aplicaciones. Lluís Salleras Sanmartí
B Starfield,J Hyde,J Gervas,I Heath. The concept of prevention: a good idea gone astray?. J Epidemiol Community Health 2008;62:580–583.
Sackett DL. The arrogance of preventive medicine. CMAJ. 2004;167:363-4.
Evaluation period
- E1 15/05/2025 I2 10:00h
- E1 15/05/2025 I1 10:00h
- E1 15/05/2025 I3 10:00h
- R1 05/06/2025 A02 09:00h