(This course is double-coded with UGEC1920.) (Public Health Majors and Minors and students who have taken UGEC1920 cannot take this course to fulfill General Education requirements.) This course will introduce undergraduate students to the discipline of public health and its basic academic framework, concept and methodology. The objective of the course is to provide a broad intellectual perspective of public health and presents both local and global public health challenges that are facing our society in the 21st century. The various academic disciplines within the domains of public health that include environmental health sciences, management sciences and health policy, social and behavioral sciences and biological sciences will be introduced and discussed. The impact of these public health problems in relation to our society and our everyday lives will be emphasized. An analytic public health problem solving framework will be used to enable students to appreciate and learn the problem solving methodology in evaluating and appraising various public health problems. Topics that will be presented and discussed will include current practice, contemporary issues, problems and trends in the field of public health. Students will be able to learn the problem solving methodology to evaluate and analyze the major public health challenges locally and globally from at both an individual and societal level.

(Not for students who have taken PHPC1004.) The course will cover the basics of health sciences. It will introduce the overview of basic scientific mechanisms, concepts and principles in health and in the pathogenesis of disease. It provides clinical scientific foundation for applications to the practice of public health.

(Not for students who have taken PHPC1002.) This course aims to provide a basic understanding of the fundamental principles of epidemiological methods and their applicability to the field of health research. Students will grasp the basic skills needed to critically interpret scientific studies and to conduct simple epidemiological studies.

(Not for students who have taken PHPC1004.) This course provides an introduction for students on the causation, epidemiology and prevention and control of infectious in public health context. Essential microbiology and immunity would be included. Concept of agent host environment relationship will be covered. Impact of infectious diseases to society will be discussed. Illustrations will be given using both historical milestones and topical issues.

(Not for students who have taken PHPC1002.) This course will provide an overview of the use of basic statistical concepts and methods in the public health field. Emphasis will be placed on conceptual understanding of statistical approaches to medical data rather than on theory and equations. Students will learn the importance of the correct use of statistical techniques in addressing questions of public health importance such as

• (1) How can we tell if global warming really happening what is causing it?
• (2) How does diet affect individual risk of chronic diseases?
• (3) Is gambling in casinos always a losing proposition?
• (4) Does exposure to other people’s cigarette smoke really cause health problem?

The course will enable students to develop the statistical literacy necessary to interpret the vast amounts of information they must process for personal decision making and less vulnerable to manipulation. Students will also be introduced to a user-friendly software for performing basic statistical analyses.

The course is an overview of the social determinants, major health behaviour theories and conceptual frameworks used to understand health behaviors and to design health behavioural programs. The course will cover psycho-social theories of health behaviours and the social determinants of health will be covered in this course, using examples of important health problems commonly found in contemporary societies. This course will serve as a conceptual foundation for further practical work in health promotion and health education.

This course is a substantive overview of the major lifestyle and behavioural issues in contemporary public health. Each behavioural issue will be covered in-depth to help students understand the complex causes and public health significance of each of these behavioural health problems. The course will apply the basic concepts of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, and the conceptual framework of health promotion to each of these major behavioural health problems. Lastly the course will give a brief overview of the health promotion framework used in public health to tackle these health issues. Course will also illustrate the needs of having good theoretical support, systematic processes and effective skills in designing and implementing health promotion programmes.

This course will introduce the fundamental concepts of environmental and occupational health, the impact of environmental pollution on human health, and the impact of vectors and ionizing radiation on health. The course also aims at introducing various agents in the workplace that are hazardous to the health of workers. Principles of control of environmental and occupational hazards will also be discussed.

This course aims to provide some basic concepts on health systems, how healthcare systems are organised, and how health services are delivered.

This course will provide an introduction of how public health principles may apply to understand and examine health issues and initiatives in global setting.

The course will utilise a contextualised, problem based approach to learning, using real examples from primary care as learning stimuli. The course will be supported by lectures, debates & selected reading material (paper & electronic). Students will be expected to show some degree of independent, self-directed learning. Students will visit selected primary care establishments. Students will be expected to present their work in a conference format. All students will be expected to write a critical review of one aspect of primary care. This approach allows the dynamic building of learning objectives and encourages deeper learning within individual students.