Public Health Specialisation Course (CESP)

Credits: 3 ECTS

Coordinator: Ana Isabel Ribeiro

Teaching Staff: Ana Isabel Ribeiro

Contents:

• Technical concepts and terms used
• Population and community
• Population status: main characteristics; age pyramid, population distribution and density
• Demographic phenomena: birth, nuptiality, mortality, migratory movements
• Data sources for use in demography, quality of information
• Population census
• Quantification and analysis of demographic data 
• Contingency of small numbers 
• Methods of standardizing rates (mortality, incidence) 
• Age groups: epidemiological importance and their role as indicators of the child period
• Life expectancy and life tables 
• Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL), DALY and QALY Demographic transition and epidemiological transition

Credits: 4 ECTS

Coordinator: Elisabete Ramos

Teaching Staff: Elisabete Ramos, Andreia Oliveira, Joana Araújo and Milton Severo

Contents:

• Evolution of epidemiological thinking and uses of epidemiology in public health
• Descriptive epidemiology: descriptive observational studies
• Health and disease: Prevalence and incidence
• Mortality and years of life lost
• Health indicators; Health information sources
• Analytical observational studies: cohort
• Frequency measures – calculation and interpretation
• Experimental and quasi-experimental studies
• Measures of Association and Impact
• Confusion and Interaction
• Validity and Accuracy
• Random errors and systematic errors
• Analytical observational studies: case-control
• Notion of sample and general principles of sampling
• Article discussion

Credits: 3 ECTS

Coordinator: Pedro Oliveira and Laetitia Teixeira

Teaching Staff: Pedro Oliveira, Laetitia Teixeira and Denisa Mendonça

Contents:

• Object of Statistics
• Population and sample
• Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics
• Measurement scales
• Introduction to SPSS: Qualitative and quantitative data
• Graphical methods: Bar charts; Histograms; Box charts and mustaches
• Numerical methods
• Parameters and statistics
• Measures of central tendency: average, median and fashion
• Dispersion measures: amplitude, quartiles, percentiles, variance and standard deviation
• Probability: Basic concepts; Experience; Events; Sample Spaces
• Probability rules for unions and intersections
• Conditional probability, independence and mutually exclusive events
• Bayes theorem

Credits: 3 ECTS

Coordinator: Carla Lopes

Teaching Staff: Carla Lopes and Milton Severo

Contents:

• Introduction to epidemiological research planning
• Formulation of research objectives
• Methodologies for health information collection: Construction and validation of questionnaires
• Validity of Content, Construct and Criterion
• Reliability, Internal Consistency and Reproducibility
• Factor and Principal Component Analysis
• Modes of administration
• Maximize the percentage of responses
• Confirmatory analysis and item response analysis (Response Theory item)

Credits: 1 ECTS

Coordinator: Cláudia de Freitas

Teaching Staff:  Cláudia de Freitas

Contents:

• Application of the sociology discipline to health: theoretical and thematic research statements; role of medicine and health in society
• Social inequalities and inequities in health: social factors as determinants of health level; inequalities and discrimination in the relationship of individuals with health services
• Medicalisation of societies
• Social representations of health and illness
• Study of social relations between professionals and patients in different therapeutic contexts
• Reproductive health issues
• Methodologies of social research applied to health.

Credits: 2 ECTS

Coordinator: Rui Leite

Teaching Staff: Rui Leite

Contents:

• Basic concepts
• Economic evaluation of health interventions
• Analysis of the demand for health services
• Analysis of the supply of health services
• Health service markets

Credits: 1 ECTS

Coordinator: Pedro Ferreira

Teaching Staff: Pedro Ferreira

Contents:

• Principles and types of planning
• Health policy, strategy, and strategic planning in health
• Stages of the planning process in health
• Information and health planning

Credits: 2 ECTS

Coordinator: Pedro Ferreira

Teaching Staff: Pedro Ferreira, Teresa Leão, Graça Lima and Rita Sá Machado

Contents:

• Health, service and resource needs
• Problems and needs of health
• Relationship between health needs, strategic planning and development of health policies
• Health status of the population and its determinants
• Identification of health care needs
• Inequities in health
• Determination of trends and prognoses
• Multimetodological approaches to the process of determining health needs (health needs Assessment)
• Prioritization of health problems and needs

Credits: 2 ECTS

Coordinator: Fernando Tavares 

Teaching Staff: Fernando Tavares and Bernardo Gomes

• National and international health information systems
• National and international databases and health indicators
• Health indicators: typology, construction, and characteristics of a health indicator
• Quality and validity of data and indicators
• Strategies for data collection and analysis

Credits: 2 ECTS

Coordinator: Rui Carvalho

Teaching Staff: Rui Carvalho, Hugo Monteiro and Bernardo Gomes

Contents:

• Health determinants
• Measurement of illness frequency, death, and other phenomena of interest in health
• Risk and impact measurement
• Health indicators
• Systematic study of the health status of the population and the factors that determine it (population health status assessment)
• Presentation and dissemination of the results of systematic studies of the health status of the population.

Credits: 2 ECTS

Coordinator: Hugo Monteiro

Teaching Staff: Hugo Monteiro and Pedro Prata Andrade 

Contents:

• Health programs and projects: differences and essential components
• Health needs and objectives
• Objectives: typology and SMART formulation
• Activities, methods, and resources
• Development of an implementation plan
• Development of an evaluation plan
• Programme and project management methods
• Budgeting and financing of programmes and projects
• Intervention in specific environments
• Health education and pedagogy in Public Health intervention strategies

Credits: 2 ECTS

Coordinators: Rita Sá Machado

Teaching Staff: Rita Sá Machado and Marcelo Vieira

Contents:

• Health system and health services system: concepts and terminology
• Introduction to Health Systems: typologies, financing models, pillars
• Health policy and health services policyAnalysis of health systems and policies
• Models for explaining the production processes of health services and the factors that influence them
• Role of public health in achieving health objectives, services and resources
• Systems thinking for Public Health

Credits: 3 ECTS

Coordinator: Marcelo Vieira

Teaching Staff: Marcelo Vieira, Carlos Matos, Firmino Machado, Margarida França and Sofia Lopes

Contents:

• Technical concepts and terms used
• The field of evaluation
• Evaluation and research
• Types of evaluation
• Analysis of the production of services (access, coverage, and quality)
• Analysis of the effectiveness and impact of interventions (health and non-health – health impact assessment)
• Economic evaluation of health programmes
• Analysis of programme implementation
• Meta evaluation
• Tracers
• Health audit: indications for its use, audit plans and processes in the various health sectors.

Credits: 2 ECTS

Coordinator: Mariana Carrapatoso

Teaching Staff: Mariana Carrapatoso, Teresa Fernandes, Diogo Silva, Ponciano Oliveira, Paulo Diz and Sara Duarte

Coordinator:

• Fundamentals of Management and basic concepts of Health Management
• Fundamental theories and tools of management
• Quality and assessment in Management
• Specificities of the management of a health institution
• Management of human resources in health
• Performance of human resources in health and its relationship with the performance of health services 
• Dynamics of the health labour market

Credits: 3 ECTS

Coordinator: Guilherme Duarte

Teaching Staff: Guilherme Duarte, Ana Sofia Sousa, Rui Capucho and Raquel Duarte

Contents:

• Technical concepts and terms: agent, host and environment; characteristics of each element of the epidemiological triad (namely, host immunity)
  Important infectious diseases in SP: natural history and epidemiology; Emerging and re-emerging diseases; Vectors and vector control
  Epidemiological and laboratory surveillance systems, and interpretation of data provided by them
  Stages of epidemiological investigation of an outbreak; Logistical aspects of outbreak investigation
  Time, space and person; The importance of case definition; From descriptive epidemiology to analytical epidemiology; The role of the laboratory in the investigation of an outbreak
  Types of studies and their suitability for the investigation of outbreaks; Construction of information supports for data collection; Analysis and interpretation of results and preparation of specific reports
  Epidemiological surveys, including ODD
  control measures such as isolation, quarantine, eviction, vaccination, chemoprophylaxis, environmental control measures; Communication

Credits: 2 ECTS

Coordinator: Rui Malheiro

Teaching Staff: Rui Malheiro, Solange Costa, Sónia Fraga, Filipa Ceia, Miguel Maia and Fátima Sousa

Contents:

• Concepts and associated technical terms
• Characteristics of a surveillance system, types of epidemiological surveillance, National and international systems, namely SINAVE, REVIVE, Sentinel doctors, Rumor-based surveillance
• Emerging and re-emerging diseases: monitoring, surveillance and evolution; diseases and factors in surveillance
• The role of the SP laboratory
• Epidemic corridors: rationale and construction
• Risk communication
• Risk communication and mass media.

Credits: 1 ECTS

Coordinator: Henrique Barros

Teaching Staff: Henrique Barros and Diogo Viana

Contents:

• Technical concepts and terms
• Individual freedom and collective interest – the contrast between bioethics, life sciences ethics and public health ethics
• Ethical and deontological principles in research and practice in Public Health
• Health as a human right; Relevant international declarations
• Ethics and Deontology
• Privacy, Confidentiality and Data Protection
• Social determinants of health: from ethics to action
• Some ethical challenges in the history of Public Health

Credits: 2 ECTS

Coordinator: Rita Sá Machado

Teaching Staff: Rita Sá Machado

Contents:

• Technical concepts and terms
• Global movement of people, goods and goods and globalization of health risks and problems
• Strategies to control the spread of infectious risks and diseases: International Health Regulation, Polio Eradication Program, Measles Elimination Program, Quarantine and quarantine measures, Contingency Plans and Emergency Response
• International Health in the traveler’s consultation, in ports and airports

Credits: 2 ECTS

Coordinator: Mário Jorge Santos

Teaching Staff: Mário Jorge Santos

Contents:

• Deepening the Concepts of Justice, Law and Equity
• Fields, Sources of Law and Jurisprudence
• The Values of the Health Authority
• Brief History of the Health Authority
• The Limits of Freedom
• Designation, tasks and powers of health authorities
• Territorial Competence and intervention levels of health authorities: National
• Health Authority; Regional Health Authorities; Local Health Authorities
• Public Health Surveillance: definitions and concepts; Specific Surveillance Areas for health authorities;
• Complex case study
• Official documents prepared by the Health Authorities

Credits: 3 ECTS

Coordinator: Teresa Leão

Teaching Staff: Teresa Leão, André Moreira, Pedro Norton, Maria João Gregório, Romeu Mendes and Rosa Branca Mansilha

Contents: 

• Non-communicable diseases: morbidity, mortality and determinants
• Interventions for the control and management of non-communicable diseases: effectiveness, cost effectiveness and equity
• Concepts and technical terms: Difference between population approach and high-risk group approach; Benefits, limitations and challenges in the implementation of population-wide strategies; Definition of screening, types of screening, criteria for implementing population-wide screening, characteristics of a screening examination
• National and international programs
• Promotion of healthy eating
• Promotion of physical activity
• Smoking prevention and control
• Allergy control and management
• Control and management of occupational health risks
• Monitoring and controlling the use of illicit drugs
  
• Evaluating health interventions at local level and promoting their implementation
• Urban planning as a health-promoting strategy
• Evaluation of interventions to promote health and well-being in the field

Credits: 1 ECTS

Coordinator: António Gandra d’Almeida and Sílvia Sousa

Teaching Staff: António Gandra d’Almeidaand Sílvia Sousa

Contents:

• Technical concepts and terms
• Types of disasters and associated consequences for Public Health; mortality and morbidity associated
• Humanitarian action, humanitarian principles
• Emergency response actors and their interrelation
• Contingency plans
• The role of Public Health in intervening in the different phases of the emergency response
• Support tools: rapid diagnosis of the situation

Credits: 3 ECTS

Coordinator: Nuno Lunet

Teaching Staff: Nuno Lunet

Contents:

• Epidemiology and epidemiological research
• Transversality and longitudinality
• Descriptive studies and explanatory studies
• Design and main characteristics of each type of study
• Case definition
• Controls
• Pairing
• Exposure and effect
• Follow-up and comparison groups
• Randomization and blinding processes
• Meta-analysis
• How to choose the right type of study for a specific research question
• Causality: links and causality criteria
• Statistical association and causality
• Effect measurement
• The time factor in epidemiology and research

Credits: 2 ECTS

Coordinator: Nuno Lunet

Teaching Staff: Nuno Lunet

Contents:

• Stages of investigation
• General research planning
• Research questions and goals
• Samples and sampling process
• Types of variables and variable operationalization plan
• Bias control and confounding and interaction factors
• Fieldwork preparation (practical aspects)
• Presentation of results
• Interpretation of results
• Discussion
• Internal and external validity
•  Scope and range of conclusions
• Ethical aspects in planning, carrying out, writing, and publishing research
• Informed consent
• Reading and interpretation of biomedical literature

Credits: 3 ECTS

Coordinator: Milton Severo

Teaching Staff: Milton Severo, Pedro Oliveira, Denisa Mendonça and Laetitia Teixeira

Contents:

• Multiple linear regression
• Logistic regression -introduction
• Multinominal and ordinal logistic regression
• Poisson regression
• Survival analysis
• Survival analysis in the presence of competitive risks
• Longitudinal analysis – introduction and mixed effects models

Credits: 4 ECTS

Coordinator: Raquel Lucas

Teaching Staff: Raquel Lucas

Contents:

• Technical concepts and terms
• Designing, writing, and presenting a research protocol
• Schedule of activities
• Budget
• Relationship between Protocol and Research Report
• Principles and practical aspects of preparing a manuscript for publication in a biomedical journal
• Use of the Internet for health research (bibliographical search; publication of results).