Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Public Health
Other languages of instruction: Catalan
Teaching staff
Laia Wennberg --> lwennberg@uic.es
Blanca Goñi --> bgoni@uic.es
Make an appointment.
Introduction
Public health is the science that is responsible for ensuring the health of the population. Along with other areas of knowledge in health sciences such as epidemiology, biostatistics and research, includes aspects related to the prevention of disease, promotion and protection of health, as well as its improvement and restoration, both group level and the population.
Pre-course requirements
No prerequisites are required.
Objectives
- Know how to identify aspects that influence population health, prevention of disease and the promotion of healthy habits and lifestyles.
- Be able to design, plan and analyze strategies for disease prevention and health promotion in different health care settings and population groups.
Learning objectives in solidarity practicum:
- Develop commitment to their own values .
- Develop the ability to make ethically informed choices.
- Cultivate a sense of responsibility one's own conduct and behavior.
- Develop the ability to think for themselves.
- Improve their ability to communicate, with special emphasis on listening.
- Improve their ability to organize and use time effectively.
- Develop their commitment to exercise their rights and responsibilities as a citizen, actively and willingly contributing to social, economic and environmental improvement.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 10. B - Protecting the health and welfare of individuals or groups by ensuring their safety.
- 11. E - Establish effective communication with patients, families, social groups and partners and promote health education.
- 12. B - Know and observe the ethical code of conduct of Spanish nursing, understanding the ethical implications of health in a changing global context.
- 13. G - Know the principles of health-care funding and use resources appropriately.
- 16. G - Know the health information systems.
- 17. E - Perform nursing care based on comprehensive health care, which involves multidisciplinary cooperation, integration of processes and continuity of care.
- 1. G - Ability to provide technical and professional health care appropriate to the health needs of the people they treat, with full technical and scientific autonomy, according to current and available scientific knowledge and to the quality standards and safety requirements set forth in the applicable legal standards and code of ethics.
- 21. B - Oral and written communication.
- 24. G - Ability to work autonomously.
- 2. E - Plan and provide nursing care for individuals or groups, taking health outcomes into account and their impact, through guidelines for clinical practice and care, which describe the four processes by which a health problem is diagnosed or treated.
- 3. E - Know and apply the theoretical and methodological foundations and principals of nursing.
- 4. B - Understand the interactive behavior of the person according to their gender, group or community, within their social and multicultural context.
- 5. G - Design systems of care programed for people or groups, assessing their impact and making necessary modifications.
- 6. E - Base nursing care on scientific evidence and available resources.
- 9. E - Promote healthy lifestyles, self-care, as well as the maintenance of therapeutic and preventive behaviors.
Learning outcomes of the subject
Students should be able to
- Describe the determinants of individual and collective health.
- Assess the health needs of the population in terms of biological, psychological, social, cultural and environmental aspects.
- Describe and analyze strategies to improve individual and collective health.
- Assess existing prevention measures to improve the health of populations.
- Describe the data on the natural history of the disease and the different levels of prevention.
- Analyze the basic concepts of disease epidemiology for surveillance and control.
- Describe the knowledge needed to apply the principles to health promotion, disease prevention, and community health education.
Syllabus
I. Introduction to public health nursing
Item 1. Public health: concept and applications in nursing.
Item 2. Health demographics. Measurement of the level of health.
Item 3. Determinants of health. Sustainable development goals. One health
Item 4. Concepts of epidemiology.
Item 5. Measurement of phenomena in health.
Item 6. Evidence-based nursing.
II. Health promotion and disease prevention
Item 7. Prevention levels. Communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Item 8. The new model of patient, literacy in health and salutogenesis. Health promotion and health education.
Item 9. Risky behaviours and addictions. Injuries from external causes. Gender-based violence.
Item 10. Planning public health programmes.
Item 11. Evaluation of public health programmes through qualitative methodology.
III. Organization and management of health services
Item 12. Health management. Quality of care and patient safety.
Item 13. Health economics. Occupational Health.
Item 14. Managing a public health crisis
Teaching and learning activities
In person
Theory classes with exercises, case methods and group work are combined.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
The course is assessed through 3 assessment modules:
1. Final project – 30%
- 25%: quality of the project.
- 5%: peer assessment within the working group.
- Health Promotion Day bonus: +0.5 points added to the project grade (applies only if the project is passed).
2. Final exam – 35%
- Written test with open and closed questions.
3. Continuous assessment (CA) – 35%
- 10%: in-class activities.
- 5%: debate activities.
- 20%: assessment tests (15% mock exam + 5% quizzes/tests).
To pass the course, students must obtain 5 in each of the three modules (Project, Exam, CA). If any module is failed, the course is failed, even if the weighted average is ≥ 5.0.
2nd sitting:
If any of the three modules is failed, it may be retaken in the 2nd sitting, as follows:
- Final project → the project must be redone with the indicated corrections.
- CA → a case resolution on the day of the 2nd-sitting exam. The maximum grade for this module in the 2nd sitting will be 5.0.
- Exam → by taking the exam in the 2nd sitting.
No Honours (MH) are awarded in the 2nd sitting.
3rd and 4th sittings
For the 3rd and 4th sittings, grades from any assessment module will not be carried over from one academic year to the next.
Honor Matrix Assignment Procedure (MH)
- The criterion for assigning Honorary Enrolments (MH) is based on the Excellent (9.0).
- The assignment is solely for the teacher and does not have to give it, even if the student has obtained a mark above 9.0.
- In case the teacher decides to award MH, he will not take into account the numerical mark and the highest, but will evaluate other factors. The HM might not match the highest numeric score.
Procedure for Non-presented Assignment (NP)
- To register an NP in the student's file, it must not have been submitted to any of the evaluation tests throughout the assignment.
- If a student has submitted to one of the evaluation tests, the corresponding percentages in the teaching guide will be applied, with a 0 in those not presented.
Procedure for plagiarism or academic fraud
Any assignment or activity (including exams) in which plagiarism, falsification or academic fraud is detected, will result in a failure of the activity and an academic sanction that will entail from the loss of enrolment rights in this subject, to the opening of a file process.
Bibliography and resources
Hernández-Aguado I. Manual de Epidemiología y Salud Pública.Médica Panamericana. 2018.
Argimón JM, Jiménez J. Métodos de investigación clínica y epidemiológica. Madrid: Elsevier, 2004.
Daban F, Pasarín MI, Rodríguez-Sanz M, et al. Evaluación de la reforma de atención primaria: prácticas preventivas y desigualdades. Aten primaria, 2007; 39: 339-346.
Informe SESPAS 2004. La salud pública desde la perspectiva de género y clase social. Gaceta Sanitaria, 2004; 18 (supl.1).
Piedrola Gil. Medicina preventiva y salud pública. Barcelona: Elsevier, 2008.
Royal College of Nursing. Nurses as partners in delivering public health. London: The Royal College of Nursisng, 2007.
World Health Organization. The world health report 2005. Make every mother and child count. Geneva: WHO, 2005.
Yach D, Hawkes C, Gould L, Hofman K. The global burden of chronic diseases. Overcoming impediments to prevention and control. JAMA 2004; 291: 2616-2622.
Links
Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona: www.aspb.es
American Public Health Association: www.apha.org
Association of Public Health Observatories: www.pho.org.uk
Escuela Nacional de Sanidad: www.isciii.es
European Public Health Association: www.eupha.org
Harvard School of Public Health: www.hsph.harvard.edu
Health Protection Agency: www.hpa.org.uk
Institute of Medicine: www.iom.edu
Pan American Health Organization: www.paho.org
Public Health Agency of Canada: www.publichealth.gc.ca
World Health Organization: www.who.int
Evaluation period
- E1 18/12/2025 08:00h
- E2 14/07/2026 08:00h