(This course is double-coded with UGC292Z.)
(Public Health Majors and Minors and students who have taken UGC292Z cannot take this course to fulfil General Education requirements.)
This introductory course introduces undergraduate students to the core domains and foundation concepts in public health. Topics include history of public health and health services, three core domains of public health practice, current trends and issues in the field of public health.

(Not for students who have taken PBH1004.)
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 PBH1004.)
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.

The course provides a comprehensive overview of epidemiology of infectious diseases of global and local public health concern. Sexually transmitted infections, waterborne and foodborne infections, vector borne infections, tropical infections, infections transmitted through air, droplet, direct contact or blood will be included. Oncogenic and vaccine preventable infections will also be discussed. Risks for transmission will be explored from different levels, ranging from a molecular level to a social perspective. Principles of infectious diseases management will be discussed. Prevention and control strategies and applications will be examined.

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

This course will prepare the beginning public health students with basic skills in study and research including forming a question, literature search, project planning and research ethics. Students will also be trained to develop proper communication skills including oral presentation skills and the art of scientific writing and manuscript submission format.

(Not for students who have taken PBH1002.)
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 PBH1002.)

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.

This course will introduce students to the basic concepts of ethics and explore their relevance to professional and clinical public health practice. It will introduce students to the role of law in promoting and protecting public health. Case studies will be used to highlight contemporary debates.

Qualitative research in medicine and public health has become more popular and is rapidly expanding in the recent decade. By adopting a qualitative research approach, the more in-depth cultural ideas on medicine and public health, which cannot be explained by the quantitative methods alone, can be explained and explored. Having the skills in qualitative research methods enables one to answer these in-depth questions that are frequently raised in contemporary public health field.

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 programs.

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 and different models of healthcare in different countries.

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.

Students are required to select a topic of interest and conduct a research project under supervision in the chosen concentration area. Students will apply the skills and methodology learned in the programme to practical situation. Students are required to present preliminary results in form of a presentation and a written report.

Students are required to continue the data analysis and theses writing under supervision in the chosen concentration area. Students are required to compile a comprehensive report and a final presentation for assessment in the final term.

The course provides a comprehensive theoretical background and application base of nutritional science disease prevention and health promotion. It will look into a wide variety of nutritional issue with specification to different population groups across lifespan meeting the needs of different population sub-groups, diet management of common health problems in both individual and family perspectives. There will be specific focus on the challenges of obesity and non-communicable diseases.

The course will focus on the concepts about how health policy is developed and implemented at global, national and local level. The role of policy in creating and maintaining health through intersectional working, and how policy can address health inequalities will be explored. The course will also develop the student’s understanding of the key concepts in health economics and health financing. Students will be able to use these fundamental concepts to analyze the economic issues related to public health/healthcare scenarios, and different financing models for a health system.

This course will adopt an ecological approach to health and focus on the role of the community in the management of chronic diseases. Population based, evidence based public health management principles that engage the community in the management of chronic disease especially for the aging population using multidisciplinary approaches. Epidemiology and treatments of major mental disturbances including age-related neuropsychiatric and cognitive disturbance of later life. A mix of teaching methods including lectures, workshops, guest lectures by community and primary care practitioners and public health workers, and in class exercises using case study approach will be used.

The course extends students’ concepts of health and emphasizes on both the mental and physical aspects of health. Common mental health problems will be introduced, briefly together with the concepts about screening and diagnosis. The prevalence of common types of mental health problems (e.g. anxiety, depression, insomnia) and their associated factors in different societies will be discussed. Some screening tools of these mental health problems will also be introduced.

Issues on psychosomatic symptoms, co-morbidity and common mental health problems faced by different patient groups (e.g. cancer patients, post-partum depression, chronic disease patients) will be discussed. Students will be reminded of the need to understand positive psychology, such as resilience and optimism, as well as psychological problems. Representative and effective evidence-based mental health promotion programs will be presented. Models for rehabilitation in institutions and community, the trend and issues (such as discrimination) will also be discussed.

The course will adopt a case based approach to learning with material drawn from real life events. By utilizing a life course framework, health issues and determinants of illness across the life span will be addressed which include specific health issues related to women of childbearing age, infants and children, adolescents, working age and elderly population. Broad topics will include maternal and child nutrition, immunization, reproductive health, gender issues, promoting healthy workplaces and lifestyles in the working population and management of chronic diseases in older adults.

All topics will consider the socio economic and political factors which impact on communities. The course will be supported by specific lectures, seminars, discussion groups and paper and electronic reading material. Visits to specific clinics will be arranged.

This is a practice-based course to equip students with the knowledge and skills for working in the field of infectious diseases. Students will be introduced to methods and operations of infectious diseases surveillance and outbreak investigations. Both overseas and local cases will be used for illustration. Principles of infectious control will be discussed. Practical sessions on conducting surveillance, investigating infectious disease outbreaks and infection control practices will be included.

The course will provide an overview of the relationship between environmental factors and human health. It focuses on the application of ecology, environmental epidemiology, ecotoxicology, environmental laws and policies in the assessment and control of environmental hazards.

This course will adopt a systematic approach to the study of occupational health, including occupational diseases and work-related diseases, and practical management problems in occupational health. Topics include an overview of occupational health and safety, types and characteristics of occupational hazards, health effects of hazardous exposure and the prevention and control measures, ethical issues, occupational health legislations, occupational health services, relationship with environmental health.

The course will focus on the concepts about how health policy is developed and implemented at global, national and local level. The role of policy in creating and maintaining health through intersectional working, and how policy can address health inequalities will be explored. The course will also develop the student’s understanding of the key concepts in health economics and health financing. Students will be able to use these fundamental concepts to analyze the economic issues related to public health/healthcare scenarios, and different financing models for a health system.

This course will use the philosophy of patient-centered care to examine the roles of professions, patients and carers, drivers for healthcare quality such as systems for patient safety, detection of medical errors, teamworking and new roles and patient confidentiality.

The course will focus on the concepts about how healthcare organisations are organised and managed, and how the healthcare organisation responds to the health needs of the individual and the society.

The course intends to be an advanced course that follows after PBH 2011. It examines specific update global health topics/ issues which include health response in natural disaster relief, health impact of threats to human security, global health initiatives, impact of global climate change on health, water scarcity and global health, global health care human resources crisis, trade and health, etc.

The course is a higher level undergraduate course that examines migration as a determinant of health and health issues related to specific migrant subgroups. The course will also discuss global health risk, strategy and policies related to migrants and health, and updates on related issues and topics.