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This CIH course component is an introduction to concepts and methods to analyse health problems, interventions and health programmes. This analysis helps to understand the importance of the problem, its burden and its determinants. The theoretical aspects of four main intervention strategies: vector control; screen, test and treat; vaccination strategies; and behavioural interventions, are discussed whether applied as a preventive, curative or rehabilitative concept. Some current operational challenges in the prevention and control of key health problems are touched upon. Concepts taught in the first two weeks will be applied in the context of an outbreak, both in outbreak investigation and outbreak mitigation.
The concepts, analytical frameworks, and implementation strategies are illustrated through applications in a wide range of health problems: tuberculosis, malaria, measles, hepatitis B, leishmaniasis, mpox, diabetes, yellow fever and COVID-19. The focus is on low- and middle-income countries, but also other contexts of high-income countries are included.
The overall goal of the course "Health Problems: From Prevention to Control" is to empower students with a comprehensive understanding of health challenges and equip them with the knowledge, skills, and ethical awareness needed to make meaningful contributions to the prevention, management, and control of health problems, thereby promoting individual and community well-being.
By the end of course component 1 (CC1), you are expected to have a comprehensive understanding of various health issues and get the knowledge and skills to effectively prevent, plan interventions, and control them.
You should specifically be able to:
Describe the importance/burden of a particular health problem in terms of frequency, severity, inequity and economic cost and compare it with the importance of other health problems
Determine different stages of health problem/disease evolution, their (social) determinants, transmission modes (for communicable diseases)
Explain the link between epidemiological model, risk factors and intervention approaches
Indicate the importance of implementation challenges in the prevention and control of key health problems, such as acceptability, identification of target groups, community and patient involvement
Describe the four main public health intervention strategies in terms of effectiveness: vector control, vaccination, test & treat, and behavioural change strategies
Identify theoretically possible intervention strategies - ranging from health promotion, disease prevention and control, and curative care – that can reduce the burden at individual and/or population level caused by a particular health problem
Detect an outbreak, based on epidemiological data
Identify steps of an outbreak investigation
Describe an outbreak in terms of time, place, person
Define and plan an appropriate outbreak response
Communicate findings of an outbreak investigation