After completion of the course, students have basic knowledge of and insight in:
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exposure to environmental agents and their impact on the human body and associated health risks: routes of exposure, relations between internal and external exposure, effects on target organ level, (patho)physiological responses, and resulting illness and well-defined disease;
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basic principles of environmental epidemiology and toxicology, and how the two disciplines both contribute to the scientific study of environmental health problems.
After the course the student can apply these principles and theory in a ‘real world’ case study in which the three main themes of the course (exposure, health effects, and risk assessment) play a major role.
This course is thought in English or Dutch, depending on participation of foreing students.
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Individual and public health problems often play an important role in society and politics, and scientific environmental health studies should provide the data in evidence-based environmental policy. What are the health risks of exposure to environmental factors, like a home address near major motor roads, close to major high power lines or GSM antennas, or downwind in the vicinity of heavy industry, an airport or huge and intensive pig or poultry farms? What are the exact exposures, how can they be qualitatively and quantitatively assessed, and which disciplines are required in a full risk assessment procedure?
The course deals with basic principles of Environmental Health as a science, and its application in specific cases of risk evaluation and assessment, with as major aspects:
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Human exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents in air, water, food – like traffic related air pollutants, radio-active or electromagnetic radiation, pesticide residues as food contaminants, airborne or drinking water-associated pathogens, etc.
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Interactions with the human body: their pathogenic (infectious, toxic, allergic, etc.) effects on target organs, and the way the human body may respond to and cope with the agents.
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The analysis of health risks resulting from these exposures and interactions.
Academic skills:
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Searching for and critical reading and interpretation of scientific literature – both primary (research reports) and secondary (reviews).
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Reporting - orally and written – of the outcome of a systematic literature review.
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Practical work – both field and labwork and data analysis – in human exposure assessment.
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Oral and written reporting of measurement data and the conclusions of statistical analysis.
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