Programmes

About Course

MODULE SYNOPSES

Level I

EPH 1101: Health Promotions

Social and behaviour issues in public health. The concept of environment and environmental crisis; What is environmental education; Emerging responses to public health crises ; Public health education theories and processes; Methods of identifying environmental and health issues; Values and benefits; Issues for the educators and facilitators; Behaviour change theories and models, theory of planned behaviour, social cognitive theory, health belief model, Social Ecological Model (SEM), advocacy, social mobilisation, phases of social mobilisation process, communication for development, advocacy, social mobilisation, social change communication, designing behaviour change communication programmes, designing communication strategies, importance of social norms, 7 C`s of effective health communication, situation analysis /needs assessment, target population characteristics, monitoring and evaluation.

EPH 1102: Information Management Systems in Public Health

This course will help students improve knowledge and competence in using the common functions of a personal computer and its operating system. The course will cover basic computer hardware, software and networks. Main focus will be on Microsoft Office in particular advanced word, excel and PowerPoint as these are critical in data capture and presentation. Students would be introduced to the T Series Data collection and Capturing Forms used in Health Systems. Data aggregation and input into systems. Students would be introduced to the different Health information systems such as the DHIS in Zimbabwe, the District Health Barometer in South Africa just to mention a few and how these can be used to inform decision making regarding Health issues. Practicals on extrapolating and analysing data from these systems would also be done.

EPH 1103: HIV and AIDS Counselling and Management

Introduction to HIV/AIDS and counselling; Historical perspective of HIV/AIDS; Biology of HIV; Socio-cultural impact of HIV/AIDS; Sources of HIV/AIDS infection; HIV/AIDS and the environment; HIV/AIDS in relationships; HIV/AIDS in developing countries and special populations; HIV/AIDS and Home-based care; Ethics in Counselling; Introduction to Selected Theories; Communication in Counselling; Advocacy; and The Counselling Process. Managing Responses to HIV/AIDS; Strategies for HIV/AIDS Projects; Human Resource Management; Human Rights; Managing the spread of HIV/AIDS and health problems; Policy and legal issues in HIV/AIDS and health; Management strategies for health problems; Managing the psychosocial factors in HIV/AIDS and health; Managing human and financial resources for health; Managing health and HIV/AIDS research.

EPH 1104: Parasitology and Microbiology

Introduction to parasitism and parasitic diseases; Viral; Bacterial; Protozoan parasites; Helminthic parasites; Metazoan parasites; Epidemiology of parasitism; Host responses to parasites; Local effects of parasitism; Diagnostic methods; and chemotherapy of infections. The study of different prokaryotic organisms, their morphology, anatomy, classifications, genetics, ecology, metabolism and control along with a brief survey of human diseases caused by them. Laboratory work on their identification and growth methods.

EPH 1201: Emergency Preparedness and Response Planning

The course will extensively cover concepts and principles of Emergence Preparedness and Response (EPR): Understanding the terminology in EPR; Classification of hazards; Hazards characterisation; Disaster risk management; Disaster preparedness; Principles of emergency preparedness; Emergency response planning principles; Types of plans; Hazard mapping; The planning process and different planning approaches; Mitigation of disasters; Mitigation strategies; Hazard identification and vulnerability assessment; Disaster and vulnerability in Zimbabwe; Evaluation of emergency support services; The role of different stakeholders in disaster management; Response to disasters; Recovery after disasters; Recent emergencies/disasters; Disaster and development; Conventions on prevention of major disasters and local statutes on emergency preparedness and response; Recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation. Epidemic preparedness and response. Legal framework governing EPRP.

EPH 1202: Public Health Administration

Principles and practice of management, Theories and Models of leadership and Management, Effective leadership and management in health, Management of change and complexity, Management ethics and accountability, Introduction to financial management, Analysing and interpreting financial statement, Human Capital approach, Recruitment, selection, employment practices, Labour legislation and relations, Managing Performance, Value Creation and Measuring performance, Root-cause analysis, Supply chain management, Negotiation and conflict management. Communication; Partnerships in health; Project management.

EPH 1203: Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Health

Knowledge systems (general perspective, Global knowledge matrix) Nonformal local or “indigenous” knowledge; special characteristics of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), the nature of indigenous knowledge (IK) and indigenous technology (IT); preserving indigenous knowledge, indigenous knowledge systems and the intellectual property, protecting indigenous knowledge against inappropriate patents. the role Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation Systems for public health in Africa. International programmes that collect and attempt to analyse and streamline IKS (World Bank indigenous knowledge systems initiatives) application of IKS in public health; Challenges of utilisation of IKS in public health; Indigenous knowledge and colonisation (the discourse); working with indigenous knowledge in research. IKS and public health in Zimbabwe; Gender; Social inclusion

EPH 1204: Communicable Diseases

Definition of communicable diseases, the history (measles, Polio, Malaria, respiratory diseases). Human-animal interactions in the spread of diseases. Vectors and their control. Disease outbreaks and their control measures. Disease to include those of importance to Africa and in particular Zimbabwe and the region e.g., malaria, trypanosomiasis, schistosomiasis, fascioliasis Emerging diseases e.g., SARS and bird flu, haemorrhagic fevers, etc. and strategies for their control. Designing intervention programmes, Monitoring and evaluation of intervention programmes (e.g., vaccinations, awareness campaigns etc).

LEVEL II

EPH 2101: Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Epidemiology of environmental diseases in human populations: physical and biological agents, pathogenesis; vector control; agent, host, environmental interaction and control; communicable diseases of importance. Purpose and methods of investigating epidemiology: important variables and attributes; population samples, fieldwork techniques. Analysis and presentation of epidemiology statistics and control measures. Risk factor analysis; case studies. Epidemics. Biological Threats (e.g. Anthrax terrorism). Descriptive and inferential statistics. Communicable and non-communicable diseases of importance

EPH 2102: Food Hygiene and Nutrition

Food Hygiene (sanitary operational procedures, good manufacturing practice); Food Microbiology; Biochemistry; Food Poisoning Foodborne pathogens; Infectious pathogens, where they come from, and the diseases they cause. Toxigenic pathogens, the nature of the toxins they produce, and the symptoms of the illnesses caused.; Planning of Food Service Premises; Production, contamination, preservation. Fundamentals of food preservation: refrigeration, freezing, thermal processing, dehydration and concentration, natural and chemical preservation techniques and fermentation. The management of food safety to include the role of sampling, monitoring, audits and inspections. Practical application of the principles and practice of HACCP. Microbiological criteria, hygiene control measures and Codex Alimentarius, spoilage and inspection of the different food types; Food Premises Auditing; Food quality and safety assurance, Food Safety Management System (ISO22000); Food Hygiene Management System, SABS 049:1989, SAZ; HACCP in Practice; Nutrition; Food Legislation. Food security, Maternal and child nutrition, nutrition in emergencies, nutrition programme planning, evaluation and monitoring, and nutritional epidemiology; food fortification.

EPH 2103: Pollution Prevention and Control

General overview of pollution: Air, Land and Water pollution. Sources of pollution: Natural and Man-made. Chemical and biological pollutants. Biological and Chemical hazards. Overview of atmospheric chemistry: Acid rain, CFCs and ozone depletion: photochemical smog, Greenhouse gases and global warming. Radiation pollution: Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation; Radioactivity and radiation; sources and types of ionizing radiation; natural and manmade radiation; Radioactive wastes and its disposal; Radiation pollution monitoring. Pollution Prevention and control. International, Regional and National legal aspects of pollution prevention and control.

EPH 2104: Geographic Information Systems for Public Health

This course offers an introduction to basic principles of GIS and further covers how it is applied in public health domain. The main purpose of this course is to teach the core concepts GIS and to provide students with the skills to capture, store, prepare/ manipulate and analyse spatial data for studies in public health. Students will be taught on how to use GIS to assess exposures to environmental pollution and/ risks, and explore and analyse disease patterns and produce informative maps for use in public health domain. The course scope will also cover to methods for linking geographical and attribute (health data) for public health risk assessment. An overview of the interlink between GIS, GPS and Remote sensing will also be covered.

EPH 2201: Research Methodology

Purpose of doing research; Scientific and other methods of conducting research; the research process: formulating research problems, data collection procedures; data processing and analysis (application of data processing packages and biometrics); report writing; different kinds of research designs such as survey, participant observation, experimentation and quasi-experimentation; consumption of research results; ethics in research

EPH 2202: Global Health

This course introduces students to Global Health issues. Global Health will be defined and then the course delves into Global aspects of Health issues. These will include impact of factors such as poverty, inequality and inequities on access to Health. Patent rules of the World Trade Organisation and Pharmaceutical company interests and their impact on Global Health would be discussed. The course would further explore changing nature of Global Health problems being faced and the challenges in managing them.

EPH 2203: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

This course aims to provide students with information on the basic requirements for an effective and sustainable water and sanitation programmes in rural, peri-urban and urban areas. This will involve an introduction to Water and Wastewater Management principles, concepts and tools. The course will cover the theoretical and practical basis of sampling, physico-chemical analysis, microbiological analysis and bio monitoring for water quality determination. It will deal with designing and implementation of hygienic sanitation facilities at different levels i.e., rural, peri-urban and urban setups. The course would go on further to explore Public Health implication of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Practices in different set ups. WASH partnerships; gender and social inclusion; sanitation approaches; institutional arrangements in WASH (at district, provincial and national levels); WASH governance; International WASH Standards, SPHERE project

EPH 2204: Health and Safety

This course focuses on a broad spectrum of safety issues as opposed to being confined to the occupational setup only. Occupational health and safety will form the core of the course material and discussions around key safety issues at the community and household levels will augment the content. This course seeks to introduce students to a broad spectrum of safety concerns that impact on the health of different populations. Occupational health and safety conventions, recommendations, principles, policies and legislation; Hazard identification and measurement, risk assessment and control; industrial toxicology; occupational diseases, conditions and injuries; ergonomics; accident investigation and prevention; occupational health and safety management systems; community and household environmental, health and safety hazards, risks and/or impacts and their control will form the core topics to this course. Safety of vulnerable populations.

Institutional arrangements in OHS; Employee wellness (including HIV and AIDS); OHS in the informal sector

EPH 2205: Applied Work Experience

Summary of work done in Part II [minimum of seven (7) months] of the degree program; description of the organisational structure and processes/operations and services/products; explanation of roles and responsibilities assigned to the candidate and expected deliverables; demonstration of application of theory in practical scenarios; identification of gaps in knowledge or challenges in how procedures are carried out; demonstration, through the synthesis of theoretical knowledge and fieldwork experience, the capacity to solve problems, develop and successfully carry out mini projects and subsequently make informed decisions.

LEVEL III

EPH 3001: Waste Management

The course provides a basic understanding of principal technical issues regarding solid, liquid and hazardous waste management. It explores both domestic and international perspectives on solid, liquid and hazardous waste management covering the key functional elements of appropriate methods for storage, collection, transfer, treatment/transformation and final disposal of solid waste in both industrialised and developing countries. Students will be taught how scientific concepts and principles are applied in management of hazardous and municipal solid waste (MSW) to protect human health and the environment and conserve natural resources through resource recovery and recycling of waste material. Topics to be covered include the integrated solid waste management hierarchy (ISWMH); characterization and properties of MSW; hazardous waste (health care, chemical and radioactive waste); sewage sludge, composting and recycling of waste materials and final disposal methods (i.e., dumping, incineration and landfilling) of solid waste. Guidelines for siting, design, construction, operation, monitoring, remedial actions, and closure of landfills. There will be excursions to recycling facilities and MSW disposal sites to better understand links between theory and practice. Electronic waste, WEE

EPH 3005: Research Project (2 courses)

The student will, under supervision and guidance, carry out an independent investigation into a problem of his/her choice. He/she will collect data, interpret and write up a report to illustrate the understanding of the public health issues relating to the problem. The report must demonstrate the relationship between theoretical knowledge and its application to field situations.

EPH 3101: Health Systems and Policies

The Alma Ata Declaration on Health for all would be used as a bench mark in identifying and critiquing different health systems and policies in a broad spectrum of countries (i.e., both in developed and developing countries) and assessing the direction their health systems are taking. The Cuban case study based on evidence presented on the documentary SALUD would be used as the gold standard in proving the point that poor countries can achieve quality health for all even though they have little budgets channelled to health care as compared to developed countries like USA. The Primary Health Care and National Health Insurances in countries like Zimbabwe (PHC only), would be used as guidelines to explore and highlight issues on equity, inequality, efficiency, access and affordability and access to quality care by poor populations and societies. The Six Building Blocks (1. service delivery, 2. health workforce, 3. information, 4. medical products, vaccines and technologies, 5. Financing and 6. Leadership and Governance as proposed by WHO) of health systems organisation and strengthening would be explored.

EPH 3102: Health Impact Assessment (HIA)

The course provides an overview of health impact assessments to design, evaluate, and replicate sustainable projects and programs. The course will cover the following broad topics: Concepts and issues in health management; Purposes of HIA; Statutory provisions of HIA; HIA administration; The HIA process; Prospectus development; Screening; Scoping; Impact identification; Impact assessment (techniques and analysis tools); Mitigation measures; the HIA report; draft HIA review; Public participation in HIA; Monitoring and Evaluation of development programs and projects; Costs and benefits of undertaking HIA, Understanding the strengths and limitations of HIA and Case studies from the SADC region and Zimbabwe.

EPH3203: Toxicology

Sources, types and properties of toxicants; Molecular biochemical, physiological and behavioural responses of organisms to toxicants; Toxicology and toxicokinetics; Transportation and fate in the environment; Metabolism and fate within humans and animals; Biomagnification; Bioaccumulation; Dose responses and other toxicological concepts; Biomonitoring and biomarkers; and Ecological risk assessment

ELECTIVES (CHOOSE ANY TWO)

EPH 3201: Safety, Health, Environment and Quality Management Systems and Tools*

Overview of the environment; Definitions in safety, health and environmental management systems and tools; Cleaner production; Elements of cleaner production; The role of by-product synergies and eco-efficiency in environmental management; Life cycle assessments, Stages in implementing life cycle assessments; Introducing EMS; Basics and advantages of implementing EMSs; Types of EMSs; EMAS; ISO 14001; ISO 9001 Quality management system;; Deming’s model; Practicalities in implementing ISOs; The ISOs in the 21st Century; Green thinking; Environmental accounting; Sustainability reporting; Corporate governance and sustainability reporting (The Global Reporting Initiative). Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems; safety programs and projects. Integrated Management Systems

EPH 3202: Maternal and Child Health*

Child health is very critical as an indicator of population health. Students would be introduced to different programs meant to ensure good health. Students would be introduced to different indicators used in measuring child health (infant Mortality Rates, maternal Mortality Rates. Different programs relating to child and maternal health would be discussed. These would include but not limited to immunisation, Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood illnesses (IMNCI), PPTCT (Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission of HIV and AIDS (PMTCT), Antenatal and Post Natal Care, Cancers. Management of moderate and acute malnutrition.

EPH 3204: Port Health*

The Public Health Act and Port Health Regulations; Food Quality Control (legislation, hazard analysis critical control points and food hygiene, food spoilage, food preservation and ISO requirements); Transboundary Disease Control (international health regulations, infectious disease control, epidemiology, emergency preparedness and response, disinfection and legislation); Hazardous Substances (legislation, clearance, handling and storage); Pest and Vermin Control (disinfection and disinsectation, de-ratting and parasitology); Port Waste Management Systems; and Information Management. the activities at ports of entry such as clearing of special cargo, inspection bulk food imports, labelling regulations, permissible and non-permissible food additives. Role of port health authority etc. International sanitary regulations

EPH 3205: Meat Hygiene and Technology*

Meat processing; Canning procedure and technology; Meat inspection; Abattoir planning and construction; Abattoir management and practice; Abattoir legislation and administration; Meat legislation; Practicals.