Environmental Health in the Urban Community

PHC 6415

COURSE TITLE:

Environmental Health in the Urban Community

COURSE OVERVIEW:

This course is part of the Certificate in Public Health specialization in Environtmental Health.

INSTRUCTORS:

John J. Lanza, MD, PhD, MPH, FAAP (left)
Julie Philippart, MT(ASCP), Dr. PH (right)

CONTACT INFORMATION:

John Lanza: Pager: (850) 839-6436, lanza1@bellsouth.net
Julie Philippart: Mobile: (850) 380-0137, jphilippart@uwf.edu

PREREQUISITES OR COREQUISITES:

Those interested in this course and/or the Public Health Certificate Program should contact Mr. Steve Celestial at (850) 474-2885 or scelestial@uwf.edu.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Today, a majority of people live in cities and by 2050 over 75% of the world’s population will be urban dwellers. This course will provide an overview of the major environmental health issues facing urban areas and their inhabitants. Covers the physical, chemical, and biological hazards present in urban areas and their effects on human health.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (Objectives):

Following this course, the student will be able to:


• Discuss the historical significance of urbanization.
• Discuss the basic concepts of environmental justice and the disproportional impacts of environmental hazards on certain populations.
• Understand the impact of increasing population on the urban environment.
• Understand that as the urban population expands, stressors on the environment could affect human health outcomes.
• Describe how human health is affected by urban population growth, including the health of children and the elderly.

TOPICS COVERED:

Overview
History of urbanization, environmental justice, urban environmental diseases, international urbanization, urban planning, urban pollution including air, water, soil, noise, light, solid and other hazardous materials, the built environment, urban sprawl, urban heat island effect.

Tentative Schedule


Week	Topic	Instructor
1	History of Urbanization	Lanza/Philippart
2	Population Dynamics	Philippart
3	Environmental Justice	Lanza
4	Chronic Diseases in the Urban Environment	Lanza
5	Infectious Diseases in the Urban Environment	Philippart
6	International Urbanization	Philippart
7	Mid-term Examination
8	Urban Pollution-Air, Water, Soil	Lanza
9	Urban Pollution-Noise/Light	Lanza/Philippart
10	Urban Pollution-Solid and other Hazardous Materials	Philippart
11	Physical Activity/Lifestyle in Urban Environments	Philippart
12	Urban Planning-the Built Environment/Urban Sprawl/Urban Heat Island Effect	Lanza
13	Public Health Preparedness	Lanza
14	Processes for Change: MAPP and PACE-EH, Cost-Benefit Analysis	Lanza/Philippart
15	Deadweek/Research Presentations
16	Final Exam

REQUIRED TEXTS:

• Our Global Environment-A Health Perspective, Anne Nadakavukaren, 5th ed., Waveland Press, 2000. [ISBN: 1-57-766098-6]

SPECIAL TECHNOLOGY UTILIZED BY STUDENTS: (beyond baseline requirements of e-mail and word processing)

• Students will be required to use PowerPoint.

REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
• Public Health Service-Healthy People 2010
• PrOMED, Profession Med Team, Inc.
• National Association of County and City Health Officials
• National Institutes of Health
• EnviroLink
• National Center for Environmental Health
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
• National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
• Toxic Hotspots, ToxMap, ToxTown
• The American Journal of Public Health
• Environmental Health Perspectives
• Environmental Justice and Law

GRADING/EVALUATION:

Evaluation of student grades will be based on their performance in the following areas:


• (50 pts) - Critical thinking homework assignments and class participation
  Active participation in classroom discussions is strongly encouraged. Weekly attendance in class is highly recommended and students should come to class prepared to participate in discussion. Class participation will be evaluated based upon quality and quantity of assigned work completed, level and frequency of in-class discussion, and evidence of having read assigned materials.
• (50 pts) - Periodical quizzes on reading and homework assignments
• (100 pts) - Mid-term exam
• (200 pts) - Final exam
• (100 pts) - Research paper on student’s choice of topic relating to urbanization
  All students will perform research on a topic approved by the faculty. The topic must be presented via email to either faculty member for approval by the 6th week of the class. The paper will consist of six typewritten pages using the APA style. An appendix will contain references and figures, charts, etc.
• (50 pts) - Research presentation on student’s choice of topic relating to urbanization
  Each student will give a 10 minute oral presentation of their research using audio-visuals during the deadweek class.
  
  Grades will be calculated out of a total of 550 points, using the following scale: A = 95+%, A- = 90–94.9%, B+ = 87–89.9%, B = 84–86.9%, B- = 80–83.9%, C+ = 77-79.9%, C = 74-76.9%, C- = 70-73.9%, D+ = 67-69.9%, D = 63-66.9%, F < 63%.

EXPECTATIONS FOR ACADEMIC CONDUCT/PLAGIARISM POLICY:

• Academic Conduct Policy [Web format | PDF format | rtf format]
• Plagiarism Policy [Word format | PDF format | rtf format]
• Student Handbook [PDF format]

ASSISTANCE:

Students with special needs who require specific examination-related or other course-related accommodations should contact Disabled Student Services (DSS), dss@uwf.edu, (850) 474-2387. DSS will provide the student with a letter for the instructor that will specify any recommended accommodations.