Public Health Science and Policy

During the recent decades Public Health is playing a critical role not only for the operation of the international economic system but also for our planet’s survival. Every aspect of the collective life correlates directly or indirectly with Public Health. The transformation of the educational system, as well as changes in health officers’ practice, establish new perspectives in Public Health characterized by uncertainty, radical changes, globalization and complexity. The population health, health systems, public health theories and practices and scientific research methods change. The skills of public health officers should adapt accordingly.

During the last century the initiatives in Public Health resulted in improvements of the quality of life and in the increase of life expectancy. Today, although cardiovascular diseases and cancer remain the major causes of death, the population health is seriously affected by the financial conditions, as well as contemporary factors and global problems like obesity, sedentary life, drug addictions, relocation of populations, management of polypharmacy and antimicrobial resistance, violence, environmental pollution, hazards from the global climate change. Furthermore, due to both the increase in life expectancy and the demographic problem, management of non-communicable diseases has become the major determinant of Public Health.

Moreover, Public Health is inter- and multidisciplinary and has a broader context than hygiene and prevention or social medicine or medicine in Public Health. Effective  practices and implementation of Public Health Policy are based on the multidisciplinary character of the necessary actions for health protection and on the distribution of roles, responsibilities and goals among all sectors related to health. The multidisciplinary character of Public Health actions is the cornerstone of contemporary Public Health Policy.

The development and implementation of prevention and promotion programs based on the real needs of the population, will continue to improve the population health during the next decades. Public Health Policy is developing and evaluating evidence-based programs and services, which affect and change factors that determine and promote human and environmental health in the settings where people live and work. The implementation of the integrated Public Health Policy requires knowledge and a variety of relevant skills. The main subject of the specialization “Public Health Science and Policy” is the development of relevant knowledge and necessary skills.

Curriculum

1st Semester

2nd Semester

3rd Semester

4th Semester