Assessing public health in emergency situations: international CRED summer course 2008

This two-week intensive course is designed to provide professionals from various backgrounds with the epidemiological techniques and tools to determine impacts of disasters and conflicts on human health. It will also cover the different uses of quantitative tools for the assessment of health needs in populations affected by catastrophic events.

Objectives
- To provide students with an in-depth understanding of the disaster preparedness and crisis management principles for the health sector;
- To familiarize the participants with the methods and tools of epidemiology, rapid assessment and other critical areas of emergency health response

Contents
The course will last for two weeks:
- The first week will consist of theoretical presentations of how to assess impacts of disasters and conflicts on human health, along with presentations of relevant tools;
- During the second week, practical case-studies will be developed and analysed using tools from week one under the supervision and guidance of international experts.

The following topics will be addressed during the course:
- Disasters: concepts of hazards, vulnerabilities, risks, impacts by disaster types, case studies on recent disasters;
- Conflicts: infectious diseases, malnutrition, mortality, trauma, refugees & internal displacement;
- Special topics: use of epidemiological software (EpiInfo), evaluation of relief programs.

Evaluation
Course participants are expected to attend teaching sessions and actively participate in class discussions.
The evaluation will be based on the preparation by each student of a case-study presentation that will illustrate the concepts taught during the course, as applied to a specific case-study.

Accreditation
A university certificate and 10 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) will be awarded to students who successfully complete the course and evaluation.