Health Sciences

This course is designed for those who are studying healthy aging and/or geriatric rehabilitation. It includes an overview of the physical and psycho-behavioral aspects of aging in adulthood. This course focuses on normal and pathological changes with aging and provides an overview of geriatric care (treatment issues relevant to the types of older clients), delivering a framework for understanding individuals who have movement dysfunction secondary to age-related disease. Current motor control and motor learning theories are applied to intervention strategies for the geriatric population and students are strongly encouraged to develop themselves to serve the needs of the elderly population.

This course examines the concepts of ethics and equity, in a broad range of applications, including power, privilege and positionality; exploration of foundations of ethics as they apply to population and global health practice; and concepts of human rights, anti-racism, ethics and equity, informed by an understanding of the legacy of colonization, as they pertain to a wide array of global health issues.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. This course focuses on the main sociological concepts related to health, with a focus on the intersections between medicine and new technologies. More specifically, the course explores concepts including: medicalization, social determinants, health literacy, bio-socialities, genetization, and pharmaceuticalization. The course analyzes social phenomena related to health by sociological concepts, evaluates the consequences of the technology and social networks related to medicine from the standpoint of sociological theories, and analyzes the relationship between new technologies in the health field and social inequalities. Main concepts discussed in the course include: medicalization; health cultures and healthscapes; social theories for global health; prevention health risks; structural violence pharmachologization; wellbeing and mental health; biomedicalization; genetification; human enhancement; reflexive longevity; STS; digital health; sociology of diagnosis; neurochemical selves; quantified self, gamification, syndemic epidemics; and endemic future.

This course introduces clinical scientific practice. An overview of common methodologies and analysis used in healthcare research provided, and students learn how to undertake a literature search. Concepts such as bias and logical reasoning are discussed, and students read, interpret, and critically evaluate scientific papers. Students also learn how science and technology are used in healthcare, and discuss how clinical tests can help diagnose health conditions and evaluate treatment outcomes.

The purpose of this course is to explore various areas within healthcare/medical settings and understand the applicability of IE/OR/AI tools. Applications of Markov process, simulation modeling, and data analytics methods are discussed through case studies and papers in different care settings and areas. Topics include hospital resource optimization, decision support for public health sector, AI for personalized medicine, etc. 

This course provides new thinking about public health which integrates the arts and sciences to address current health and social care issues. Topics include, for example, public health systems and structures, behavior change theories, arts in public health communication, public health interventions for non-communicable diseases, creative approaches in public health, arts in mental health promotion, public health inequities, public health in the workplace, participatory global health, co-designing health architecture, and public health and the environment.

This course explores the interdependencies between natural systems and human disease in a time of rapid environmental change. Acknowledging diverse and changing perspectives on health and the environment across history and cultures, students are introduced to emerging concepts and issues in this field, fundamental approaches to assess evidence for causal relationships between environment and disease as well as begin to develop an understanding of the complex socioecological systems within which remedial action can be taken.

This course examines the mechanisms that drive neurons and neural circuits throughout the brain and body. The lectures explore how environmental and neuronal signals are translated into and encoded in nerve impulses and how this information is conveyed through synapses to transmit information about the external world to control the body as well as different behaviors and to store information for future use (learning and memory). The mechanisms by which sensory and motor information are integrated through neural circuits in the brain and spinal cord are also explored in detail. Practical classes provide an accessible and engaging experience to delve into the inner workings of neurons and sensory systems. 

This course examines concepts and debates relating to public health, health inequalities, and health policy in a global context. It enables students to understand the policy making process, to analyze the roles of key health policy actors, and to consider the relationship between evidence and policy in relation to health.

This course covers various approaches to the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies and programs to address global health problems. By learning from previous successes and failures in global health, the course explores evidence-based strategies, policies, and programmatic interventions to improve the following outcomes: child undernutrition; maternal mortality; malaria; tuberculosis; HIV/AIDS; alcohol use and tobacco control; chronic diseases; mental health; air pollution and climate change; and the 21st century epidemics. Through these case studies, the course will challenge and encourage students to brainstorm various ways to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of global health projects. Sessions in this course will be comprised of interactive lectures and case-based learning. The course requires active participation from all students.