Nutrition, the science of food nutrients is a very vital aspect of health promotion and maintenance, management and control of health/illness, as well as restoration of optimal health. A host of psychological, physical and socio-cultural factors affect the nutrition, and food habits of individuals, families and communities. Public health students need to understand the components of food, their various roles in health and illness as well as the various factors that affect the selection and eating of food.
The knowledge of Nutrition and Dietetics acquired from this course would be applied in the planning and preparation of diets to meet therapeutic needs of the communities.
This is an introductory course designed to acquaint the students with the basic principles of epidemiology. Attention is focused on the techniques, epidemiological activities, data collection and analysis. Various experimental designs, implementation and interpretation of results will be taught, they will develop critical skills for evaluation of epidemiological findings, be able to define objectives, outbreak investigations and basic principles of screening with risk factors during outbreaks. They will understand what immunization is and its problems.
Introduction to Public health practice is a two- credit course available for students offering Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Public Health.
The course highlights issues of health in broad perspectives; ranging from various periods of recorded history, that is, from the antiquity to present times. The development and growth of public health from its inception are addressed. The various actors in the course of its development and the various roles played by each of them are highlighted. The course also, looks at Public health Practices which include the followings: definition, functions, roles of public health professionals, public health tools and some public health terms. The course will furnish the with an understanding of essentials of public health. It also highlights issues of health in broad perspectives and help them care for the needs of the people
The course provides the
students with knowledge of the study of environmental sanitation and hygiene in
Nigeria, the concepts of environment, environmental sanitation and factors
responsible for poor sanitation will be taught. The students will be taken
through community, marketing and institutional sanitation and National policy
on environmental sanitation. The methods and techniques for the promotion of
environmental sanitation and sanitation advocacy will be explained. The
students will be able to develop proposal for environmental sanitation while
they have gotten the knowledge of the diseases related to environmental
sanitation
MCU-PHS 116: HEALTH ANTHROPOLOGY (2CREDITS)
The course examines the relationships between ill health states and culture. The course also examines customs, and belief in relationships to life styles, social interactions and developmental processes within groups, sub-groups and lineages. The course further provides the student with a better understanding of the dynamics of ill-health states from the cultural perspectives. Lastly, the course reviews and explains relevant and appropriate behavioral models to clarify topical anthropological issues and situations
This course examines, describes and analyses the social structure of human society with intellectual freedom and responsibilities. It explains the important roles of sociology, anthropology and other social sciences across the spectrum of disciplines. Society as the interrelated network of social relationships that exists, the largest social system being the nation-state where individuals are grouped into families, communities, racial and ethnic groups, political parties, social classes among others constitute the practice arena for public health. These groups and their dynamics must form the knowledge base of public health students so as to be able to propose, formulate and implement public health policies.In addition, an understanding the socialization process from birth to end of life is key to delivering effective and efficient public health care services.
This course will expose the students to inequalities in health which are directly related to social and economic inequalities hence the role of social and behavioral factors in health and illness is central. The course helps the students to know how social factors (e.g., class, race, gender, religion, ethnicity, kinship network, marriage, educational status, age, place, and cultural practices) influence human health.