Public Health Nutrition

Code:

LCN3104

Acronym:

NUTSAU

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Natural Sciences
OFICIAL	Health Sciences
OFICIAL	Social Science

Instance: 2021/2022 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Course/CS Responsible:	Nutrition Sciences

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
CNUP	60	Official plan	3	-	3	28	81

Teaching language

Portuguese
Obs.: A língua de trabalho é o português mas poderão eventualmente ocorrer sessões em inglês. Alguns dos trabalhos TP poderão ser baseados em bibliografia em inglês.

Objectives

1. To provide knowledge about the historical evolution and concepts of health, public health and its interaction with nutrition;
2. To provide knowledge about the main public health nutrition (PHN) related problems in Portugal and in the World;
3. To provide knowledge which will enable students to understand the role of nutritionists  in primary health care;  
4. To provide abilities to develop tools to collect data at the individual level, namely through questionnaire surveys;
5. To provide skills to collect data at the individual level through interviews;
6. To provide skills and abilities to intervene at the population level, identifying and planning solutions to solve public health nutrition problems.

Learning outcomes and competences

At the end of this curricular unit the students should be able:
- to know the concepts of public health, its evolution across time and interactions with nutrition;
- to be aware of the main public health nutrition problems in Portugal and worldwide;
- to design, develop and appply data collection tools at the individual level,
- to understand the role of Nutritionists in primary health care;
- to intervene at the population level, by identifiying problems and respective solutions to solve PHN problems. 

Working method

Presencial

Program

Theoretical sessions
1. Background: objectives, syllabus and assessment of the curricular unit;
2. Health and Public Health: historical evolution of concepts and their relation to nutrition;
3. Health systems. National health service. Organization of health services. National health plans;

4. Main PHN related problems:
. Non-transmissible diseases ( obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, cancer);
. Marasm, kwashiorkor and other forms of malnutrition;
. Vit A deficiency;
. Anaemia;
. Iodine deficiency disorders;
. Other PHN problems;

5. Identification of target populations / Priorities in Public Health Nutrition. 



Practical Sessions

1. Stages of work development in Public Health Nutrition with fieldwork. 

Topic to be investigated in the curricular unit - discussion and decision with the students input
2. Setting goals and objectives;
3. Development of a data collection tool;
4. Procedures manual development;
5. Data collection (fieldwork);
6. Database development (using SPSS);
7. Data insertion and analysis (using SPSS);
8. Written report and presentation of the research topic main results.

Mandatory literature

Gibney Michael J 340; Public health nutrition. ISBN: 0-632-05627-4
Majem Lluís Serra 340; Nutrición y salud pública. ISBN: 84-458-1528-8
Lawrence Mark 340; Public health nutrition. ISBN: 978-1-74175-102-4

Comments from the literature

If relevant, extra references might be presented on each class.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical sessions using the lecture method, stimulating the timely and active participation of students.

Practical sessions in which students are guided through a script and encouraged for activities leading to data collection, problem solving and teamwork.
A total working time of 94.5 hours is planned to this curricular unit: 14h of theoretical sessions, 21h of practical sessions, which include the presentation of the fieldwork results. The remaining time (59.5h) is assigned to autonomous study (36.5h), problem solving through several tasks aiming to complement the students training in Public Health Nutrition as well as to carry out the fieldwork (20h), writing the fieldwork report (3h)

Software

Programa estatístico SPSS

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Trabalho de campo	30,00
Trabalho escrito	20,00
Exame	50,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Elaboração de relatório/dissertação/tese	3,00
Estudo autónomo	36,50
Frequência das aulas	35,00
Trabalho de campo	20,00
Total:	94,50

Eligibility for exams

Participation in the practical sessions, namely the continuous assessment component, is mandatory for students approval . 


Students whose statuses allows exemption of such participation should contact the teacher responsible for the curricular unit in the first two weeks of classes. In those cases, approval will be obtained by carrying out different works suggested by the team of teachers and under their guidance.

Calculation formula of final grade

Final classification= 50% CA + 50% FE where:

50% Continuous Assessment (CA)

Assessment  of the participation and problem solving ability demonstrated in TP classes, in fieldwork participation (30%) and in written works (20%);

50% final exam or 2 partial evaluations (FE)

The minimum mark in each test is 9,5 values.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Students whose statuses allows exemption of such participation should contact the teacher responsible for the curricular unit in the first two weeks of classes. In those cases, approval will be obtained by carrying out different works suggested by the team of teachers and under their guidance.

Classification improvement

In agreement with FCNAUP general rules.