Department of Public Health Sciences

Introduction

Phone +36 1 486 4870
Email etk.kozeg@semmelweis.hu
Head of the Department: College Professor Tamás Pándics Ph.D.

The mission of the Department of Public Health Sciences

The main mission of the Department is to provide teaching and research for the students of BSc in Public Health Inspector and of the specialisations of MSc in Public Health (Environmental and Occupational Health, Epidemology) (MSc only in Hungarian). The main profiles of the Department are organised around the main subjects of the specialization. The department’s faculty-level missions include teaching subjects related to public health, epidemiology, prevention and health promotion in all specialisations, both at BSc and MSc level, in compulsory and elective subjects, in Hungarian and English.

Educational and professional profiles

The Department provides a broad spectrum of theoretical and practical training covering the full range of public health functions, with a special focus on public health inspectors, certified public health professionals, but also a wide range of other specialisations and professions. The subjects taught range from public health epidemiology, chemical safety and occupational health to food and environmental health, organised according to the classical health protection functions. The department’s teaching staff are also recognised practitioners of their profession, so that the content of the courses is constantly updated, with theoretical and very high levels of practical training in all subjects in line with the latest practices.

Due to its professional profile, the Department organises and conducts professional training courses (compulsory and continuing) in fields of microbiology, epidemiology and public health. Our staff are active participants in the scientific societies and their events in our fields. In this context it maintains close links with the Hungarian Hygienists’ Society (MHT) and the Hungarian Infection Control Society (MIT), which also has a national role through the coordinations of its Environmental Infection Control Workgroup. The Department is the representative of the Faculty in the Association of Public Health Training and Research Centres (NKE). The Head of the Department is the focal point of the WHO Environment and Health Hungary and co-chair of the Environment and Health Task Force of the European Environment and Health Process.

The staff of the Department are active participants as tutors and lecturers in the Faculty’s international accredited educational partnership, the European Union’s Socrates Program and the Cohehre Academy (Consortium in Higher Education in Health Care and Rehabilitation). Our Department is involved in promoting student and faculty mobility within the ERASMUS+ program.

Research Activities

The Department is involved in research and methodological developments in the field of public health. Its research topics typically focuses on the impact of environment on health and patient safety. Within these themes, the Department covers almost the whole spectrum of public health from microbiology, infectious and non-infectious epidemiology to risk assessment and risk management strategies. Individual research activities are predominantly interdisciplinary. Research are not only carried out by faculty members of the Department, the Department actively supports students to join to the scientific work in the framework of Scientific Student Circle.

Infection Control Centre

– In order to prevent nosocomial and healthcare associated infections, the Department forms an infection control centre in collaboration with external public health partners.

– The key elements of active laboratory surveillance system:

– molecular biology methods for comparison/characterization of strains isolated from different sources;

– monitoring infections;

– computer data analysis of bacterial isolates including antimicrobial-resistance patterns.

Burial customs and funeral practices

– Treatment of dead persons according to the law and the process of mourning;

– Dead people – from a public health and cultural historical view;

– Characteristics and forms of burial from an intercultural perspective.