Course Syllabus

EHS 500 – Principles of Environmental Health Sciences

Tues and Thurs, 08:30 - 10:00 am

Location: M1020 SPH II

 

Instructor:     Richard (Rick) Neitzel, PhD, CIH, FAIHA

Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences

Email: rneitzel@umich.edu

Office: Room 6611D, SPH I Tower

Phone: 734-763-287

Office hours by appointment

 

GSIs:           Anthony Oliveri

Department of Environmental Health Sciences

Email: oliveri@umich.edu 

Office hours: TBN

 

Chad Milando

Department of Environmental Health Sciences

Email: cmilando@umich.edu

Office hours: Monday and Tuesday, 4-5pm, in Room 1629 SPH I

 

Tasha Thong

Department of Environmental Health Sciences

Email: tashagth@umich.edu

Office hours: TBN

Course Description:

EHS-500 is a 3-credit course that provides an overview of key environmental health disciplines, methods, and topics. As such, it is designed as a “survey” course of an enormous subject area, and it serves as the UMSPH Department of Environmental Health Science’s main introductory course for a wide audience of UM students. This course fulfills the MPH core competency in environmental health. A basic understanding (high school level) of human biology and chemistry is recommended. With regards to pre-requisites, although some basic knowledge of chemistry, human biology and physiology is assumed, no professional training in medicine or health care is required.

 

Though many definitions exist for environmental health, for the purposes of this course we will adopt this definition from the European Charter on Environment and Health: “Environmental health comprises those aspects of human health and disease that are determined by factors in the environment. It also refers to the theory and practice of assessing and controlling factors in the environment that can potentially affect health.”

 

EHS-500 is organized along four “Sections”. Section 1: A series of didactic lectures will be provided that introduce the core principles of environmental health science; Section 2: Key ‘environments’ will be described with several real-world examples provided; Section 3: Sensitive groups will be described with associated discussion questions posted online; and Section 4: Student-led debates will explore differing viewpoints on contemporary environmental health issues, and each topic will be supplemented with a brief didactic lecture and online discussions. See each section Page (e.g., Section 1) for a detailed description of covered topics and presenters.

Readings:

The required text for this course is: Essentials of environmental health. Robert H. Friis. Jones & Bartlett Learning, Sudbury, 2012. The ISBN number for the text is 9781284026337. Many outlets sell this book. The instructors will refer to text, discussion questions, figures/tables from this textbook and so it is recommended that each student purchase a copy.

Additional readings pertaining to case studies and topics not covered in the text will be available in Canvas, the course management system used for this course. For some class topics, readings will be provided that are optional (i.e., they will not be the sole source of any information that will be required for the exams or paper) for learning more about specific areas; they will clearly be identified as “Optional Readings”. In general, the portions of the readings Instructors consider most important will be identified by them and you may be tested on your knowledge of them.

Course Assistance:

The Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) is available to help you with course content and questions throughout the semester. Please take advantage of this resource.   The GSI can be accessed in the following ways:

• Email – The GSI will plan to respond to emails within 48 hours. Emails specific to an assignment or test that are sent after 8pm the night before the due date will not be answered. If there are multiple questions pertaining to a single topic, the response may take the form of an announcement on Canvas.
• Office hours – Weekly office hours will be arranged, and announced through Canvas.
• Review Session –There will be a review session at the end of the term in advance of the final exam. This will take the form of a group meeting, dedicated office hours and/or online chats. More information closer to the date of the exam.

 

Learning Objectives:

Learning objective #	Learning objective	Expected level of knowledge
The students taking this class are expected to learn about:
L1	the historical, current, and future need for environmental health science as a field of study, from a scientific, practical, and personal perspective	Intermediate
L2	key sources and exposure routes of environmental and occupational agents, with a focus on chemical and physical stressors	Intermediate
L3	how core principles in toxicology (e.g., toxicokinetics, dose-responses) pertain to the environmental health sciences	Basic
L4	risk assessment approaches to integrate sources, exposure pathways, and adverse health outcomes	Basic
L5	sensitive populations within the environmental health sciences	Basic
L6	policies, guidelines, databases, and programs relevant to environmental health science	Basic
L7	Multiple perspectives on contentious, contemporary environmental health issues	Intermediate

 

Course Competencies:

Comp #	Competency	Expected level of competency
The students that have taken this class are expected to be able to:
C1	Identify chemical and physical hazards in a range of common environments (e.g., home, work, aquatic)	Intermediate
C2	Describe the pathways by which humans are exposed to chemical and physical agents	Intermediate
C3	Recognize adverse health effects associated with common environmental and occupational stressors	Basic
C4	Understand the role of research on identifying, analyzing, and controlling exposures and environmental health hazards	Basic
C5	Find and apply information (e.g., policies, databases) relevant to the environmental health sciences	Basic
C6	Work harmoniously with students from other disciplines (within public health and beyond) to address relevant yet contentious environmental health issues	Basic

 

Examinations and Grading:

Grading in the course will be based on multiple assessments:

Online quizzes (x2 at 5% each)	10%
Online homework assignments (x4 at 5% each)	20%
Participation in a debate activity	20%
Midterm and final examinations (25% each)	50%
	100%

Due dates for specific assignments are shown in the Course Summary below (also in Pages for Section 1, Section 2, Section 3, and Section 4).  The quizzes will be multiple-choice format, offered online (Canvas “Quizzes”) and will be open for a 3-day period. These quizzes will measure your knowledge of fundamental concepts covered in the recent lectures, and will give you a taste for what is expected in the final examination. The midterm and final examinations (worth 25% each, 50% total) will each be 1.5 hours in length. The midterm examination will be held in class during the semester, and the final examination will be held on the last day of class; check the Course Summary below for specific dates. Both will be designed to assess both your competencies and your ability to solve pertinent environmental health science problems. The format of the examinations will consist of multiple-choice and short answer questions. The examinations are closed book and calculators may be used. The debate (20%, instructions to be released mid-way through the semester) will be graded in terms of the group presentation’s viewpoint, use of facts, strength and relevance of arguments, and overall delivery. A scoring rubric will be provided in advance. A series of homework assignments (Canvas “Assignments”) will be provided to help engage students, test understanding, stimulate discussion, and personalize EHS (20%).

Letter grades are assigned on the standard scale normalized by percent total as indicated:

98-100 A+             87-89 B+               77-79 C+

93-97 A                  83-86 B                  73-76 C

90-92 A-                80-82 B-                70-72 C-

Late and missed assignments:

Unless prior authorization is received from the instructor, the grade for homework assignments submitted late will be reduced by 30%. Quizzes may not be taken after the date and time at which they close without prior authorization from the instructor. Missed quizzes will be assigned a score of 0.

 

Evaluation method	Format	% of grade	Learning objectives tested	Competencies tested
Performance in this class with respect to both learning objectives and competencies will be tested by the following means:
2 x Quizzes	Quizzes will be conducted in CTools.	10	L1 to L7	C1 to C5
4 x Homework Assignments	CTools-based homework assignments will engage students, test understanding, and personalize EHS	20	L1 to L7	C1 to C5
Group Debates	Graded on, use of facts, strength and relevance of arguments, and overall delivery	15	L1 to L7	C1 to C6
Examinations	Two 1.5 hour tests with multiple choice and short answer questions.	50	L1 to L7	C1 to C5

Classroom Expectations/Etiquette:

SPH is committed to creating classroom environments that are supportive of diversity, equity and inclusion.  Attendance at all lecture sessions is expected. To encourage attendance, the instructor reserves the right to offer additional, unannounced assignments to be completed in class for extra course credit.

 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

The University of Michigan School of Public Health seeks to create and disseminate knowledge,

with the aim of preventing disease and promoting the health of populations worldwide. We commit to create an environment to foster relationships within and beyond the School of Public Health that promote community connection. Utilizing the institutional civility code we will promote the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, both inside and outside our classrooms. To this end, SPH upholds the expectations that all course participants will acknowledge diverse experiences in the classroom, create environments that encourage equitable classroom participation, and ensure that students and faculty abide by UM policies and procedures.

Academic Integrity:

The faculty and staff of the School of Public Health believe that the conduct of a student registered or taking courses in the School should be consistent with that of a professional person. Courtesy, honesty, and respect should be shown by students toward faculty members, guest lecturers, administrative support staff, community partners, and fellow students. Similarly, students should expect faculty to treat them fairly, showing respect for their ideas and opinions and striving to help them achieve maximum benefits from their experience in the School.

Student academic misconduct refers to behavior that may include plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, falsification of records or official documents, intentional misuse of equipment or materials (including library materials), and aiding and abetting the perpetration of such acts. Please visit http://www.sph.umich.edu/academics/policies/conduct.html for the full SPH Code of Academic Integrity and further definition of these terms.

 

Student Wellbeing:

SPH faculty and staff believe it is important to support the physical and emotional well-being of our students. If you have a physical or mental health issue that is affecting your performance or participation in any course, and/or if you need help connecting with University services, please contact the instructor or the Office of Academic Affairs.

Please visit http://www.sph.umich.edu/students/current/#wellness for more information.

 

Student Accommodations:

Students should speak with their instructors before or during the first week of classes regarding any special needs. Students can also visit the Office of Academic Affairs for assistance in coordinating communications around accommodations.

Students seeking academic accommodations should register with Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). SSD arranges reasonable and appropriate academic accommodations for students with disabilities. Please visit http://ssd.umich.edu/accommodations for more information on student accommodations.

Students who expect to miss classes, examinations, or other assignments as a consequence of their religious observance shall be provided with a reasonable alternative opportunity to complete such academic responsibilities. It is the obligation of students to provide faculty with reasonable notice of the dates of religious holidays on which they will be absent. Please visit http://www.provost.umich.edu/calendar/religious_holidays.html#conflicts for the complete University policy.