The specialist in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine must have gained technical, scientific and professional knowledge in the fields of preventive medicine, health education and health promotion, planning, organisation and evaluation of health technologies and services (health management), food hygiene and nutrition, environmental hygiene and safety, hygiene and safety at work, civil and health construction, medical statistics, epidemiology, demography, health information systems, health legislation, evidence of the effectiveness of prevention and health care. They must acquire professionalism and skills related to the organization of primary care, hospital organization and the organization of primary and secondary prevention (screening programs) in communities and in health facilities, both public and private. The specialist must be able to: make good diagnoses of the state of health and health problems in a community using the methodological tools that epidemiology provides; identify interventions to achieve the health objectives set; identify priorities for action and the most effective solutions using innovative methodologies such as evidence-based healthcare; design health interventions through the drafting of a detailed protocol that also provides for the evaluation of the necessary resources and their precise allocation. Other specific areas are represented by: the surveillance and control of hereditary, infectious, chronic degenerative diseases and accidents in living and working communities, travelers and migrants; the analysis of social and health needs, lifestyles, nutrition and environmental risks; epidemiological, etiological and evaluative research; health information and training; from the planning, organization, management, coordination of resources and evaluation of prevention interventions, with the ability to relate to the different communities making them active subjects of health choices. It will also have to be able to design, implement and evaluate appropriate public health interventions in the event of accidents, disasters and terrorist attacks by biological, chemical and nuclear means (NCBs); as well as carry out the environmental impact assessment with regard to health aspects.

Basic learning objectives:

acquisition of knowledge of statistical, epidemiological, psychology, sociology, economics, history of medicine, genetics, microbiology, clinical pathology, applied medical technologies, law, physics and chemistry of the environment and of life and work; the acquisition of the ability to use statistics, information systems, communication systems and legislation in the field of health prevention; the use of basic knowledge and epidemiological methodology for the surveillance and control of chemical-physical, environmental and microbiological risks, genetic diseases, chronic degenerative infectious diseases and accidents in living and working environments and their impact on the quality of life and health of the community; plan, manage and evaluate prevention and training interventions, including from a managerial and health economic point of view;

Educational objectives of the type of School:

• plan, implement and evaluate descriptive, ecological, transversal, analytical, experimental and intervention studies;
• discuss the risk profile of the population and groups with particular exposure;
• describe and interpret the preventable fraction, for each health problem, of the main environmental, work, social and behavioural risk factors;
• describe and use models of prevention and promotion on the individual, the community and the physical and social environment;
• recognise and use the principles of environmental risk communication;
• plan, organise and evaluate interventions aimed at protecting health and preventing infectious, behavioural, occupational and environmental risks;
• organize the protection of the health of the individuals most at risk of the population (with particular regard to the elderly, minors, disadvantaged social classes, migrants and travelers);
• plan, organise and evaluate secondary prevention interventions (screening programmes);
• planning, organising and evaluating tertiary prevention interventions;
• plan, organize and evaluate interventions in the community in relation to the implementation of primary care and their connection with second-level care;
• contribute to the development of interdisciplinary and intersectoral health plans;
• planning, organising and evaluating surveillance, inspection and control of food and beverages in the production, transport, handling, trade, administration and use phases;
• apply the principles of proper nutrition at the level of families and organized communities;
• plan, implement and evaluate food education interventions;
• organise and manage information systems for health purposes;
• use epidemiological methodology and economic analysis as planning tools;
• use evidence based medicine (EBM), evidence based healthcare (EBHC) and evidence based prevention (EBP) techniques;
• describe, interpret and use the models of health systems, and the related control, direction, financing and management mechanisms and assess their levels of appropriateness, effectiveness and equity;
• use and implement models of cost/effectiveness, cost/benefit, cost/utility analysis and the principles of health economics;
• planning, organising and evaluating services and their quality in the area and in hospitals;
• design, implement and evaluate public health interventions in emergencies;
• design, implement and evaluate continuing education activities on public health methods and contents;
• recognize the legal role of the public health operator in the current national and regional health scenario;
• recognize the problems inherent in the perception of illness and health in other cultures;
• describe the main changes in lifestyles related to new social and intercultural phenomena, using the tools of medical and cultural anthropology;
• To be able to introduce bioethics criteria in the doctor-patient and services-community relationship at the level of primary care and prevention activities, with particular regard to the definition of priorities.

Integrated training objectives (i.e. common core): the student must have acquired skills in medical statistics, hygiene, forensic medicine, occupational medicine, epidemiology, business organisation, demography, work and organisational psychology, labour law.

The objective of the common training for the disciplines of the class is aimed at acquiring knowledge of the classification and characterization of different population groups, their general and work organization and lifestyles, taking into account the increasingly important psychological implications.

All this is aimed at carrying out adequate statistical evaluations, analysis of hygiene, medical-legal, work and risk problems, recognition of suitability, assessment of pathologies, disability, and application of all preventive criteria as required by current legislation and its evolutions.

The following are similar or supplementary objectives:

• acquisition of the ability to interact with specialists in the other types of the class, as well as with graduates and
• specialists in the areas of health classes, in the fields of epidemiological analysis, organization of services,
• evaluation of health interventions and management of health emergencies.

The following are compulsory professionalizing activities for the achievement of the educational purposes of the type:

• have collaborated in at least two cases in the analysis of current health statistics, and have designed and implemented at least one independently;
• have participated in the design and implementation of at least two epidemiological investigations, and have designed and carried out at least one independently;
• have collaborated in organizational analyses of healthcare facilities, and in particular:
• at least one assessment of resource needs;
• at least two assessments of the appropriateness of procedures (diagnostic-therapeutic), care pathways or regimes and quality of care;
• have collaborated in at least one project for the evaluation and review of integrated care pathways (primary care, territory, hospital);
• have collaborated in at least one evaluation of human resources performance;
• have collaborated in at least one evaluation of the outcomes of a health organization or a part of it;
• have collaborated in the preparation and evaluation of at least three of: health information or education interventions, vaccination campaigns, indoor/outdoor environmental risk surveillance surveys in communities and/or groups at risk, hygienic-sanitary adequacy of production procedures and/or provision of services, community prevention interventions;
• have collaborated in at least one screening program;
• have collaborated in at least one occupational risk assessment and management programme and health surveillance;
• have carried out at least one feasibility study for the solution of health problems of a community and a feasibility study for the solution of organizational problems of an institution;
• have been involved in at least one health technology assessment in terms of reliability, safety, cost-effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, ethical and legal aspects;
• have collaborated in the preparation and evaluation of at least two quality improvement programs and have designed and implemented at least one independently;
• have carried out at least one intervention to assess the quality of care with certification and/or accreditation methods;
• have participated in the critical review of the scientific literature, with at least one systematic review with attached meta-analysis, concerning prevention, diagnosis and treatment interventions, in the light of evidence based medicine (EBM), evidence based healthcare (EBHC), evidence based prevention (EBP) and evidence based public health and have collaborated in the implementation of the principles of effectiveness, appropriateness and efficiency in the decision-making process in Public Health;
• have collaborated in the design, implementation and evaluation of at least one clinical risk management and patient safety program including the prevention and control of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) and Anti Microbial Stewardship (AMR);
• have collaborated in the realization of at least one Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and a Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA);
• have participated in at least one epidemiological nutritional surveillance survey in communities and/or groups at risk and in at least one food risk assessment and categorization;
• have collaborated in the design and implementation of at least one basic or permanent training intervention for operators in the health area;
• have collaborated in at least one communication project with the population, directly or through the mass media, relating to health problems or emergencies;
• have collaborated in the organization of emergency health interventions (real or simulated);
• have participated in scientific research activities with the publication of at least one article in indexed journals and/or a communication or poster at least one national/international conference per year;
• have applied the qualitative research methodology (real or simulated);
• have participated in Health Impact Assessment activities (real or simulated);
• have attended, for a duration to be established by the School Council, health directorates (ASL, Hospital, Presidium), Health Districts, Prevention Departments, Health Agencies and Environmental Agencies, participating in all the related activities;
• have attended, for a duration to be determined by the School Council, above all facilities where the biological work risk is prevalent, participating in the prevention and health protection activities carried out by the local competent doctor and safety officer.

The student will be able to compete for the diploma after completing the professionalizing activities.

As part of the training course, the student will have to learn the scientific bases of the type of School in order to achieve full maturity and professional competence that includes an adequate ability to interpret scientific innovations and critical knowledge that allows him to consciously manage both assistance and his own updating; In this context, participation in meetings, congresses and the production of scientific publications and periods of attendance in qualified Italian and foreign institutions useful for his/her training may be envisaged.