Causes of Human Disease
Offered By: University of Leeds via FutureLearn
Course Description
Overview
The Causes of Human Disease program consists of five short online courses that look at the science behind the causes of human disease. The program focuses on different types of human disease like infectious, cardiovascular and genetic diseases and cancer and explores how social determinants, nutrition and environmental factors influence our health.
Accessible for free on desktop, tablet or mobile, the five courses can be taken in any order, providing a flexible way to enhance your knowledge and demonstrate your continuing professional development (CPD).
Syllabus
Courses under this program:
Course 1: Causes of Human Disease: Understanding Causes of Disease
-Learn the epidemiological methods used to understand the causes of diseases and how social factors influence their development.
Course 2: Causes of Human Disease: Transmitting and Fighting Infection
-Learn how pathogens cause infectious diseases, how these diseases are transmitted and how our immune systems respond to infection.
Course 3: Causes of Human Disease: Exploring Cancer and Genetic Disease
-Explore how the unravelling of genetic code has led to a deeper understanding of genetic diseases and cancer.
Course 4: Causes of Human Disease: Understanding Cardiovascular Disease
-Explore normal cardiovascular function and risk factors associated with heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.
Course 5: Causes of Human Disease: Nutrition and Environment
-Explore how nutrition and environmental factors such as toxins influence your chance of developing human disease.
Courses
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Discover epidemiology: the study of diseases.
What causes human disease? Why do some people get a disease but others don’t? Through this course, you’ll learn how epidemiologists are helping to find answers to these complex questions and how the health of a population is measured and analysed. By looking at stimulating case studies, you’ll explore how the social determinants of health contribute to human disease and how health inequalities exist. You will then look at health inequalities across the globe and investigate how and why different socioeconomic factors determine human health.
The course is suitable for anyone with a general interest in the science behind causes of human disease. No previous knowledge or experience is required. If you are working in nursing, healthcare or social care, or just wish to learn more, this course is designed to support you as a professional. By completing all aspects of the course you will have achieved 14 hours of CPD time.
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Discover how infection spreads.
Most of us have experienced common diseases like flu or less common ones like pneumonia. On this course, you’ll learn how pathogens cause infectious diseases and how these diseases are transmitted. You’ll examine the bacterial resistance to antibiotics, how this leads to serious infections like MRSA and reflect on approaches to address this problem. You’ll learn how the body’s immune system fights off disease and how resistance is gained. You’ll apply this knowledge to explore why immunisation has been crucial in reducing the occurrence of disease or even eradicating deadly diseases.
The course is suitable for anyone with a general interest in the science behind causes of human disease. No previous knowledge or experience is required. If you are working in nursing, healthcare or social care, or just wish to learn more, this course is designed to support you as a professional. By completing all aspects of the course you will have achieved 14 hours of CPD time.
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Understand the role of genes in cancer and genetic disease
It’s widely known that some diseases run in families. The discovery of the structure of DNA and the unravelling of the genetic code has led to a deeper understanding of such diseases. We now know more about the genetic basis of cancer and how cancer cells are formed and reproduce. On this course you’ll explore the structure of DNA, its processes and learn how genetic disease results from DNA alterations. You’ll look closely at the nature of these changes, causes and risk factors – this is vital in the case of cancer, as prevention has proved to be an effective way of managing this disease.
The course is suitable for anyone with a general interest in the science behind causes of human disease. No previous knowledge or experience is required. If you are working in nursing, healthcare or social care, or just wish to learn more, this course is designed to support you as a professional. By completing all aspects of the course you will have achieved 14 hours of CPD time.
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Understand the causes and management of cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading global cause of death. On this course, you’ll learn how the cardiovascular system functions and understand common cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and stroke, as well as the risk factors associated with them. You’ll also learn about blood pressure, blood sugar control and imbalances, and the role of these in diabetes and cardiovascular disease. You’ll investigate socio-economic factors in the development of cardiovascular diseases, and current management and prevention strategies.
The course is suitable for anyone with a general interest in the science behind causes of human disease. No previous knowledge or experience is required. If you are working in nursing, healthcare or social care, or just wish to learn more, this course is designed to support you as a professional. By completing all aspects of the course you will have achieved 14 hours of CPD time.
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Explore how nutrition and environmental factors influence our health.
On this course you’ll look at the importance of nutrition in human health and explore what happens to the body when it doesn’t receive the right nutrients. You will focus on malnutrition and obesity and how these contribute to the development of diseases, such as diabetes. Using research from the University of Leeds, you’ll learn how food can lead to ill health by carrying pathogens that cause food poisoning, or toxins linked with diseases such as cancer. You’ll then investigate environmental factors, including air pollution and its contribution to cardiovascular diseases.
The course is suitable for anyone with a general interest in the science behind causes of human disease and medicine. No previous knowledge or experience is required. If you are working in nursing, healthcare or social care or just wish to learn more about it, this course is designed to support you as a professional. By completing all aspects of the course you will have achieved 14 hours of CPD time.
Taught by
Michael Routledge, Phil Burns, Piruthivi Sukumar and Caroline Orfila
Tags
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