Summer Institute on Rural and Environmental Health 2002 Summary Report

Scientific Program

Environmental Health Issues (Session 1)

Environmental Health was approached from a general and a rural context. Participants discussed the current state of environmental health in their countries and concluded that there is a significant amount of knowledge and information from different data sources but the missing link is that of using this information to formulate public health policy and public policy generally. National databases rarely allow for the study of rural environmental health and health status of people living in rural areas. Planning of preventive measures is therefore complicated. The transformation of the former hygiene service is ongoing in most countries. In some of them, sanitary inspection has been separated from public health (Estonia, Romania), in others it is still in one unit.

Occupational Health Issues (Session 2)

Following an introduction to occupational health in Slovak Republic and of ergonomics in the workplace, the lectures and discussions were organized around rural occupational health, mostly focused on agriculture. One of the major points of discussion was about injuries and especially their recognition as an epidemiological and public health problem. It has been repeatedly stated by participants coming from different countries, that this topic is beginning to be recognized by public health and general policy makers.

Epidemiology (Session 3)

Issues in epidemiology focused on study design and data sources for general epidemiology and for cases of rural health data sources. Study design and data sources are crucial for valid results of epidemiological studies. It was concluded that the planning phase of epidemiological studies is frequently missing in routine public health practice in CEE countries. Excellent databases exist although they are rarely used for the purpose of epidemiological studies. The linkage variables are sometimes missing, which makes the use of these databases complicated. At the end of the day an introductory presentation of epidemiology resources on the Internet was conducted in the Trnava University computer facility.

Social and Behavioral Health Issues/Public Health Programs (Sessions 4 and 5)
Social and behavioral health issues and general public health programmes (such as from OECD, NEHAP of WHO) and modern methodologies (such as GIS) were discussed. One of most profound discussions of the Summer Institute developed around social aspects of public health and values and decision-making. The question of values was raised with respect to environmental, social and economic conditions, and it was concluded that public health must be value driven with clear priorities. In the behavioral health part of this session, participants discussed smoking and alcohol abuse trends by. In addition, a presentation of public health resources on Internet was conducted on the second day, as well as a presentation of acknowledged practices of grant writing.

Field Trip

A field trip was organized to take participants to sites related to rural health and rural life. Participants first toured the Chemical Technology Research Institute (VUCHT) in Bratislava, and the Center for control, testing and registration of agrochemicals in Bratislava (UKSUP). At the VUCHT, participants learned about the institute’s preparation of Slovak legislation concerning chemical substances and toxicological laboratories. The UKSUP presented its duties related to the field of plant protection, pesticide registration and other areas related to chemical use in agriculture. The next site was a livestock farm in Dolne Lovcice, where participants had a chance to see a modern operation with fully automated and computer-directed milking facility.

Teaching Faculty

• Ivan Ciznar, PhD, DRSC, Senior Scientist, Deputy Director, Institute of Preventive and Clinical Medicine in Bratislava, Slovak Republic
• Tom Cook, PhD, Professor, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
• Ladislav Csemy, Psychiatrical Centrum, Prague, Czech Republic
• Kelley Donham, DVM, Professor, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
• Gabriel Gulis, PhD, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, Denmark
• Katarina Halzlova, Head, Department of Environmental Health, National Public Health Institute in Bratislava, Slovak Republic
• Branko Kontic, PhD, Senior Scientist, Assistant Professor, Institute Jozef Stefan, Ljubljana, Slovenia,
• Katarina Kulhankova, MD, MS, PhD, candidate and Research Assistant, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA
• Robert Ochaba, National Public Health Institute in Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
• Margareta Sulcova, Trnava University, Trnava, Slovakia,
• Tomas Trnovec, MD, DSc, Senior Scientist and former director, Institute of Preventive and Clinical Medicine, Bratislava, Slovakia