Control Strategies for Communicable and Non-communicable Diseases (CCND)

Disease control refers to a broad package of strategies for controlling diseases, from primary prevention, health promotion, and health legislation to screening for early detection, treatment and rehabilitation. This course is designed to help disease control officers retain the strength of their programmes while moving towards more integrated and sector-wide approaches.

This course is TropEd accredited and can be followed as a stand-alone course or as advanced module of the Master in International Health or the Master of Public Health programmes.

Start: 08/04/2024

Duration: 3 weeks

Location: KIT, Amsterdam

EC: 4,5

Language: English

Course period (2024): from 08/04/2024 until 30/04/2024

Course fee (2024): EUR 2.390

KIT application deadline (normal): 08/02/2024

KIT application deadline if you apply for OKP Scholarship (period 2024): 1 June 2023

OKP scholarship application period (period 2024): 28 June - 5 September 2023, 16:00 CET (ATTENTION)

Contact: courses@kit.nl

I have good experiences with the Control Strategies for Infectious and Non Communicable Diseases course, which was a blended course, some learning took place in the classroom, some parts were online.

I enjoyed the structured flow of the course over the week along with the different interactive forums for discussions and debates on very relevant scenarios from low income countries for our learning and assessments.

After this module I feel confident to critically review existing national programs on Infectious diseases and new programs on Non Communicable disease prevention. It is definitely a course that one should attend. The whole experience of learning in a virtual classroom makes learning more fun and productive.

Shyam Sundar Budhathoki, from Nepal. Shyam is a Community Physician specialized in Tropical Disease by training. Works as Assistant Professor at the School of Public Health & Community Medicine, B P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal as a teaching undergraduate students in health sciences and partially as Community Physician and a public health researcher. Shyam followed this module as part of the MPH/ICHD

I chose this course due to personal interest in non-communicable diseases, which is currently an issue of great importance in terms of public health in Brazil.

I appreciated the way that the activities were organized: visits to health facilities, regular classes and distance learning activities. Lectures were designed with quality and the lecturers brought a diversity of experience and context information, which enriched our discussions.

I think the course introduced to me a number of issues for which I had little contact. The most precious in this course was the diversity in terms of content, activities, lectures and culture among participants.

I recommend this course to anyone interested in non-communicable diseases and who is interested in promoting cultural exchange and create a professional network.

Stella Parreira from Brazil. She worked as a psychologist in public general hospitals and as a researcher in the human resources department of secretariat of São Paulo, southeast of Brazil. Stella followed this module as part of the MPH/ICHD.

Being a nurse I need to know about different new inventions, interventions and practices related to health and technology.

This module was very interesting for me as I could interact with my fellow course participants and they shared their knowledge about different topics. I learned from their knowledge and experience shared in the online platform of Elevate also.

I will use this experience in my future learning and work and apply this newly acquired knowledge in practice for treatment, cure and care of my patient’s in the future.

Manju Pandey, from Nepal. Background in Nursing. She followed this module as part of the MPH/ICHD.

“This module was one of the most interesting and intereactive modules of the course. The assessment method, writing a paper on prioritising and addressing communicable and non-communicable disease interventions, was very beneficial.”

Amirhoushang Omidvari from Iran, MPH/ICHD 2013, background Medical Doctor, now working as a Clinical Research Training Fellow in Global Health at School of Public Health, Imperial College London.

Content

In order to choose the right strategies for a specific disease in a given situation, health care managers need to understand the context in which a disease arises, the factors contributing to its spread, and the natural course of the disease.

In this module a number of diseases, both communicable and non-communicable (NCD), are used as models to demonstrate different aspects and principles of disease control. A wide variety of issues relevant to public health are discussed, such as malaria, tuberculosis, nutrition, smoking, as well as refugee health care. Part of this module is carried out through interactive learning in a Virtual Learning Environment.

Objectives

At the end of the module students will be able to:

appraise and interpret research results on the epidemiology of communicable diseases (CDs) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and describe how they can inform relevant decision-making processes about control strategies

analyse and critically discuss different approaches and strategies used in disease control and formulate context-appropriate strategies to control one or more CDs and/or NCDs

compare and contrast the approaches to the control of communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases (i.e. behavioural, immunological, environmental, nutritional, service delivery) in relation to relevant levels of prevention

analyse and critically discuss strengths and weaknesses of specific disease control programmes or strategies (CD & NCD) in relation to integrated approaches of health systems development and current health reforms regarding the control of CDs & NCDs

Content

refresher on basic concepts: Trends, high-risk populations, behavioural risk factors, transmission patterns, epidemic-endemic, infection-disease, etc.

approaches to the control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and similarities and differences between control strategies.

control strategies, such as: screening/case finding and case management, vaccination, adherence and retrieval of patients, prevention, monitoring & evaluation, surveillance, health promotion, environmental interventions, legislation/regulation etc.

malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, obesity

analysis and design of control programmes both at the level of health services and intersectorally, for both CDs & NCDs

implications and interactions between current health reforms and CD & NCD control strategies;

implications and interactions of policies of other sectors on disease control strategies.

role of communities in control of CDs and NCDs

health problems in the context of refugee camps

Application

Admission criteria

Academic training or a professional qualification in a relevant field

Work experience in a related area, including experience in management or planning in developing countries

Proficiency in spoken and written English

Application procedure

The application package is due two months before the start of the course.

Please upload your application online. The following documents should be uploaded:

A one-page letter of motivation

Copies of your diplomas and grade reports

An up-to-date curriculum vitae and a list of publications if applicable

What we expect from your motivation letter:
Please indicate in your motivation letter why you want to follow this specific course, why you want to follow the course at KIT Amsterdam, what do you expect to learn and how you will apply your newly gained competencies from the course in your work, what kind of benefits will it bring to your future career, etc. Describe a relevant problem you have experienced in the last two years that you would like to discuss during this specific course. Your motivation should be about ½-1 page. Please do not repeat your CV again.

This course can be taken on its own, as advanced module of the Master of Public Health or as part of the Master in International Health (MIH) programme.

FAQ Online Application System

Do you have a question about our Online Application System? Then you can find the answer in our FAQ Online Application System:

Go to our FAQ Online Application System-page

Practical information

Location

Classes are normally held at KIT’s training facilities in Amsterdam.

Learning methods

This module is offered as blended learning. Partly with e-learning sessions and sessions in class.

Accommodation

There is a severe shortage of student accommodation in Amsterdam and participants are advised to contact KIT for information. KIT will endeavour to assist participants in their search for housing.

Visa requirements

Citizens of most EU or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries do not need a visa to enter the Netherlands. Visit the Nuffic website for the latest information on visa requirements.

Participants from other countries must obtain a short-stay visa (for up to three months) through the Netherlands embassy or consulate covering the applicant’s country. Applicants will need a letter of admission to the course and proof of sponsorship or sufficient funds to cover the course fee, travel and accommodation costs. Applicants should take into account that in some countries this procedure can take several months.

Insurance requirements

Course participants and accompanying dependents are required by Dutch law to have health, accident and third party insurance. Unless their current insurance policy covers their stay abroad, participants must insure themselves and their dependents in the Netherlands. Dutch insurance companies offer reasonable rates to foreign students.

Funding

The arrangement of financial support to cover all study costs is the responsibility of the applicant. KIT does not offer financial support or scholarships.

OKP scholarships

For this course and a number of other KIT courses funding from the Orange Knowledge Programme OKP is available for applicants from OKP countries. See the OKP page for more information on the eligible countries, eligibility criteria and application instructions. For 2023 there are a lot of changes. Applicants from OKP countries are strongly encouraged to apply for an OKP scholarship.

The OKP application has to be submitted via an online application system from Nuffic. All accepted applicants from OKP eligible countries will receive the link to apply automatically when the application period opens.

ATTENTION: OKP application period has changed for 2023. The application period is from June-September. This means the academic application deadline is also earlier.
See top of this page for the OKP application deadline for this course.
You are advised to apply as early as possible.
See the detailed instructions on OKP information.

European Credit

The European Credit Transfer System (EC) facilitates the transfer of course credits between different institutions of the same academic level. A course comprising 28 hours of formal teaching and private study is equivalent to one EC credit point.

Accreditation

This course is also accredited for the Master in International Health programme organised by tropEd, a network of European institutions for higher education in international health.