Department of Public Health and Epidemiology

RCSI has been teaching public health to medical students since 1841, a time when infectious diseases, child mortality and low life expectancy were affecting the population globally. Since this time, there has been a marked increase in life expectancy in European and North American populations as a result of many factors, including improved sanitation, better working conditions, improved management of infectious disease, and better access to healthcare. However, these improvements have not impacted population health in low-income countries to the same extent.

In most low-income countries, poverty and infectious disease still have a major impact on population health. Poor access to healthcare means that many people do not have access to basic primary care services, as well as tertiary health care such as life-saving surgery. In tandem with this, the rise of non-communicable diseases has brought new challenges to the public health workforce in both high- and low-income countries, and requires new sets of skills among the health workforce.

In addition, climate change has led to an increasing global health burden with the World Health Organization suggesting it is the biggest threat to human health in the 21st century. In particular, it is recognised that climate change will not affect everyone equally, but it will be the most vulnerable and marginalised who will suffer most. The health workforce needs to have a thorough understanding of these different influences on population health and illness, as well as an understanding of the health professional advocate role in addressing the challenges that need to be faced in the coming years.

At the Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, we bring a broad population perspective to both our teaching and research, and, in particular, we have sought to introduce the concepts of planetary health and inequalities in public health into the undergraduate medical curriculum, including an introduction to the important topic of sustainable healthcare. To facilitate this, we have developed a population framework underpinned by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), which demonstrates how the key public health domains, guided by evidence, integrate to offer an effective and systematic approach to population health, whilst emphasising the role of sustainability and equity.

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Teaching in the Department of Public Health and Epidemiology at RCSI focuses on equipping undergraduate and postgraduate students with the knowledge and skills to understand, evaluate, and improve population health.

RCSI’s Direct Entry Medicine curriculum is innovative, future-focused and integrated. Core principles of Evidence-Based Health (EBH) and Public Health Epidemiology (PHE) are integrated across the five-year programme. Within the Graduate Entry Medicine curriculum staff from the department teach a module combining EBH and PHE.

EBH introduces students to research methods; epidemiology and statistics; how to critically assess scientific literature; and ethical and professional issues in health research. PHE provides knowledge and skills to apply epidemiological principles and public health approaches to the measurement and control of major health issues and diseases in patients and populations in resource-poor and resource-rich settings. PHE provides students with both a national and international perspective on population health approaches for disease prevention and control – this reflects the diversity of our students and the populations they will serve. Students can map all these concepts on to their sessions utilising our population health framework.

In addition to Undergraduate teaching, our departmental staff also delivers EBH and PHE as part of the MSc in Population Health Leadership and the SPHeRE PhD programme.

Recognising the impact of climate change on population health and the need for healthcare professionals to be educated about planetary health, the Department of Public Health and Epidemiology is part of the CHIME (Climate Health in Medical education) network, together with the Irish Doctors for the Environment. We are equipping healthcare professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to implement sustainability in healthcare settings through a free online CPD course on Sustainable Healthcare to empower future healthcare leaders.

The Department of Public Health and Epidemiology makes a key contribution to RCSI’s research activities.

Our academic and research staff have established research agendas in areas such as health inequalities, social determinants of health, maternal health, cancer and evidence-based decision-making, supported by grants from funders such as the Health Research Board, the Irish Cancer Society, the Irish Research Council, European Union, Irish Aid and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Interim Head of Department

Professor

    Lecturers

    Senior Postdoctoral Researcher

    Postdoctoral Researchers

    Research Assistants

    Professors Emeriti

    Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturers

    Honorary Senior Lecturer

      • Niall Roche

      Honorary Clinical Lecturer

      • Keith Ian Quintyne

      Department Coordinator

      • Roma Acosta

      Department Administrative Assistant

      • Mary O’Connell