Needs and requirements for undergraduate and graduate training in environmental and occupational epidemiology

Training in modern medicine aims at teaching not only the structure and function of the human organism in health and in disease, but also it aims at revealing the factors responsible for human health. The second field of teaching is based mainly on epidemiology. In undergraduate teaching, the epidemiological training should be introduced as early as possible in the curriculum and possibly divided into two parts, theoretical and practical. With the increasing awareness that the maintenance of health in populations is an ecological problem, there is also a growing need for professional epidemiologists who could assist in recognizing health risks, assessing and developing prevention strategies and in arranging of health services in a responsible way. The objectives of graduate teaching in epidemiology are different from those of undergraduate teaching. The graduate teaching should cover not only professional epidemiologists but also should be addressed to health services administrators, clinicians and graduates from other specialists and paramedical and auxiliary personnel. The needs and requirements for teaching epidemiology in undergraduate and postgraduate levels have been discussed against the background of currently available courses in Europe and local perception of environmental and occupational problems in European countries.