POPM*6200 - Epidemiology I

Course Description

This course covers concepts, principles and methods of basic and applied epidemiology, including the following topics: sampling, measuring disease frequency, clinical epidemiology, descriptive epidemiology, causal reasoning and design, interpretation and critical appraisal of surveys, observational studies, field trials and critical appraisal.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, the learner should be able to:

1. Use and explain appropriate epidemiological terminology;
2. Explain epidemiology and factors that contribute to disease transmission in populations;
3. Calculate and explain diagnostic and screening test characteristics, including sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values, at both the individual and group levels;
4. Analyze quantitative data to calculate and explain common measures of disease frequency, measures of association, and measures of effect for factor-outcome relationships;
5. Apply several models of causation to assess the potential causal effect of a factor on an outcome;
6. Design an observational study to answer a given research question by creating a causal diagram, selecting and justifying a study design, selecting a sampling strategy, calculating the required sample size, identifying potential study biases, and outlining a data analysis plan;
7. Design an experimental study to answer a given research question by creating a causal diagram, selecting and justifying a study design, selecting a sampling strategy, calculating the required sample size, identifying potential study biases, and outlining a data analysis plan;
8. Critically appraise epidemiological literature to assess strengths and weaknesses of studies and the validity of their findings; and,
9. Explain the key components of effective risk assessments and disease surveillance programs as well as steps to conduct disease outbreak investigations.

Course Topics

• Foundations in Health, Disease Transmission, and Causality
• Sampling
• Measures of Disease Frequency
• Screening and Diagnostic Testing
• Measures of Association and Effect
• Bias and Confounding
• Introduction to Observational Study Designs
• Cohort Studies and Randomized Clinical Trials
• Risk Assessments
• Surveillance
• Outbreak Investigations

Assessment

Note:

Additional Technical Requirements

This course will use the Respondus tool to invigilate one or more exams. In order to use Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor, you must meet the following technical requirements:

1. Operating Systems: Windows 10, 8, 7; Mac OS X 10.10 or higher.
2. Memory: Windows 2 GB RAM; Mac 512 MB RAM.
3. For Mac users: Safari must function properly on the computer.
4. Mac users must have Adobe Flash Player installed to Safari, even if a different browser is normally used.
5. Functioning webcam and microphone. The webcam and microphone can be built into your computer or can be the type that plugs in with a USB cable. (You will be required to do an environment scan of your room, so please ensure you can move your computer, laptop or webcam for this scan.)
6. A broadband Internet connection. It is recommended that you access the Internet via a wired connection.