Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

The underlying concepts and methods of epidemiology in the context of population and public health. Students will acquire skills in the critical interpretation of the epidemiologic literature, methods for measuring disease frequency and effect, evaluation of study design, and assessment of bias and confounding.

COURSE DETAILS:

HSCI 802 is an introductory graduate epidemiology course that emphasizes the underlying concepts and methods of epidemiology in the context of population and public health. Topics covered in the course include but are not limited to: basic principles of epidemiology, historical background, study designs, measures of disease frequency and effect, validity and precision, confounding, and social/lifecourse epidemiology. Students will also acquire skills in the critical interpretation of the epidemiological literature in different contexts.

 

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

1. Explain the role of epidemiology in improving population health and reducing social inequities in health.
2. Explain the strengths, limitations and appropriate uses of major epidemiological study designs.
3. Calculate and interpret basic epidemiology measures of disease occurrence and disease association.
4. Define and interpret the roles of chance, bias, confounding, and criteria for inference in the critical evaluation of quantitative population and public health literature.
5. Critically evaluate epidemiological literature to provide a rationale for population health programs, policy decisions, and advocacy.
6. Explain the role of quantitative methods in describing and assessing a population’s health.*
7. Explain the critical importance of evidence in advancing public health knowledge.*

* Foundational Public Health Knowledge area defined by Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

Grading

Materials

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