POPH8100 Fundamentals of Epidemiology

Offered By	NCEPH General
Academic Career	Graduate Coursework
Course Subject	Population Health
Offered in	Second Semester, 2009 and First Semester, 2010
Unit Value	6 units
Course Description	Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health in populations and the application of this study to improve health. The course will introduce basic epidemiological concepts including study design; measures of disease frequency and association; bias, confounding and effect modification; causality; screening; and disease surveillance. It will introduce the basic tools necessary for using and interpreting population health data. Students will be given the opportunity to apply epidemiological methods to study current population health problems and issues, such as obesity, cancer, disease outbreaks and health inequalities.
Learning Outcomes	At the end of the course students should be able to: Recognise and define important population health questions Identify and choose appropriate study designs Calculate and interpret measures of disease frequency and association and confidence intervals around these measures Identify and assess the implications of bias and confounding in epidemiological research Identify key sources of population health data Critically appraise epidemiological literature Communicate epidemiological information to professional and other audiences Reflect on the role of epidemiology in informing scientific, political, ethical and economic discussion of health issues
Indicative Assessment	Attendance at face-to-face sessions (5%) Web-based short answer assignments (30%) Research project - written component (30%) and oral component (10%) In-class assessment (25%)
Workload	Contact hours: There will be an intensive teaching block, held from Aug 3-Aug 6, 9-5pm each day. Attendance during the intensive teaching block is an essential requirement of the Unit. In addition, there are six other 2½ hour face-to-face sessions during the semester, held on Tuesday afternoons from 3-5.30 pm (dates to be confirmed). Four of these are combined lecture/tutorial sessions. The other two sessions are compulsory sessions (student oral presentations and in-class assessment).
Course Classification(s)	SpecialistSpecialist courses are designed for students having reached 'first degree' level of assumed knowledge, which provide for the acquisition of specialist skills; or 'second degree' and higher level of knowledge; or for transition to research training programs; or knowledge associated with professional accreditation.
Eligibility	An undergraduate degree in the health or medical sciences, science, the humanities or social sciences, of an acceptable standard. Students who have a combination of education and relevant experience in the health sector or related area will also be considered - contact the course convener.
Other Information	Enrolments close on July 4. Those seeking to enrol in this course after July 4 should contact the course coordinator. No enrolments will be accepted after July 31.
Academic Contact	Dr Rosemary Korda

The information published on the Study at ANU 2009 website applies to the 2009 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2008 website.