Course overview
This course will provide an overview of the principles and concepts underpinning epidemiology with emphasis on study designs, causal inference, data analysis and interpretation with application to specific diseases and conditions. Introduction to epidemiology thinking; determinants and risk factors; pioneers in epidemiology and public health; causation and causal inference; role of epidemiology in public health; measuring disease occurrence and causal effects; types of epidemiologic studies; infectious disease epidemiology; effect modification and interactions; chronic disease epidemiology; random error and the role of statistics; analysing simple epidemiologic data; study biases; epidemiology in clinical settings and disease control.
Course learning outcomes
- Demonstrate why population-based perspectives of the distribution and determinants of health are fundamental to public health.
- Appraise observational epidemiologic study designs including the roles of chance, bias, confounding and interactions in interpreting study results.
- Distinguish between association and causation using criteria for cause-effect relationship, calculation of measures of effect and measures of association.