Public Health: Epidemiology I (OL1)

About PH 6020 OL1

Epidemiology is the study of disease distribution and determinants in populations; we will define populations and estimate the distribution of health-related conditions and their determinants. Pre/co-requisites: College-level Mathematics course; Bachelor's degree.

Notes

Contact student Advisor, Pallas Ziporyn at Open to all Graduate students and PACE/CE students Pallas.Ziporyn@uvm.edu for any questions; Asynchronous Online Course. All other students require instructor permission; Must submit the request at http://go.uvm.edu/phcourses; Students will be notified if permission is granted;

Section Description

Epidemiology provides a framework to organize the complex relationships between health risk factors and disease outcomes. In practice, we rarely observe a single health ‘risk factor’ that is both necessary and sufficient to cause a particular disease outcome. Rather, the determinants of disease are multi-faceted, with many factors contributing to disease and many remaining unidentified. Epidemiologic methods allow us to estimate how risk factors affect the overall health of a population and to identify individuals and groups that may be particularly susceptible to disease.
Course Objectives
• Define and describe populations in terms of person, place, and time
• Identify disease transmission models and calculate disease frequency
• Calculate the reliability and validity of screening tests
• Describe major types of epidemiologic study designs, including strengths and weaknesses
• Identify and apply criteria for assessing causal inference
• Estimate measures of risk and apply them to associations between exposures and diseases
• Define internal and external validity of an epidemiologic study and explain the difference
• Explain common threats to the internal validity of epidemiologic studies

Section Expectation

It is expected that you will spend at least 5-10 hours per module on the readings, lectures, assignments and other work for this class.

Evaluation

Grades are based on problem sets, five quizzes, discussion board participation, and a final project.

Important Dates

Courses may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Show your interest by enrolling.

Resources

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• PACE Course Pricing
• Textbooks