PHPS40010 Fundamentals of Epidemiology

Academic Year 2021/2022

This module will introduce students to epidemiological concepts, principles and research methods primarily focussed on population-based studies, but fundamental to studies acoss a broad range of disciplines.
Topics to be covered include:
- populations, demography, demographic transition;
- occurrence and distribution of disease, measures of disease frequency, duration and time at risk;
- sources of data on health, disease and disability;
- comparisons and standardisation of rates, investigation of changing rates;
- investigation of suspected disease clusters;
- determinants of disease, concepts of association and causation, establishing disease causation;
- observational and experimental study designs, sampling strategies, sample size estimation;
- sources of bias, measurement error, confounding factors, multifactorial disease;
- definition of research objectives, outcomes and endpoints;
- international classification systems for disease (ICD), disability (ICF) and health interventions (ICHI);
- design and development of study instruments, participant recruitment, data collection strategies;
- concepts of validity, reliability and diagnostic accuracy of study instruments;
- estimation of risk / benefit from epidemiological studies, interpretation of estimates & confidence intervals;
- critical appraisal of scientific evidence, introduction to systematic reviews and meta analysis.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the module the student will:
- understand disease rates and know how to correctly compare rates across populations and over time;
- understand the concepts of association and causation;
- know the Bradford-Hill criteria for causation;
- be able to determine an appropriate study design for a research question;
- understand scientific and operational aspects of sampling, recruitment and follow up in epidemiological studies;
- understand bias, chance and confounding;
- understand the importance of defining endpoints using standard international criteria;
- be able to interpret estimates of risk / benefit and their confidence intervals;
- be able to critically appraise the scientific literature;
- know relevant accepted guidelines such as the STRoBE guidelines and others.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Small Group

12
Tutorial

4
Autonomous Student Learning

80
Total

120
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Active/task-based learning, epidemiological exercises
Group work, including preparation and delivery of group presentations
Lectures
Reviews and interpretation of published studies 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Group Project: Group Project specific to a chosen country detailing sources of demographic data, population pyramid, selected statistics on health conditions with sources and implications for health service Throughout the Trimester n/a Standard conversion grade scale 40% Yes

40
Multiple Choice Questionnaire: Mid-term examination Varies over the Trimester n/a Standard conversion grade scale 40% Yes

20
Multiple Choice Questionnaire: MCQ examination End of trimester MCQ n/a Standard conversion grade scale 40% Yes

40

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Remediation Type Remediation Timing
In-Module Resit Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback on mid-term assessment(s) will be through group/class feedback, post assessment. Feedback on examination will be made available individually to students, on request post-results release.