.
Epidemiology I
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:10.00
Study Course Accepted:29.08.2024 11:14:37
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | SVUEK_063 | LQF level: | Level 7 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 2.00 | ECTS: | 3.00 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Clinical Medicine; Public Health | Target Audience: | Public Health | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Solvita Kļaviņa-Makrecka | ||||||||
| Study Course Implementer | |||||||||
| Structural Unit: | Institute of Public Health | ||||||||
| The Head of Structural Unit: | |||||||||
| Contacts: | Riga, 9 Kronvalda boulevard, svek rsu[pnkts]lv, +371 67338307 | ||||||||
| Study Course Planning | |||||||||
| Full-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 4 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 1 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 4 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 5 | Class Length (academic hours) | 4 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 20 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 24 | ||||||||
| Study course description | |||||||||
| Preliminary Knowledge: | Public health, statistics, basic epidemiology – according to the content of bachelor study programmes in Health Care specialties. | ||||||||
| Objective: | To strengthen knowledge in basic epidemiology allowing to proceed with studying more advanced theoretical concepts and application of more sophisticated epidemiological methods in the course "Epidemiology II". | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Epidemiology. Causation. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Basic epidemiologic measures. Crude, specific rates. Case fatality rate. Proportionate mortality. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||||
| 3 | Standardization. Designs of epidemiological studies. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||||
| 4 | Descriptive epidemiologic studies. Errors: random errors, systematic biases. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||||
| 5 | Analytical studies. Cohort sudies; case-control studies. Measures of association. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Experimental studies. Diagnostic tests. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | Calculation of epidemiologic measures, direct and indirect standardization during classes, both individually and in groups. Home reading material. Sample exercises on epidemiologic measures and standardization as a home-work. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | • Participation in discussions during classes. • Self-assessment tests. • Oral examination of understanding of home reading material during classes. • Written final test, consisting of 50 multiple choice test. | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | |||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | On successful completion of the course students will be able to: • interpret the concepts of risk factor, cause and confounder in the context of multifactorial theory of causation; • define epidemiologic measures of disease occurrence and to describe their advantages, disadvantages and methods of calculation; • explain the meaning of age-standardization; • list and describe epidemiologic study designs, their characteristic features, advantages and disadvantages; • list the main types of biases and to give their explanation; • explain accuracy and precision of measurements and how they affect validity of a study. | ||||||||
| Skills: | • calculate the basic epidemiologic measures of health events and states; measures of association; sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of diagnostic tests; • apply direct and indirect methods of standardization in order to compare epidemiologic measures. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | • differentiate between exposure variable, other risk factors and confounders under conditions of specific research question and hypothesis; • choose health measures, appropriate for the given health problems; • assess the suitability of the epidemiologic study design in regard to the research problem; • interpret the measures of association; • evaluate the potential influence of confounding and biases on study results. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Baltiņš, M. Lietišķā epidemioloģija. Rīga: Zinātne, 2003. 354 lpp. (akceptējams izdevums) | ||||||||
| 2 | Textbook of Epidemiology. Bouter, L.M., Zielhuis, G.A., Zeegers, M.P.A. 2018, Springer Nature, eBook | ||||||||
| 3 | Ārvalstu studentiem/For international students: | ||||||||
| 4 | Textbook of Epidemiology. Bouter, L.M., Zielhuis, G.A., Zeegers, M.P.A. 2018, Springer Nature, eBook | ||||||||
| Additional Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Beaglehole, R., Bonita, R., Kjellstrom, T. Basic Epidemiology. Geneva: WHO, 2006. | ||||||||
| 2 | Jekel, J.F., Elmore, J.G., Katz, D.L. Jekel's Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Preventive Medicine, and Public Health. Philadelphia, London: W.B.Saunders Company, 2020. ix, 297 p. | ||||||||
| 3 | Greenberg, R.S., et al. Medical Epidemiology. 5th edition. Lange Medical Books/McGraw-Hill, 2015. 254 p. | ||||||||
| 4 | Gordis, L. Gordis Epidemiology. Elsevier Saunders, 2019. 355 p. | ||||||||
| 5 | Gerstman, B.B. Epidemiology Kept Simple. An Introduction to Traditional and Modern Epidemiology. 3rd edition. Wiley-Liss, 2013. xvi, 417 p. | ||||||||
