Epidemiology

• • Principles of epidemiology
  • - Fundamental epidemiological concepts, data sources and methods
  • - Measurement of exposure and risk of disease
  • - Measures: including rates, odds ratios, relative risk, attributable risk, lifetime risk (and others)
  • - Bias, confounding: types (e.g. measurement, selection), minimization
  • - Levels of evidence in quantitative research
  • - Observational and experimental study designs: cross sectional studies, case-control studies, case-crossover studies, nested case-control studies, case-cohort studies, prospective and retrospective cohort studies, randomised control trials, ecological studies
  • Applied epidemiology
  • - Disease prevention and treatment: screening and diagnostic test evaluation
  • - Specialised epidemiology: social, behavioural, clinical and infectious disease
  • - Critical appraisal of epidemiological research
  • - Systematic reviews of health interventions: methods, data extraction and analysis, interpretation
  • Practical epidemiology
  • - Application of epidemiology in public health practice: role in needs assessment, impact evaluation and health policy
  • - Health protection: monitoring and surveillance, notifiable diseases and legislative requirements
  • - Practice scenarios: contact tracing and notification (e.g. STIs)

In order to enrol in this subject, you must be accepted into one of the following degrees:

Additional requirements

No additional requirements

Epidemiology is an integral area of practice that informs and supports public health action to prevent disease and promote the health of populations. Within this practice, students need to apply skills and knowledge to understand and analyse the causes and distribution of disease within populations to determine how best to respond to a situation. In this unit, students will acquire comprehensive knowledge of fundamental epidemiological concepts and methods, including study designs, measures of frequency and association, bias and confounding, data collection and management for public health monitoring and surveillance. Students will build an understanding of the importance and relevance of epidemiology to public health research and practice with an emphasis on patterns of disease distribution in Australian and international contexts, and further develop skills to be able to apply these principles within real world scenarios.

The aim of the unit is to develop knowledge, skills and understanding of epidemiological principles and methods for application to key practice areas such as: screening and diagnostic test evaluation; critical appraisal of epidemiological research articles and systematic reviews; social/behavioural epidemiology and chronic disease.

A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. In order to successfully complete this unit, students need to complete and submit three graded assessment tasks and obtain an aggregate mark of greater than 50%. ACU-PUBH621 has three assessment tasks designed to introduce students to a range of applied epidemiology activities, and to demonstrate achievement of each unit learning outcome and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements Assessment task 1 assesses knowledge of fundamental epidemiology concepts and interpretation of measures within a given research article. Assessment tasks 2 and 3 then assess the student’s ability to assimilate and apply epidemiological knowledge developed through the unit to a simulated public health activity (Assessment Task 2) and critically appraise epidemiological research or evaluate a public health program (Assessment Task 3).

• Short answer questions on a research article (30%)
• Simulated Contact Tracing and Exposure (30%)
• Evaluate a public health program (40%)

For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).