Epidemiology for Public Health Professionals

Welcome to the Land of Public Health!
Please read before or during the first week of class.

COURSE NUMBER:

PHC 6000

COURSE TITLE:

Epidemiology for Public Health Professionals

COURSE OVERVIEW:

This course is offered online. Additional information on this structure is provided in the welcome message above.

This course is also part of the Master of Public Health degree program and counts as a technical elective in this program.

INSTRUCTORS:

John J. Lanza MD, PhD, MPH, FAAP

CONTACT INFORMATION:

lanza1@bellsouth.net, or Pager: (850) 839-6436

PREREQUISITES OR COREQUISITES:

Those interested in this course or the Master of Public Health Program should contact Mr. Steve Celestial at (850) 474-2885 or scelestial@uwf.edu.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course is designed for individuals intending to pursue public health as a career and will enable the student to understand epidemiology as a health discipline and how epidemiology, as the basic science of public health, provides information for infectious and non-infectious disease prevention and control.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (Objectives):

This course meets the following programmatic goals for the MPH degree program:
• Content and Critical Thinking:
  • Explain the historical foundations of epidemiology.
  • Describe recent applications of epidemiology in our society.
  • Define the measures of morbidity and mortality used in this field.
  • Describe the primary objectives and applications of descriptive epidemiology.
  • Identify databases and obtain requisite data.
  • Apply the various study designs in the field of epidemiology.
  • Describe how screening for diseases in communities is accomplished.
  • Describe the rules of epidemiology as they apply to infectious and chronic diseases.
  • Identify health and safety hazards in the environment and workplace.
  • Define the significance of genetic factors in epidemiological data and research.
  • Describe psychological, behavioral, and social factors involved in the study of epidemiology.
• Communication:
  • Articulate the practical uses of epidemiology.
  • Articulate data interpretation issues in epidemiologic practice.

TOPICS COVERED:

History of epidemiology; practical applications; measures of epidemiology; descriptive epidemiology; sources of data; study designs; measures of effect; disease causation; data interpretation; validity and reliability; screening for disease; disease surveillance; epidemiology of infectious diseases; epidemiology and the work environment; molecular and genetic epidemiology; psychology, behavioral and social epidemiology

REQUIRED TEXTS:

• Friis and Sellers, Epidemiology for Public Health Practice. 3rd ed. Aspen publishers, 2004.

RECOMMENDED TEXTS:

• Benenson, AS. Control of Communicable Disease in Man. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 1990.
• Lilienfeld, AM and Lilienfeld, DE. Foundation of Epidemiology. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.
• Last, JM, ed. A Dictionary of Epidemiology. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1995.

SPECIAL TECHNOLOGY UTILIZED BY STUDENTS: (beyond baseline requirements of e-mail and word processing)

Students will be expected to conduct Internet searches.

REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr)
• Public Health Service-Healthy People 2101 (http://www.healthypeople.gov)
• PROMED (www.promed.org)
• National Association of County and City Health Officials (http://www.naccho.org)
• National Institutes of Health (http://www.nih.org)
• The American Journal of Public Health
• The Journal of Epidemiology
• The Journal of the American Medical Association
• See Text exhibit 1.1, p. 183

GRADING/EVALUATION:

Student grades will be based on their performance in the following areas:
• Critical thinking in weekly study questions from end of each chapter in text.
• Mid-term and final exams.
• Epidemiology problem set.
• Quality of research paper on student’s topic related to the course.

Grading Scale:

A = 95+%
A- = 90 – 94.9%
B+ = 87 – 89.9%
B = 84 – 86.9%
B- = 80 – 83.9%
C+ = 77 - 79.9%
C = 74 - 76.9%
C- = 70 - 73.9%
D+ = 67 - 69.9%
D = 63 - 66.9%
F < 63%

Homework assignments:

The Course Schedule will show what study questions should be answered at the end of each Module. Assignments are to be turned into the dropbox weekly.

Problems sets:

Two problem sets will be assigned during the course.

Research Paper:

All students will perform a literature review on a topic approved by the professor and conduct a prevalence survey appropriate to the topic. The topic must be presented via email to the professor for approval by the 6th week of the class. The paper will consist of a minimum of 10 typewritten pages using the APA style. An appendix will contain references, figures, charts, etc. and these will not be counted toward the 10 page requirement.

Grade Determination:

Study Questions (12)	120 points
Problem sets (2)	100 points
Mid-term exam	150 points
Research paper	150 points
Final exam	200 points
TOTAL	720 points

EXPECTATIONS FOR ACADEMIC CONDUCT/PLAGIARISM POLICY:

• Academic Conduct Policy [Web format | PDF format | rtf format]
• Plagiarism Policy [Word format | PDF format | rtf format]
• Student Handbook [PDF format]

  It is the philosophy of The University of West Florida that academic dishonesty is a completely unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures. Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University. Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts.

  In addition, any behavior that interferes with the conduct of a class is classified as disruptive behavior and will not be tolerated. Although not exhaustive, examples of disruptive behavior would include: routinely entering class late or departing class early without specific permission from the instructor; talking in class without being recognized; threatening faculty or fellow students or verbal abuse of faculty or fellow students; physical or verbal displays of anger; etc.

ASSISTANCE:

Students with special needs who require specific examination-related or other course-related accommodations should contact Disabled Student Services (DSS), dss@uwf.edu, (850) 474-2387. DSS will provide the student with a letter for the instructor that will specify any recommended accommodations.

Every effort will be made to accommodate the special needs of disabled students. Please see the instructor in the privacy of his office during the first week of class to inform him of your particular needs. All such accommodations are officially arranged through the Office for Disabled Student Services and a letter from this office must accompany your request.