CGH 302: Epidemiology
Fall 2011
Schedule:
Thursdays, 9:00 AM – 11:50 AM
ACB 214
Office Hours:
By appointment
Instructor:
Dennis R. Trinidad, Ph.D., MPH
Associate Professor
Associate Dean for Administration
School of Community & Global Health
dennis.trinidad@cgu.edu
TA:
Daniel Nuyujukian
School of Community & Global Health
daniel.nuyujukian@cgu.edu
Textbook:
Friis, R.H. & Sellers, T.A. Epidemiology for Public Health Practice: Fourth Edition. Boston: Jones and Bartlett
Available at the bookstore or at http://www.amazon.com/Epidemiology-Public-Health-PracticeRobert/dp/0763751618/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231784366&sr=8-1
Course description:
This course is an introduction to the methods and applications of epidemiology, with an emphasis on
applications to community and global health issues. The field of epidemiology is concerned with the
distribution and determinants of health and diseases, morbidity, injuries, disability, and mortality in populations.
Epidemiologic studies are applied to the control of health problems in populations; therefore, a thorough
understanding of epidemiology is essential for research and practice in community and global health. In this
course, students will learn the core concepts of epidemiology including measures of morbidity and mortality,
sources of data, study designs, measures of effect, screening measures, and practical applications. Students
will apply this knowledge to a current community/global health problem of their choice.
Learning objectives:
After taking this course, students should be able to
• Describe the role that epidemiology serves in the discipline of public health, and be able to describe a
public health problem in terms of magnitude, people, time, and place.
• Apply proper terminology and definitions used in epidemiology.
• Identify key sources of data for epidemiologic studies.
• Identify various study designs used in epidemiology and describe their strengths and limitations.
• Calculate the basic statistics used in epidemiology, including morbidity and mortality rates, incidence and
prevalence, sensitivity and specificity of screening tests, and measures of effect.
• Explain the importance of epidemiology for informing scientific, ethical, economic and political discussion of
health issues.
• Comprehend ethical principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of data and
other epidemiological information.
• Interpret, articulate, and critique results of epidemiological analyses found in public health studies.
• Develop written and oral presentation based on epidemiological studies for both public health professionals
and educated lay audiences.
1
Course requirements:
Requirement
Quizzes (2 @ 20% each)
Final Exam
Group Paper
Group Presentation
Class Participation
Total
Percent of grade
40%
30%
15%
10%
5%
100%
Class Structure:
1. Generally, the first 2hrs of class will be devoted to lectures.
2. The last 50 minutes will generally be spent reviewing concepts covered in class, and working on your
group project. On 9/22 and 10/27, the last hour will be spent reviewing for the next week’s quiz.
Quizzes and Final Exam:
3. The quizzes and final exam will have a few multiple choice questions, but will primarily be short-answer
and short essay format.
4. They will cover all material in the textbook and lectures.
5. Each quiz will cover material presented since the previous quiz.
o Both quizzes will be CLOSED BOOK but you can have a single, 8½ X 11 sheet of paper (front &
back) for notes.
o Except for calculators, NO laptops or other electronic devices will be allowed during the quizzes.
6. The final will be cumulative and will cover all class materials.
o The final exam will be OPEN BOOK and OPEN NOTES (printed only).
o Except for calculators, NO laptops or other electronic devices will be allowed during the final.
Group Paper (15% of total grade)
• Due by 9am on 12/1/2011
o Papers received after 9am will be marked down 5%. For every day a paper is late, an additional
5% will be deducted from the grade.
• Groups will be determined in a few weeks.
• Since this is a group project, everyone in the group will receive the same grade.
o For example, if someone plagiarizes a section of the paper then everyone gets the failing grade.
• Project Description
o Describe a current community/global health issue. This can be a disease (e.g., AIDS), a behavior
(e.g., sedentary behavior), or an environmental condition (e.g., exposure to a toxic chemical).
o Describe the extent of the problem using epidemiologic measures (e.g., incidence, prevalence).
o Review the published literature to summarize previous studies on the epidemiology of the health
issue.
o Describe the types of data that are available to study this issue. Discuss their strengths and
limitations.
o Design a new study to fill in the gaps in our knowledge about this health issue. Explain what study
design you would use, what target population you would use, data collection, and your hypotheses.
o The paper should be approximately 15 pages, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins.
 The 15-page guideline includes tables, graphs, figures, etc. The list of
references/bibliography is not part of the 15 pages.
 You should cite at least 10 peer-reviewed studies published in journals. Other sources
(textbooks, news articles, websites, etc.) are also acceptable.
• References should be in APA or Index Medicus format, after the text.
o Please use a professional, scientific writing style, and make sure the writing is your own.
o The expectation for graduate work is that you gather original sources such as peer-reviewed journal
articles and synthesize the information in your own words into new text with your unique
understanding of the information.
2
Group Presentation (10% of total grade)
• Present your group paper/project to the class.
• Most students find it helpful to use PowerPoint presentations with bullet points, tables, and/or graphs to
organize their presentations.
• Each group should aim to present for approximately 25 minutes, plus 5 minutes for questions.
Grading system
97 – 100%
A+
93 – 96%
A
90 – 92%
A87 – 89%
B+
83 – 86%
B
80 – 82%
B77 – 79%
C+
73 – 76%
C
70 – 72%
C-
Truly exceptional performance; rarely given.
Excellent performance.
Very Good performance.
Good performance.
Acceptable performance.
Marginally acceptable performance.
Passing, but below expectations for graduate work.
Schedule of classes
Date
Instructor Topic
9/1
Trinidad
Introduction
History and scope of epidemiology
Practical applications of epidemiology
9/8
Trinidad
Measures of morbidity and mortality used in epidemiology
9/15*** Trinidad
Descriptive epidemiology: Person, place, time
9/22
Trinidad
Sources of data for use in epidemiology
9/29
Quiz 1
10/6
Trinidad
Study designs:
Ecologic, cross-sectional, case-control
10/13
Trinidad
Study designs:
Cohort, experimental
10/20
Trinidad
Measures of effect
Data interpretation issues
10/27
Nuyujukian Screening for disease in the community
Trinidad
Epidemiology of infectious diseases
11/3
Quiz 2
11/10
Sabado
Psychologic, behavioral, social, genetic epidemiology
11/17
11/24
12/1
12/8
12/15
Trinidad
Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology;
Epidemiology as a profession
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Class Presentations—Day 1
Class Presentations—Day 2
Final Exam
***class meets from 11am – 12noon
3
Reading
Chapters 1,2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapters
7, 8
Chapters
9, 10
Chapters
11, 12
Chapters
14 (skim), 15
Chapters
13, 16