Social Medicine and Biostatistics
Examination Syllabus, 2011-2012
Biostatistics
1. Statistics as a scientific discipline. Types and steps in a statistical observation.
2. Examination of qualitative indicators. Frequencies and proportions.
3. Methods of standardization.
4. Data types.
5. Presenting data.
6. Summarizing data.
7. Descriptive statistics. Measures of the central tendency.
8. Measures of variability.
9. Probabilities – basic characteristics.
10. Types of distributions. Characteristics of the normal distribution.
11. Inferential statistics. Samples and population.
12. Confidence intervals. Estimation of population mean.
13. Statistical hypotheses testing - Parametric tests.
14. Statistical hypotheses testing – Non-parametric tests.
15. Analyzing of more than two samples. ANOVA.
16. Describing relationships. Regression analysis.
17. Describing relationships. Correlation.
Literature:
1. Campbell, M.J, Machin, D., Medical statistics – A commonsense approach
2. Norman, G.R., Streiner, D.L, Biostatistics – The bare essentials
3. Munro, B.H., Page, E.B., Statistical methods for healthcare research
Social Medicine
1. Social Medicine – as a scientific discipline: subject, fields and methods of study;
development and significance. Health and disease as fundamental categories in medicine.
2. Socio-medical approach to individual health. “Social history of disease” - methodology of
formulation. Health of the individual.
3. Determinants of health and disease. Main groups. Social determinants of health. Socioeconomic inequalities in health.
4. Medical demography – essence, terminology and indicators. Measuring population
change. Sources of demographic data. Demographic transition.
5. Population size and growth. World trends and projections. Population distribution by
major characteristics – health aspects and application. Types of age/gender population
composition. Population pyramids. Aging of the population – trends and impacts.
6. Migration. Types and modern trends of migration flows. Health impacts of migration.
7. Natural flow of the population. Fertility and reproduction – terminological apparatus.
Measurement, characteristics, trends and medico-social aspects. Birth registration.
8. Mortality - measurement, characteristic, trends and medico-social aspects. Death
registration, death certificate.
9. Infant and maternal mortality - measurement, characteristic, trends and medico-social
aspects.
10. Life expectancy at birth. Quality of life indicators. Global trends and comparisons.
Characteristic of the demographic situation in Bulgaria. National and international
demographic comparisons.
11. Morbidity. Measures of disease frequencies (incidence, prevalence) and disability.
Application of main indicators. Notification of diseases. Special registries and reporting
systems. ICD - 10 Coding System.
12. Definition and scope of Epidemiology. Basic concepts. Application of epidemiology in
preventive medicine, clinical practice and public health.
13. Types of epidemiological studies – classification, general characteristics. Descriptive and
analytic epidemiological studies – design, advantages, limitations and application.
14. Experimental epidemiological studies – randomized clinical trial, field trial and
community based interventions. Study design, advantages, limitations and application.
15. Comparing disease occurrence and measurement of risk. Types of risk. Risk factors, risk
groups.
16. Epidemiology of main wide-spread non-communicable diseases.
17. National Health Care Systems – types, principles of organisation and function,
characteristics and indicators for assessment.
18. Health policy – definition, essence, approaches, levels and sources. Healthcare reforms.
19. Prevention – scope, strategies and levels. Screening. Criteria for instituting populationbased screening programme.
20. Health promotion. International cooperation for health.
21. Healthcare organization in a national and international perspective. Outpatient healthcare
organization. Primary, specialized and emergency health care.
22. Inpatient healthcare organization. The hospital – as a system. Modern tendencies of
development. Assessment of hospital activity and management of hospital health care.
23. Socio-medical problems of special population groups. Maternity and child healthcare
services.
24. Family health. Aging of the population – demographic and socio-medical problems.
Health of the elderly.
25. Medical sociology. Social problems in medicine and public health. Methods of
sociological studies.
Literature:
1. Tulchinsky TH, Varavikova EA. The New Public Health: An Introduction for the 21st
Century. San Diego: Academic Press, 2000.
2. Beaglehole R, Bonita R. Basic Epidemiology. WHO: Geneva, 1993.
3. Gordis L. Epidemiology. Second Edition. New York: WB Saunders, 2001.
4. Last JM [ed]. A Dictionary of Epidemiology. Fourth Edition. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2000.