Unit rationale, description and aim
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.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Describe epidemiological concepts and methods and ...
Learning Outcome 01
Identify, calculate and interpret epidemiological ...
Learning Outcome 02
Compare and contrast major epidemiological study d...
Learning Outcome 03
Assess epidemiological information and integrate e...
Learning Outcome 04
Critically appraise epidemiological research or ev...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics include:
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)
Assessment strategy and rationale
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 (AT2) and critically appraise epidemiological research or evaluate a public health program (AT3).
Overview of assessments
Assessment 1: Written Task Short answer question...
Assessment 1:
Written Task
Short answer questions on a research article
30%
Assessment 2: Written Task Simulated contact tra...
Assessment 2:
Written Task Simulated contact tracing and
exposure assessment
30%
Assessment 3: Evaluate a public health program....
Assessment 3:
Evaluate a public health program.
40%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
PUBH621 is offered in both multi-mode and online mode.
The unit uses an active learning approach to support students in their learning as they gain knowledge and understanding of epidemiology, associated health research, and applications of epidemiology in public health practice. The unit delivery comprises online material and tutorials. In multi-mode, tutorials are delivered on-campus whilst in online mode tutorials are delivered via remote learning technologies (e.g. Zoom). All learning material is available online for students to progressively work through over the teaching period. These include lecture content; online readings, and self-directed learning activities. Tutorial/laboratory sessions will focus on analysis of simulated public health material to provide context to student analysis and interpretation and an authentic learning experience. Discussion forums are available to post any questions or comments that students have about module content. Tutorials provide students with the opportunity to engage in peer learning to deepen their understanding while receiving tutor support and guidance. Students are expected to take an active approach to their learning as they engage in the online material and participate in tutorial discussions.
The unit material comprises four modules, first introducing students to fundamental concepts of epidemiology which students will later build on and integrate with practical public health applications. Module 1 introduces students to epidemiology concepts, measures of disease, descriptive studies, making links between exposures and disease, analytic studies, bias and causation. Students will build on these fundamentals in modules 2-3 as they learn about integrating epidemiological knowledge in practical applications such as screening tests and disease surveillance. Module 4 culminates in enabling students to apply their learning of earlier modules to design a project proposal from an epidemiological perspective.