Epidemiology in Public Health Practice

About this course: Epidemiology is often described as the cornerstone science in public health. Epidemiology in public health practice uses study design and analyses to identify causes in an outbreak situation, guides interventions to improve population health, and evaluates programs and policies. In this course, we'll define the role of the professional epidemiologist as it relates to public health services, functions, and competencies. With that foundation in mind, we'll introduce you to the problem solving methodology and demonstrate how it can be used in a wide variety of settings to identify problems, propose solutions, and evaluate interventions. This methodology depends on the use of reliable data, so we'll take a deep dive into the routine and public health data systems that lie at the heart of epidemiology and then conclude with how you can use that data to calculate measures of disease burden in populations.

Who is this class for: This course is designed for those who are in the field at health departments, ministries of health, and other both governmental and non-governmental organizations that are committed to improving population health. If you are in one of these positions seeking additional training in epidemiology to enhance or improve your epidemiologic, this course is for you. This course is also for people who are interested in understanding what epidemiologist do in public health practice. This could include individuals who are considering a career change into public health, or the curious ones among us that are life-long learners.

Created by:  Johns Hopkins University

• Taught by:  Keri Althoff, Associate Professor

  Epidemiology

Level Beginner Commitment 4 weeks, 2 hours per week Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.5 stars Average User Rating 4.5See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

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Syllabus


WEEK 1


Introduction



In the first module, we will differentiate professional epidemiology from etiologic epidemiology. This difference is important as it will help you to understand that the breadth of epidemiology goes beyond the public health practice setting. We will also introduce the essential concepts of public health services, functions, and competencies. From this module, you should have a more clear understanding of the role of an epidemiologist in public health practice.


5 videos, 2 practice quizzes expand

1. Video: Welcome and Module 1 Introduction
2. Practice Quiz: Module 1 Personal Learning Goals
3. Video: Professional/Applied vs. Etiologic/Academic Epidemiology
4. Video: Public Health Services, Functions & Competencies
5. Video: The Role of Professional Epidemiology in Public Health Practice
6. Video: Summary
7. Discussion Prompt: What you've learned
8. Discussion Prompt: What you're wondering
9. Practice Quiz: Module 1 Learning Objectives and Personal Learning Goals

Graded: Introduction

WEEK 2


Methodology



In this module, we will introduce the problem solving methodology. This methodology is a powerful tool that can useful when identifying a public health problem, building the case that there truly is a problem, suggesting interventions, and suggestions ways to evaluate the interventions and disseminate the findings of the evaluation.


10 videos, 2 practice quizzes expand

1. Video: Welcome to Module 2
2. Practice Quiz: Module 2 Personal Learning Goals
3. Video: Introduction to Methodology
4. Video: Problem Definition Part 1
5. Video: Problem Definition Part 2
6. Video: Magnitude of the Problem
7. Video: Conceptual Framework
8. Video: Action Plan
9. Video: Actions and Evaluations
10. Video: Communication
11. Video: Summary
12. Discussion Prompt: What you've learned
13. Discussion Prompt: What you're wondering
14. Practice Quiz: Module 2 Learning Objectives and Personal Learning Goals

Graded: Methodology

WEEK 3


Routine and Public Health Information Systems
In this module, we dive deeper into what lies at the heart of epidemiology: data! specifically, we will look at routine and public health data systems.


9 videos, 2 practice quizzes expand

1. Video: Welcome to Module 3
2. Practice Quiz: Module 3 Personal Learning Goals
3. Video: Data For Public Health Practice
4. Video: Medical Record Systems
5. Video: Administrative Record Systems
6. Video: Assessing the Quality of Mortality Statistics in the Americas
7. Video: Public Health information Systems: Population-based Surveys
8. Video: Public Health Information Systems: Registries
9. Video: Public Health Information Systems: Surveillance Systems
10. Video: Common Problems of Routine and Public Health Information Systems
11. Discussion Prompt: What you're wondering
12. Discussion Prompt: What you've learned
13. Practice Quiz: Module 3 Learning Objectives and Personal Learning Goals

Graded: Routine and Public Health Information Systems

WEEK 4


Measures of Disease Burden
In this module we will use data from routine and public health information systems to measure the burden of disease in the population. We will calculate crude mortality rates, and then apply direct and indirect age standardization methods.


8 videos, 1 reading, 2 practice quizzes expand

1. Video: Welcome to Module 4 and Thank You
2. Practice Quiz: Module 4 Personal Learning Goals
3. Video: Measures of Disease Burden
4. Reading: Direct Age Adjustment Exercise Resources
5. Video: Direct Age Adjustment
6. Video: Indirect Age Adjustment
7. Video: Years of Potential Life Lost
8. Video: Life Expectancy
9. Video: Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY)
10. Video: Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALY)
11. Discussion Prompt: What you've learned
12. Discussion Prompt: What you're wondering
13. Practice Quiz: Module 4 Learning Objectives and Personal Learning Goals

Graded: Measures of Disease Burden