Essentials of Epidemiology

Code:

MSP12_5

Acronym:

MSP12_5

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Epidemiology

Instance: 2018/2019 - 1S (of 17-09-2018 to 12-07-2019)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Public Health and Forensic Sciences, and Medical Education
Course/CS Responsible:	Master Degree Course in Public Health

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MSP	28	Current Studies Plan	1	-	4	36	108

Teaching language

English

Objectives

Acquisition of knowledge on concepts and methods of epidemiology. Recognition of characteristics, advantages and limitations of the main types of epidemiological studies and aspects related to its planning. Recognize the main types of measures to quantify health/disease. Understand the main types of error in epidemiology.

Learning outcomes and competences

The student will: acquire skills to select the best type of epidemiological study to answer a specific scientific question; Be able to identify some aspects of planning an epidemiological investigation, such as define a scientific question, select participants and to define strategies for collecting data; To accomplish simple epidemiological tasks autonomously, such as data tabulation and calculation of measures of disease frequency and association, and standardize rates; to identify errors and understand its importance in epidemiological studies.

Working method

Presencial

Program

Evolution of epidemiological thinking. Descriptive epidemiology: Persons, places and time. Measuring health and disease: Frequency, association and impact measures. Standardization Methods. Experimental and quasi-experimental studies. Observational studies – ecologic, cross-sectional, cohort, case-control. Random and systematic errors. Confounding and interaction. Causal inference. Planning an epidemiological research.

Mandatory literature

Penny Webb, Chris Bain and Sandi Pirozzo.; Essential Epidemiology, 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2011

Complementary Bibliography

Kenneth Rothman; Epidemiology: an introduction, 2nd Edition, New York: Oxford University Press, 2012
Miquel Porta; A Dictionary of Epidemiology (John Last), 5th Edition, Oxford University Press, 2008

Comments from the literature

Bibliography will also include scientific papers with relevance to the topics under study

Teaching methods and learning activities

A total of 108 hours of student’s work, of which 36 are of contact, distributed as follows is estimated:

A weekly theoretical session of 90 min (total: 9 sessions – 13.5h) A theoretical-practical weekly session of 120 min (9 sessions total – 22.5h)

The syllabus of this Unit, will address the main concepts for the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills on epidemiological methodology to be applied in research and in the resolution of health problems. The program aims to cover the classic content of epidemiological methodology as a fundamental basis for better planning in health and for the resolution of health problems based on evidence.

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	100,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	72,00
Frequência das aulas	36,00
Total:	108,00

Eligibility for exams

To be present in at least 75% of classes

Calculation formula of final grade

Classification of the final exam