Introduction to Epidemiology

Code:

MI224

Acronym:

IE

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Medicine

Instance: 2019/2020 - 1S (of 09-09-2019 to 09-02-2020)

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

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIMED	273	Mestrado Integrado em Medicina- Plano oficial 2013 (Reforma Curricular)	2	-	3	30	81

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

This curricular unit aims to allow students the acquisition of knowledge regarding concepts and methods specific to Epidemiology, and its application to the critical appraisal and planning of epidemiological studies.

At the end of the curricular unit the students are expected to be acquainted with the specific language of a new scientific area, being able to recognize, describe and relate different frequency, association and impact measures, the concepts of random error, bias, confounding and interaction, as well as the main study designs used in epidemiology. The students are expected to accomplish, autonomously: simple epidemiological tasks, such as data tabulation and calculation of measures of disease frequency, association and impact; critical appraisal of scientific articles; essencial tasks for the planning of an epidemiological investigation, including the literature review and study design.

Learning outcomes and competences

At the end of the curricular unit the students are expected to be acquainted with the specific language of a new scientific area, being able to recognize, describe and relate different frequency, association and impact measures, the concepts of random error, bias, confounding and interaction, as well as the main study designs used in epidemiology. The students are expected to accomplish, autonomously: simple epidemiological tasks, such as data tabulation and calculation of measures of disease frequency, association and impact; critical appraisal of scientific articles; essencial tasks for the planning of an epidemiological investigation, including the literature review and study design.

Working method

Presencial

Program

Evolution of epidemiological thought.
Measuring health and disease.
Standardisation.
Association and impact measures.
Experimental studies.
Observational studies – ecological, cross-sectional, cohort, case-control.
Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Random and systematic errors.
Types and assessment of bias.
Confounding and interaction.
Causal inference.
Planning an epidemiological investigation – definition of the scientific question, selection of participants, strategies and tools for data collection.

Mandatory literature

Leon Gordis; Epidemiology, 5th ed., Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Sauders, 2014

Comments from the literature

Bibliography will also include scientific papers, other book chapters or multimedia resources with relevance to the topics under study.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Since this curricular unit has 3 ECTs, it is estimated a total of 81 hours of work by students; out of these 30h correspond to face-to-face lectures, with the following distribution:

A weekly theoretical session of 50 min (total: 12 sessions - 10 hours)

A weekly theoretical-practical session of 120 min, to each group of no more than 15 students (total: 10 sessions - 20 hours)

The teaching methods to be used will have the main purpose of presenting the theoretical dimension of essential concepts and methods in Epidemiology. On the other hand, most of the contact hours will be theoretical-practical sessions in groups of no more than 15 students, which will allow the group discussion based on exercises, including the design of an epidemiological investigation; the discussion among peers, supervised by the teacher, will contribute to the learning process.

The assessment of the acquisition of knowledge and skills will include continuous evaluation through two written tests (one includes the interpretation and resolution of problems, and the other includes 15 multiple-choice questions to be answered after the criticial appraisal of a scientific article, provided to the students one week before the test), and a final multiple choice examination (50 questions) to evaluate factual knowledge, as well as the students' interpretation and problem-solving skills.

The knowledge regarding the contents of the diverse materials presented as bibliography or recommended reading may be evaluated, regardless of these topics having been explicitly addressed during classes.

The students with the status of student worker will undergo the same components of evaluation.

None of the components of the evaluation is eliminatory by itself.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	80,00
Teste	20,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	51,00
Frequência das aulas	30,00
Total:	81,00

Eligibility for exams

Attendance to at least 75% of the theoretical-practical classes.

Calculation formula of final grade

Only the written examination corresponding to 80% of the final classification may be subject of evaluation in the supplementary evaluation season.

The two continuous evaluation tests will be considered for the calculation of the final grade, regardless of the classification obtain in each of them, and cannot be subject of evaluation in the supplementary evaluation season.

For the components of continuous evaluation not attended by the student a classification of zero will be considered in the calculation of the final grade.

Classification improvement

New final exam evaluation in one of the two evaluation seasons subsequent to the approval.