HLTH 503 Principles of Epidemiology

Disease is not randomly distributed within a population, but rather occurs according to patterns which can be observed and described using frequencies within subpopulations and groups. An understanding of the uneven distribution of an illness can be used by investigators to correctly determine causation and ultimately develop strategies and programs for prevention and control of that illness. As one of the core course requirements of a public health degree, the discipline of epidemiology provides the tools necessary to accurately study and describe the occurrence of disease, reach conclusions regarding causation, and develop practical, effective interventions to reduce or eliminate the effects of disease upon human populations. This course contributes to program learning outcomes 1, 3, and 6.

Textbook readings and presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (3)

Discussion threads are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion and reply to a minimum of two students’ threads. Each thread must be 400-500 words and be supported by at least 2 scholarly citations, and each reply must be 200-250 words and be supported by at least 1 scholarly citation. All citations must be in AMA format. The instructor is looking for substantial, thoughtful, and critical discussions. (CLOs: A, D, F)

Video Discussion: Lay Presentation Summation

The student will submit a 3-5-minute video in which they present orally a summation of their lay presentation from the Infectious Disease Presentation Project. The student is expected in this course to communicate information to the general public in a comprehensible and concise manner, for this is a key element in a public health professional’s skillset. Key in this process is to select communication strategies tailored for a particular audience. (CLOs: C, F) 

Infectious Disease Presentation Project Assignments (2)

The student will explore an infectious disease using a descriptive epidemiologic approach. The student will select the disease from an approved list that will be provided. The student will then collect sources, develop an outline, and compile a reference page according to current AMA format. The student will develop two PowerPoint presentations of 15–20 slides each with a fully typed narration suitable for a professional audience and a general audience, respectively. (CLOs: C, D, E, F)

Infectious Disease Presentation Project: Outline and References Assignment

The first part of this assignment consists of a bullet style outline using a standard hierarchical format and a working bibliography containing a minimum of seven references from peer-reviewed journals and appropriate government websites.

Infectious Disease Presentation Project: Submission Assignment

This is a two-part presentation—OR it may be considered as two separate presentations. A professional audience presentation and a lay audience presentation. Here in these presentations, the student will communicate information relevant for a breadth of settings and diverse audiences. The goal of the presentation is to study and analyze the distribution, patterns, and determinants of a chosen health or disease condition. 

Quizzes (7)

There are quizzes in Modules: Weeks 1 – 6 that cover the Learn material from the Friis and Seller text and study guide. Each quiz will have 25 multiple-choice and true/false questions (except Module 1 where there is an additional short answer/analysis question and Module 5 where there are 20 multiple-choice and true/false questions). These quizzes are timed for 1 hour and 30 minutes. There is a final quiz in Module 8: Week 8 which will cover all of the Learn material from Module 1: Week 1 — Module 8: Week 8. The exam has 50 multiple-choice and true/false questions and is timed for 2 hours and 45 minutes. The quizzes are open-book/open-notes. The student is encouraged to use a calculator. (CLOs: B, E)