Course Syllabus PH 664
Page 1 Spring 2007
Department of Public Health Sciences and Epidemiology
PH 664
Principles of Epidemiology II
Spring 2007
TIME and PLACE:
Wednesdays 2:00 p.m. -- 4:50 p.m. in Biomedical Sciences Building, Room T211
INSTRUCTOR:
Eric L. Hurwitz
Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences and Epidemiology
Biomedical Sciences Building, Room D104H
email --
phone -- 956-7425
OFFICE HOURS:
Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:00 -- 4:00 p.m. and by appointment, Biomed D104H
DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to introduce the student to the modern methods of epidemiology and to practical tools used in the conduct and interpretation of epidemiologic studies.
FORMAT:
Lectures, discussions, exercises, critiques of the current literature, and quizzes.
REQUIREMENTS:
Weekly readings, 10 sets of exercises, 5 critiques of articles, 7 short quizzes, and a final (cumulative) quiz.
Course Syllabus PH 664
Page 1 Spring 2007
OBJECTIVES:
- To learn how to critically evaluate epidemiologic evidence.
- To learn and apply strategies for drawing (causal) inferences from epidemiologic studies.
- To learn the major types of statistical methods used to analyze epidemiologic data.
- To learn the tools of epidemiologic research and to apply them appropriately.
PRIMARY TEXTS:
Rothman KJ. Epidemiology: An Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2002.
Jewell NP. Statistics for Epidemiology. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman and Hall/CRC, 2004.
ADDITIONAL TEXT:
Last JM (Editor). A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 4th edition. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2001.
SELECTED JOURNALS:
American Journal of Epidemiology American Journal of Public Health
Epidemiology Annals of Epidemiology
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology International Journal of Epidemiology
Course Syllabus PH 664
Page 1 Spring 2007
SCHEDULE AND CLASS TOPICS:
Date Topic
January 10 Course objectives and requirements, introductions, the nature of epidemiologic evidence and of epidemiologic thinking; discussion of Rothman chapter 1 questions
January 17 Causation and causal inference, Quiz 1 and review; discussion of Rothman chapter 2 questions
January 24 Measuring disease occurrence, the role of probability in observational studies, Quiz 2 and review
January 31 Measuring causal effects
February 7 Randomized trials and cohort studies, Quiz 3 and review; discussion of Rothman chapter 3 questions
February 14 Case-control, cross-sectional and other designs, Critique 1
February 21 Biases in study design, Quiz 4 and review; discussion of Rothman chapter 4 questions
February 28 Random error and the role of statistics, Critique 2; discussion of Rothman chapter 5 questions
Course Syllabus PH 664
Page 1 Spring 2007
SCHEDULE AND CLASS TOPICS (continued):
Date Topic
March 7 Analyzing simple epidemiologic data, inferring from estimates of association, Quiz 5 and review; discussion of Rothman chapter 6 questions
March 14 Controlling confounding by stratifying data, causal diagrams, Critique 3; discussion of Rothman chapter 7 questions
March 21 Confounding and causal inference, Quiz 6 and review; discussion of Rothman chapter 8 questions
March 28 Spring Break!
April 4 Statistical interaction and effect-measure modification, Critique 4
April 11 Use of regression models in epidemiologic analysis, Quiz 7 and review; discussion of Rothman chapter 9 questions
April 18 Matching in epidemiologic studies; discussion of Rothman chapter 10 questions
April 25 Epidemiology in clinical settings, Critique 5
May 2 Final quiz (cumulative with emphasis on material not included on prior quizzes)
Course Syllabus PH 664
Page 1 Spring 2007
REQUIRED READING ASSIGNMENTS:
Date Reading Pages
January 10 Rothman, Chapter 1 1-7
Jewell, Chapter 1 1-8
January 17 Rothman, Chapter 2 8-23
January 24 Rothman, Chapter 3 24-44
Jewell, Chapter 2 9-18
Jewell, Chapter 3 19-30
January 31 Rothman, Chapter 3 44-56
Jewell, Chapter 4 31-42
February 7 Rothman, Chapter 4 57-73
Jewell, Chapter 5 43-48
February 14 Rothman, Chapter 4 73-93
Jewell, Chapter 5 48-58
February 21 Rothman, Chapter 5 94-112
February 28 Rothman, Chapter 6 113-129
Jewell, Chapter 6 59-72
March 7 Rothman, Chapter 7 130-143
Jewell, Chapter 7 73-91
March 14 Rothman, Chapter 8 144-167
Jewell, Chapter 8 93-122
Course Syllabus PH 664
Page 1 Spring 2007
REQUIRED READING ASSIGNMENTS (continued):
Date Reading Pages
March 21 Jewell, Chapter 9 123-146
March 28 Spring Break!
April 4 Rothman, Chapter 9 168-180
Jewell, Chapter 10 147-164
Jewell, Chapter 11 165-178
April 11 Rothman, Chapter 10 181-197
Jewell, Chapter 12 179-198
April 18 Jewell, Chapter 16 257-283
April 25 Rothman, Chapter 11 198-217
ADDITIONAL READINGS:
Required readings from the current epidemiologic literature will be assigned and critiqued.
SCHEDULE OF EXERCISES, QUIZZES, AND DISCUSSIONS:
Date Exercises (No.) Quiz Critique Discussion
January 10 ------Rothman Ch. 1
January 17 -- 1 -- Rothman Ch. 2
January 24 -- 2 -- --
January 31 Jewell, Chapter 2 (3) -- -- Exercise set 1
Jewell, Chapter 3 (3)
Course Syllabus PH 664
Page 1 Spring 2007
SCHEDULE OF EXERCISES, QUIZZES, AND DISCUSSIONS (continued):
Date Exercises (No.) Quiz Critique Discussion
February 7 Jewell, Chapter 4 (5) 3 -- Rothman Ch. 3
Exercise set 2
February 14 -- -- 1 Critique 1
February 21 Jewell, Chapter 5 (5) 4 -- Rothman Ch. 4
Exercise set 3
February 28 -- -- 2 Rothman Ch. 5
Critique 2
March 7 Jewell, Chapter 6 (6) 5 -- Rothman Ch. 6
Exercise set 4
March 14 Jewell, Chapter 7 (6) -- 3 Rothman Ch. 7
Exercise set 5
Critique 3
March 21 Jewell, Chapter 8 (9) 6 -- Rothman Ch. 8
Exercise set 6
March 28 Spring Break!
April 4 Jewell, Chapter 9 (4) -- 4 Exercise set 7
Critique 4
April 11 Jewell, Chapter 10 (6) 7 -- Rothman Ch. 9
Jewell, Chapter 11 (4) Exercise set 8
April 18 Jewell, Chapter 12 (4) -- -- Rothman Ch. 10
Exercise set 9
April 25 Jewell, Chapter 16 (6) -- 5 Rothman Ch. 11
Rothman, Chapter 9 (6) Exercise set 10
Critique 5
Course Syllabus PH 664
Page 1 Spring 2007
STUDENT EVALUATION:
1. Exercise sets (10 @ 2% each) 20%
2. Quizzes (6 @ 5% each) 30%
3. Article critiques (5 @ 4% each) 20%
4. Final quiz 30%
ESTIMATED DISTRIBUTION OF CLASS TIME:
Component Hours Percent
Lectures 15.0 33.3
Discussion of exercises 12.0 26.7
Discussion of questions 9.5 21.1
Critiques 5.0 11.1
Quizzes 3.5 7.8
Total 45.0 100
GRADING SCALE:
A+ = 97-100%
A = 93-96%
A- = 90-92%
B+ = 87-89%
B = 83-86%
B- = 80-82%
C+ = 77-79%
C = 73-76%
C- = 70-72%
D+ = 67-69%
D = 63-66%
D- = 60-62%
F = <60%
COMPETENCIES ADDRESSED:
MPH core competencies:
Analytic Skills (AS)
AS1 Define a public health problem.
AS2 Determine appropriate use of data and statistical methods.
AS3 Collect and summarize data relevant to an issue.
AS4 Evaluate the quality and comparability of data and identify gaps in data sources.
AS5 Describe how data illuminate ethical, political, scientific, economic, and overall public health issues.
AS6 Identify research designs used in public health, including advantages and flaws of specific designs, and determine designs appropriate to specific needs.
Cultural Skills (CS)
CS1 Interact sensitively, effectively and professionally with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic and professional backgrounds.
CS2 Identify the role of cultural, social, and behavioral factors in determining disease, disease prevention, health-promoting behavior, and medical service organizations and delivery.
CS3 Develop and adapt approaches to problems that take into account cultural differences.
Basic Public Health Skills (PHS)
PHS1 Define, assess, and describe the health status of populations, determinants of health and illness, factors contributing to health promotion and disease prevention and factors influencing the use of health services.
PHS2 Apply the basic public health skills from behavioral and social sciences, biostatistics, epidemiology, and environmental health to design/evaluate programs/policies to improve health.
Specialization (epidemiology) competencies:
Epidemiology MPH Competencies
E1. Identify the epidemiological dimensions of the major causes of morbidity and mortality regionally, nationally and internationally with particular emphasis on chronic and infectious disease.
E2. Identify public health practices for disease control including surveillance, screening, and outbreak investigation.
E3. Identify practices for disease detection including the use of biomarkers, and molecular biology.
E4. Demonstrate proficiency in computer based data collection, management, and analysis using major statistical software and fundamental strategies for biostatistical analysis.
E5. Apply appropriate statistical tests for parametric and non-parametric settings and identify advanced statistical methods for analyzing both nominal and continuous data, for both univariate and multivariate applications.
E6. Demonstrate skills in the conduct of epidemiologic research:
a. Critically assess epidemiologic data and literature.
b. Write an epidemiologic research proposal.
c. Devise sampling protocols and design questionnaires.
d. Develop a plan for survey logistics and data quality control.
e. Evaluate, interpret and discuss research results in the format required for an epidemiologic research report.