Course Syllabus
POPM*6950 Geographical Epidemiology
Start; June 26 - 30, 2017, 9:00 room TBD (request for is for 1810 of OVC PAHL)
Course coordinator:
Dr. Olaf Berke (Population Medicine)
Course co-instructors:
Dr. Julie Horrocks (Mathematics and Statistics)
Dr. Lorna Deeth (Mathematics and Statistics)
Place, date and time:
· Lectures and computer labs alternate over 4 sessions a 90 minutes per day
· June 26 to 30, 2017
· Monday to Friday, 9:00 – 17:00
· Individual term projects and discussions with the course coordinator are scheduled for the weeks July 3 to 12, 2017.
· Workload about 100 - 120 hours.
Geographic Epidemiology
This (0.5 credit) graduate course presents a practical and comprehensive overview of geographical epidemiology, and is targeted at students and faculty from disciplines such as veterinary epidemiology, biostatistics and medical geography, as well as public health practitioners and researchers. The notions of spatial data, epidemiology and map-making are presented. The emphasis of the course is on spatial statistical methods and their application to public health data. Computational aspect will focus on the use of the open and free R software and R-Studio.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, participants should be able to
· Explain the uses of geographic epidemiology
· Identify types of spatial data in public health
· Associate types of statistical methods and mapping methods associated with data types
· Apply R/RStudio software to analyze and map public health data
· Apply SaTScan software to identify geographic clusters in public health data
· Apply R and OpenBugs software to investigate geographic risk factors of disease.
· Identify areas of recent research avenues in geographical epidemiology
Attitudinal course objective
In addition to specific learning outcomes stated above, the course aims to instill a general attitude towards critical thinking in statistical and epidemiological science.
Course evaluation
Students taking the course for credit are expected to actively participate in discussions, pass a 30-minute multiple-choice quiz on Friday June 30, and hand in an individual take-home project on Wednesday, July 12 (noon). The term project will consists of a geographic epidemiologic data analysis and reporting of results in form of a research paper (further instructions are provided during the course). The course coordinator (O. Berke) will be available for consultation during May 25 to June 12. Audit students will be asked to provide a short essay (~750 words) about a topic TBD.
Recommended readings (Epi, GeoEpi and R)
· Bonita et al. (2006) Basic Epidemiology. WHO.
· Dohoo et al. (2010) Veterinary Epidemiologic Research. VER Inc.
· Waller and Gotway (2004) Applied Spatial Statistics for Public Health Data. Wiley, New York.
· Pfeiffer et al. (2008) Spatial Analysis in Epidemiology. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
· Dalgaard (2008) Introductory Statistics with R. Springer, New York.
· Bivand et al. (2008) Applied Spatial Data Analysis with R. Springer, New York.
· Brunsdon and Comber (2015) An Introduction to R for Spatial Analysis and Mapping. Sage, Thousand Oaks.
Registration
This course is offered as a graduate course at the University of Guelph and graduate students can sign up through WebAdvisor. This course is also a continuing education course offered to off-campus learners through the Center for Open Learning and Educational Support (COLES). Therefore UofG students have to register through COLES as well and pay a course material and refreshment fee. To register with COLES follow the instructions at:
http://www.coles.uoguelph.ca/offerings/offering.aspx?id=4334
Academic Integrity
Make yourself familiar with the notions of and penalties for offences against Academic Integrity as well as Academic Plagiarism. These are detailed in the UoG Graduate Calendar and at