E0350 Epidemiology

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2020
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 2 credit(s) (plus extra credits for completion). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Hynek Pikhart, Ph.D., M.Sc. (lecturer)
MUDr. Martin Bobák, M.Sc., Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
MUDr. Martin Bobák, M.Sc., Ph.D.
RECETOX – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: Mgr. Hynek Pikhart, Ph.D., M.Sc.
Supplier department: RECETOX – Faculty of Science
Timetable
Fri 14:00–15:50 D29/252-RCX1
Prerequisites
This subject gives introduction to epidemiology, and it therefore does not require any spefic preliminary knowledge or study.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The goal of this course is to provide an introduction to epidemiology as the basic science of public health. Epidemiology is a study of occurence and distribution of health and disease in the population, factors associated with disease, and about way to control or prevent diseases and factors associated with disease in population.
Learning outcomes
After this course, students will be able to:
- define the main indicators of disease occurance in population
- explain other main measures of health of populations
- explain and use frequently used measures of effect and association and risk attribution
- describe the main types and characteristics of epidemiological studies
- understand and apply the basic approaches to assess validity of epidemiological studies, such as the role of chance, bias and confoudning
- critically appraise design and results of epidemiological studies
Syllabus
  • 1) Health status indicators (incidence, prevalence, mortality, specific mortality types, standardised mortality, life expectancy, DALY, HALE)
  • 2) Measures of effect and association
  • 3) Attribution of risk
  • 4) Type of epidemiological studies (case series, ecological studies, cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, case-control studies, intervention studies, Mendelian randomisation, systematic reviews)
  • 5) Role of chance
  • 6) Selection and information bias
  • 7) Confounding and standardisation
  • 8) Effect modification
  • 9) Causality
  • 10) Assessment of health status using routine statistics
  • 11) Critical appraisal of validity of studies
Literature
  • Pikhart H. Principles of epidemiologic studies (pp187-199). In: Bencko V and co-workers. Hygiene & Epidemiology: Selected chapters. The Karolinum Press, Prague, Czech Republic, 2004 (ISBN 80-246-0793-X)
  • BONITA, R., R. BEAGLEHOLE and Tord KJELLSTRÖM. Basic epidemiology. 2nd ed. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2006, xi, 213. ISBN 9241547073. info
  • HENNEKENS, Charles H. and Julie E. BURING. Epidemiology in medicine. Edited by Sherry L. Mayrent. 1st ed. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1987, xv, 383. ISBN 9780316356367. info
Teaching methods
In fall semester 2020, the lectures are online in MS Teams. Teaching is performed in lectures with Powerpoint presentations with emphasis on interaction between students and teacher, which is the basic prequisite to understanding of the principles of epidemiological study of health-related conditions. Students are frequently asked questions to ensure their understading, and they are encouraged to ask questions and interact with the lecturer. In parallel to these lectures, the topics are covered in the subject E0351 Epidemiology – seminar.
Assessment methods
Attendance of the lectures is not mandatory but strongly recommended for complete understanding of the educated subjects. During the lectures, students are asked about subjects of past lecture. Final assessment (at the end of semester) is conduced by written examination. It is a multiple choice test with 20 questions, in which each statement is accompanied by 5 options, and students need for each option decide whether it is true of false. Each correct option is 1 point, and to maximum total count is 100. At least 50 points are required to pass the exam.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
General note: Předmět je v PS2020 vyučován online přes MS Teams.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, autumn 2021, Autumn 2022.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2020, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/sci/autumn2020/E0350