Introduction to Epidemiology
About the course
Single course
The course covers basic principles and methods of epidemiology including measures of disease occurrence and risk in populations and various research designs for investigating the etiology of disease. After completing the course, the students should be able to apply central concepts in epidemiology, identify study designs used in scientific papers, explain sources of bias in epidemiological studies and reflect upon causality.
Admission requirements
Objectives of the course
Knowledge
The students should be able to:
- Describe the central concepts in epidemiology such as: distributions, population, sample and risk factors.
- Define basic descriptive and analytical measures in epidemiology.
- Explain various study designs used in health research and their benefits and drawbacks.
- Describe different bias (confounding, selection and measurement bias) and how they affect the results.
- Describe the concept of causality in epidemiology.
Skills
The students should be able to:
- Compute and interpret measures of disease frequency and risk.
- Identify and discuss different study designs used in health research.
- Identify and reflect upon sources of bias in health research and strategies for minimizing bias.
General competence
- Critical appraisal of scientific work published in scientific journals, reports and newspapers.
- Evaluate and interpret epidemiological data critically to make informed decisions about their public health relevance.
Credit reduction
If you pass the examination in this course, you will get an reduction in credits (as stated below), if you previously have passed the following courses:
- HEL-3006 Introduction to Epidemiology and Biostatistics 5 ects
- ERN-2001 Basic epidemiology, statistics and dietary assessment methods 5 ects
Teaching methods
- Video lectures
- Online seminars
- Team based learning activities
- Flipped classroom activities
- Case-based group work
- Large language models (AI)
Language of instruction and examination
EnglishExamination
| Oral exam | Duration: 30 Minutes |
Grade: Passed / Not Passed |
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