BIOSTATS 6000EX - Epidemiology

External - Semester 2 - 2021

On completion of this course students should be familiar with the major concepts and tools of epidemiology, the study of health in populations, and should be able to judge the quality of evidence in health-related research literature. Topics include: historical developments in epidemiology; sources of data on mortality and morbidity; disease rates and standardisation; prevalence and incidence; life expectancy; linking exposure and disease (eg relative risk, attributable risk); main types of study design - case series, ecological studies, cross-sectional surveys, case-control studies, cohort or follow-up studies, randomised controlled trials; sources of error (chance, bias, confounding); association and causality; evaluating published papers; epidemics and epidemic investigation; surveillance; prevention; screening.

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Course Details

Course Code	BIOSTATS 6000EX
Course	Epidemiology
Coordinating Unit	Public Health
Term	Semester 2
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	External
Units	3
Contact	Online
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	N
Restrictions	Available to Grad Cert, Grad Dip, M Biostatistics students. Check with School for Non-Award Study.
Assessment	Three written assignments (25%, 50%, 25%)

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Amy Salter

Course Coordinator : Dr Amy Salter
Phone: +61 8313 4619
Email: amy.salter@adelaide.edu.au
Location: Level 9, Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences building, North Terrace

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

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Course Learning Outcomes

1	Demonstrate an understanding of routine sources of data used in descriptive epidemiology, and appreciate their strengths and limitations accordingly;
2	Outline epidemiological measures of disease occurrence, calculate basic measures and describe patterns of disease occurrence;
3	Correctly calculate and apply absolute and relative measures of risk;
4	Differentiate epidemiological study designs, recognise the most appropriate circumstances in which to use each design, and describe the measures of disease occurrence that can be generated using each design;
5	Recognise potential threats to correctly interpreting results from epidemiological studies, and identify those most relevant to each study design;
6	Distinguish the difference between association and causation, and appreciate relevant issues in inferring causation from observational designs;
7	Summarise the principles of screening and the conditions under which a screening program would be most appropriate and cost-effective.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	2, 5, 6, 7
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	3, 5, 7
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	1, 4, 7
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	3-5
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	4, 5, 7
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	1 - 7

Learning Resources

Required Resources

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Recommended Resources

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Online Learning

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Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

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Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

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Learning Activities Summary

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Specific Course Requirements

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Small Group Discovery Experience

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The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

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Assessment Related Requirements

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Assessment Detail

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Submission

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Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through .

http://www.bca.edu.au/currentstudents.html#curriculum

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

This course now provides modern content on epidemiological thinking, a new textbook and revised practicals. The course was also updated to be offered fully online or face-to-face (i.e. flexible mode).

Feedback indicated that students thought the best aspects of the refreshed course were the teaching methods, lecture sessions, up-to-date materials and links to journal articles for more difficult concepts. Students thought that the assessments were fair and the different formats for the assessments suited a range of learning styles. A few students did not like the time that the course was offered (4-6 pm). In order to address this, offering the course in a fully flexible mode should go some way to making the course available to all students at times when they are free to study. Further, being mindful that we have to meet the needs of a very wide range of students, we have also introduced a zoom 'drop-in' session and opened Discussion Boards so students have many ways of communicating about the course.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.

The 成人大片 is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The 成人大片 therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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