Postgraduate Course: Public health and social epidemiology (IPHP11020)
Course Outline
| School |
School of Social and Political Science |
College |
College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type |
Standard |
Availability |
Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) |
SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits |
20 |
| Home subject area |
International Public Health Policy |
Other subject area |
None |
| Course website |
None
|
Taught in Gaelic? |
No |
| Course description |
Public health practice stresses the central importance of overall population health improvement and, crucially, the reduction of health inequalities. Marked inequalities in health persist both within and between countries: inequalities can be seen across various axes including gender, race/ethnicity, and access to material resources, so, for example, deprived people have substantially poorer health than affluent people.
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease in populations and the application of the knowledge gained to protect and improve health. Epidemiology is one of the central disciplines underpinning public health research and practice. This course provides an introduction to the nature and scope of epidemiology and the contribution it makes to public health with particular reference to social epidemiology and the study of the social determinants of health and health inequalities. It also provides an overview of basic approaches to measuring disease in populations, quantifying and interpreting associations between risk factors and disease outcomes, and epidemiological study design.
|
Entry Requirements
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites |
|
| Prohibited Combinations |
|
Other requirements |
None
|
| Additional Costs |
None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
|
WebCT enabled: No |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| No Classes have been defined for this Course |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course students will be able to:
* Critically evaluate the nature, scope and contribution of public health and epidemiology and the importance of social health inequalities.
* Critically understand the extent of inequalities in health within and between countries.
* Critically understand the range of factors that influence individual and population health and critically understand different approaches to studying these.
* Display extensive knowledge on how epidemiology studies variation in disease by time, place and person in order to better understand disease risk and aetiology.
* Evaluate critically what is meant by socioeconomic position and the range of measures used to study it and identify and interpret information on inequalities in health.
* Appreciate the wide spectrum of epidemiological research design and critically evaluate appropriate use of different study designs.
* Critically understand the importance of minimising error, bias, and confounding in epidemiological research and consider whether associations between proposed risk factors and disease outcomes are genuine and/or causal.
* Critically examine contemporary debates regarding the causes of inequalities in health.
|
Assessment Information
| One essay of 2500 to 3000 words (50%) and exam (50%) |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords |
Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser |
Dr Jeff Collin
Tel: (0131 6)51 3961
Email: jeff.collin@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary |
|
|
copyright 2011 The University of Edinburgh -
13 January 2011 6:14 am
|
University Homepage