THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Deanery of Molecular, Genetic and Population Health Sciences : Public Health Research

Postgraduate Course: Principles of Epidemiology and Statistics (PUHR11105)

Course Outline
SchoolDeanery of Molecular, Genetic and Population Health Sciences CollegeCollege of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)
Course typeOnline Distance Learning AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course introduces the fundamentals of epidemiology, providing students with an understanding of different epidemiological concepts and approaches and investigative techniques, and essential statistical skills, relating to global and local health problems. It focuses on areas such as how to understand study design and how to choose the right study design, interpreting confidence intervals, p-values, relative risks and odds ratios, and understanding how to measure health and disease. It explores issues such as bias and confounding.

The course is flexible, designed to be engaging and informative to people at all levels, whether just beginning to work with epidemiology or for those who have a basic grasp but wish to extend their knowledge further. The course provides an excellent platform for all health professionals building skills in interpretation of data, research design and clinical practice. It is also valuable for policy makers, for those engaged in the health industry and those working in NGOs and international agencies and organisations. It is extremely useful for those working in the NHS or other health services throughout the world, or those who have a teaching responsibility to health students.
Course description The course will concentrate on the following areas:
- Measures of disease frequency
- Basic statistical concepts used in epidemiology
- Practical application of statistical methods in epidemiology
- The uses, advantages and disadvantages of different epidemiological study designs
- Sources of error in epidemiological studies
- Critical appraisal skills for epidemiology
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Flexible
Course Start Date 09/08/2021
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 10, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 2, Online Activities 70, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 10, Formative Assessment Hours 10, Revision Session Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 92 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Describe a range of epidemiological study designs and identify their strengths and weaknesses
  2. Critically appraise epidemiological studies, evaluating the role of chance, bias and confounding in order to make an informed judgement about the trustworthiness of study findings
  3. Define key statistical terms and correctly interpret the statistical results of epidemiological studies
  4. Apply epidemiological and statistical concepts to design an epidemiological study and analysis plan
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Keywordsepidemiology,statistics,MSc Epidemiology
Contacts
Course organiserDr Caroline Jackson
Tel: (0131 6)51 7872
Email: Caroline.Jackson@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Suzanne Newall
Tel: (0131 6)50 3237
Email: Suzanne.Newall@ed.ac.uk
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