Epidemiology Without Math
What you'll learn
- Different types of study designs
- The history of Epidemiology and public health
- Types of biases implicit in medical research
- How to infer causality from medical research
Requirements
- No mathematical background is required. However, a basic high school education would be useful.
Description
In the wake of the COVID pandemic, interest in the science of Epidemiology is soaring. But if you don't have a background in medical science, you probably have a skewed impression of what it's all about. Yes, there is a lot of math and statistics built into Epidemiology. After all, it is essentially the science of population health research without the ickiness of blood, ooze, or other fluids to deal with. Our major tools are logic, reason, and statistics!
However, the core concepts of Epidemiology are useful and relevant for everyone, not just researchers. It can help you read newspaper reports about research findings more fluently, for example. If you understand how the experts know what they claim to know, then you're halfway to being an expert yourself. I think it's a kind of super power. And as a result, I wish everyone could receive a minimal grounding in Epidemiology.
But because a lot of people are spooked by the prospect of mathematics, I've created this course specifically to avoid all computations and calculations. I have a follow-up course with that content included, for those who are interested. But for everyone else, these nine lectures are really all you need to get a solid footing in this science. I think it's ideal for journalists, math-phobic students, and any citizen interested in adding to their intellectual arsenal.
I hope you enjoy it!
Who this course is for:
- Journalists, health sciences students who want an introduction to Epidemiology without the math, people interested in medical research.
Instructor
- 4.7 Instructor Rating
- 57 Reviews
- 177 Students
- 3 Courses
Raywat Deonandan, PhD, is a prominent Epidemiologist and tenured professor at a leading Canadian university, the University of Ottawa. He appears regularly on national media explaining complex health sciences topics to a lay audience, and is a multiple award-winning communicator and teacher. He is a former Chief Scientist with the Canadian federal government, and a former Board member of the Canadian Society for Epidemiology & Biostatistics. In 2016, he was identified by the association of professors' unions as one of the very best teaching professors in the province of Ontario. He currently holds a Research Chair in University Teaching.