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Certificate in Public Health: Principles of Epidemiology
Rating: 4.5 out of 5(182 ratings)
1,526 students

Certificate in Public Health: Principles of Epidemiology

Learn the basics of epidemiology to solve disease outbreak scenarios from start to finish!
Last updated 7/2023
English

What you'll learn

  • Define and understand the science of epidemiology and its different types
  • Understand risk factors and how they affect disease susceptibility
  • The process of data collection, analysis, and interpretation of public health data
  • The types of control and prevention methods; gauging necessity of intervention
  • Common diseases and their etiology (cause)
  • Analyze simulated and real outbreak scenarios
  • The epidemiological triads
  • How to interpret epidemiological graphs and figures
  • How to generate and test hypotheses; how to establish causality
  • Analytical epidemiology with rates and ratios
  • Biases and errors

Course content

3 sections21 lectures1h 27m total length
  • What is Epidemiology?0:19
  • Types of Epidemiology and the Epidemiological Triads4:16

    The goals of descriptive epidemiology in outbreak investigations are:

    To assess trends in health and disease: illnesses are monitored in order to identify emerging problems (e.g., potential outbreaks). Comparisons can be made among population groups (e.g., different age groups, or sexes), geographic areas, and time periods.

    To identify problems and generate hypotheses (e.g., if illnesses are occurring in a specific demographic or geographic area, this could suggest initial hypotheses for the source of an outbreak). Hypotheses can then be tested using analytic methods, such as a case-control study, which we will touch on later in the course.



    Conversely, analytic epidemiology is concerned with the search for causes and effects:

    Epidemiologists use analytic epidemiology to quantify the association between exposures and outcomes and to test hypotheses about causal relationships.

    Remember that these can almost always only establish a correlation between disease and exposure, not definite causation.


  • Types of Epidemiology and Triads Quiz
  • The Natural History and Spectrum of Disease

    Source: cdc

  • The Chain of Infection3:12
  • Natural History and Chain of Infection Quiz
  • Introduction to Outbreak Investigation18:10

    Source: CDC

Requirements

  • No public health or science experience needed. This course is targeted towards the most beginner audience.

Description

By enrolling in this course, you'll have access to the multi-country network of Simply Epidemiology resources. Communicate with world public health leaders, all while experiencing the forefront of research in public health education.

Learners will get a strong base of epidemiologic principles, understand the spread of disease, understand what epidemiology truly is, understand the basis of public health science, and use their knowledge to analyze disease outbreak scenarios. Each lecture is structured in an easily-understandable package similar to a Khan Academy course.  If any help is needed, I can be contacted through email free of charge.

This course consists of three main sections, each of which lays down the foundation of your epidemiological journey. The first introduces you to epidemiology as as science, and brings in aspects of disease spread that are essential to be familiar with in order to investigate outbreaks. Next, the principles of disease surveillance are introduced, where the uses, types, and steps of effective disease surveillance are detailed. Most importantly, there is a section dedicated to the actual investigation of a disease outbreak, following the CDC-Mandated 13 Step process. Each lecture provides you with examples, along with external resources and quizzes in order to solidify your engagement to the course.

This course is targeted at complete novices and provides the most comprehensive start-to-finish course on epidemiology and outbreak investigation on the market.

The course is packed with quizzes, external resources, articles, vocabulary, and real-world examples of public health scenarios! Go from complete beginner to disease outbreak detective!

Who this course is for:

  • This course is for people wanting to learn the basics of epidemiology and outbreak investigation, and using that to achieve a strong understanding of the science. Learners will go from beginners to being able to fully go through an outbreak investigation by the end of the course.