Introduction to Epidemiology: with examples from sub-Saharan countries

Purpose

This course will introduce you to the field of epidemiology as it pertains to the practice of public health as well as the various tools, methods, measures and data sources used to evaluate aspects of health in your community. The focus is on fundamental concepts in epidemiology, including causation and health indicators, which are grounded in the population health approach.

Prerequisite

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the fundamentals of epidemiology.
• Apply basic epidemiological principles to your work as a public health professional.
• Describe and use common epidemiologic tools, data sources and methods for measuring, monitoring and visually representing the health of a community.
• Use epidemiologic tools, data sources and methods to assess the health of a community.
• Define a basic set of health status indicators and identify data sources to assess the health of a community using these indicators

Note:

This course is based on the existing Introduction to Epidemiology course.  However, examples and sections on sources of information have been modified for a sub-Saharan context.  The section on Cause and Effect has also been updated.

Estimated completion time: 3 hours