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Synopsis

TopEpidemiology is the study of the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in defined human populations. It is the cornerstone of public health, and provides evidence that impact on both personal decisions about our lives and public policy for preventing and controlling diseases in the population. In this module, we will cover key concepts in epidemiology, including how we measure disease burden, how we study risk factors for disease, how we evaluate interventions like new vaccines and therapies, and how to critically appraise research evidence to inform public health policy.

Learning Outcomes

TopThis module provides an overview of major public health issues and introduces the basic principles of epidemiology as the science underpinning evidence-based public health and medicine. With reference to real-life examples and practical applications, the module covers fundamental concepts in epidemiology, and illustrates how epidemiology can be used to study a wide range of public health issues. Students will also take part in hands-on practicals to demonstrate the principles of outbreak investigation and randomised controlled trials of public health interventions.

After taking this module, students will be able to:

Contrast public health as a discipline concerned with the health of populations from the patient-oriented focus of clinical medicine
Explain the role of epidemiology as a basic science underpinning public health, and as a quantitative discipline to provide evidence for public health action and clinical practice;
Understand how different types of population-based studies can be used to measure disease occurrence in the population and identify risk factors for disease
Recognize the major sources of random and systematic error in epidemiologic studies and how these influence the interpretation of research findings
Use epidemiologic principles to critically appraise evidence from the public health and medical literature
Understand the role of experimental study designs in evaluating public health interventions

Prerequisites

TopThere are no specific prerequisites for this module. However, epidemiology is primarily a quantitative discipline and students should note that the module involves a fair amount of simple calculations and statistics.

Teaching Modes

Top

The module consists of weekly 2-hour lectures with 4 tutorial sessions, as well as some online learning material and quizzes. Each lecture will focus on a specific topic. Concepts introduced in the lecture will be re-inforced through small group tutorial sessions designed to allow students to apply knowledge to practical examples and encourage discussion, both among students and with teaching staff. In addition, 3 sessions are reserved for a hands-on, simulated outbreak investigation practical, and students will also take part in a didactic randomised controlled trial of a public health intervention.

Schedule

TopLectures will take place every Monday, 3PM to 5PM.

Lecture venue: Tahir Foundation Building, MD1-08-01E-Seminar Room 1 at level 8

The tutorial groups are:
Wednesdays (odd week), 9AM to 11AM, start from week 5
Wednesdays (even week), 9AM to 11AM, start from week 4
Wednesdays (even week), 4PM to 6PM, start from week 4
Thursdays (odd week), 2PM to 4PM, start from week 5

Tutorial venue: Tahir Foundation Building MD1-09-01A-Tutorial Room 1 at level 9

For more information on lecture topics, please refer to the lesson plan.

Syllabus

TopPlease note that the following syllabus is subject to change.

Week 1: Introduction to Public Health and Epidemiology (14 Aug 2017)
Lecturer: Dr Clarence Tam
Objective: What is public health? What is epidemiology? This lecture will give a historical overview of public health and epidemiology; by the end of the lecture, students should be able to understand how public health differs from clinical medicine, identify some of the major public health challenges affecting the world today, and appreciate how epidemiology has developed as the science underpinning public health.

Week 2: Smoking and lung cancer (21 Aug 2017)
Lecturer: Dr Clarence Tam
Objective: Lung cancer is the most common cancer affecting populations worldwide, as smoking is the most important risk factor for lung cancer. But what is the evidence for this, and what steps are being taken to control lung cancer? In this lecture, we will give an overview of the global epidemiology of lung cancer and look at how epidemiology has been used to provide evidence of the harmful effects of tobacco. We will also introduce some basic concepts in epidemiology, including measures of disease frequency, and different types of epidemiological study design.

Week 3: Vaccines (28 Aug 2017)
Lecturer: Dr Clarence Tam
Objective: Vaccines are one of the most important interventions against infectious diseases. But how do vaccines work? And why is it that some diseases can be eliminated with vaccines, but others not? How do we choose which vaccines to introduce into immunisation programmes? In this lecture, we will give an overview of how vaccines have contributed to the control of infectious diseases, and look at how epidemiology is used to evaluate how useful different vaccines are. We will also give an introduction to the outbreak investigation group assignment.

Week 4: HIV/AIDS and Group Assignment: Outbreak Investigation I (4 Sep 2017)
Lecturer: Dr Vittoria Offeddu
Objective: This lecture will provide an overview of the epidemiology of the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS, and how epidemiology has been used to understand the transmission of HIV and to evaluate HIV control strategies. We will also highlight some ethical issues related to the conduct of epidemiological studies. We will also give an introduction to the outbreak investigation group assignment.

Week 5: Group assignment: Outbreak investigation II (11 Sep 17)
Lecturer: Dr Clarence Tam & Ms Candice Duong
Group exercise (no lecture this week)
In this session, you will be collecting data for a simulated outbreak exercise. We will give you detailed instructions beforehand.

Week 6: Online learning materials 1 (no lecture on 18 Sep 2017)

Week 7: Heart disease (2 Oct 2017)
Lecturer: Dr Raymond Lim
Objective: This lecture will provide an overview of the epidemiology and control of cardiovascular disease, and how epidemiology is used to identify risk factors.

Week 8: Breast cancer and screening (9 Oct 2017)
Lecturer: Dr Raymond Lim
Objective: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. In this lecture, we will give an overview of the epidemiology and control of breast cancer, with particular reference to public health screening programmes.

Week 9: Obesity (16 Oct 2017)
Lecturer: Prof Rob van Dam
Objective: The global epidemic of obesity is a major public health challenge of the 21st century. In this lecture, we will give an overview of the global epidemiology of obesity and obesity-related diseases, and how epidemiology is applied to the study and control of obesity.

Week 10: Group assignment: Outbreak investigation III (23 Oct 2017)
Facilitator: Dr Clarence Tam & Ms Candice Duong
No lecture this week. You will be working in small groups in the computer lab (MD1-08-01A/B computer lab at Tahir Foundation Building MD1, level 8), analysing data from the outbreak investigation that you collected.

Week 11: Group assignment: Outbreak investigation IV (30 Oct 2017)
Facilitator: Dr Clarence Tam & Ms Candice Duong
No lecture this week. You will be working in small groups in the computer lab (MD1-08-01A/B computer lab at Tahir Foundation Building MD1, level 8), writing up a report of your outbreak investigation.

Week 12: Online Learning Materials 2 (no lecture on 6 Nov 2017)

Week 13: Class activity - Randomised Controlled Trial (13 Nov 2017)
Facilitators: Dr Vittoria Offeddu
Objective: In this session, we will go through the results of our randomised controlled trial, and discuss epidemiological issues in the conduct and interpretation of trials such as this one.

Assessment

TopGrades will be determined as follows:

20% randomised controlled trial exercise & quizzes
20% group assignment (outbreak investigation)
60% final exam

Final exam (60%)
The final exam will be on December 1, 2017 at 2.30PM. There will be a mix of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Questions may require simple calculations (calculator is allowed, but not hand phones, tablets or other mobile devices).

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS

Essential Epidemiology: An Introduction for Students and Health Professionals (2^nd Edition). Penny Webb and Chris Bain. Cambridge Medicine (2011).

You do not need to purchase this book. It is available as an e-book from the NUS library, please refer to http://libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/login?url=http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/10.1017/CBO9780511997303.

Preclusions

TopNIL

Workload

Top2-1-0-3-4

Workload Components : A-B-C-D-E
A: no. of lecture hours per week
B: no. of tutorial hours per week
C: no. of lab hours per week
D: no. of hours for projects, assignments, fieldwork etc per week
E: no. of hours for preparatory work by a student per week