NATIONAL CHIAO TUNG UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS
INTRODUCTION TO EPIDEMIOLOGY
FALL 2005
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Instructor: |
Guan-Hua Huang, Ph.D. |
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Office: 423 Assembly Building 1 |
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Phone: 03-513-1334 |
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Email: ghuang@stat.nctu.edu.tw |
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Class meetings: |
Wednesday 9:00 am-12:00 pm at 427 Assembly Building 1 |
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Office hours: |
By appointment |
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Class website: |
http://www.stat.nctu.edu.tw/subhtml/source/teachers/ghuang/course/introepif05/
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Credit: |
Three (3) credits |
COURSE SUMMARY
The main purpose of this course is to expose students to a variety of key epidemiologic concepts and ways to approach these concepts when carrying out epidemiologic studies.
At the conclusion of this course, you should
- Have a basic understanding of epidemiologic methods and study design
- Be able to critically review published epidemiologic papers and assess the validity of their design and their inferences
- Be able to investigate the natural history of disease
- Understand how epidemiology is used for identifying the causes of disease and identifying populations at high risk for particular diseases
- Realize the relevance of epidemiological principles to your own fields of study
- Be an informed consumer of epidemiological sources of information (journals, Web Sites, government agencies)
HANDOUTS AND TEXTBOOKS
Handouts corresponding to each lecture will be available on the class website before each class. The required textbook for this course is
Leon Gordis (2000), Epidemiology, 2nd edition, W. B. Saunders Co.
Reading assignments will be made primary in this book. In addition, one book is suggested for recommend reading
David E. Lilienfeld and Paul D. Stolley (1994), Foundations of Epidemiology, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press.
Students are also encouraged to get an English-Chinese medical dictionary to facilitate the course.
INTENDED AUDIENCE
The course will be of interest to students who want to learn about the foundation science for epidemiology. There are no prerequisites for this course.
METHOD OF STUDENT EVALUATION
The course grade will be based on three homework assignments (30%), one midterm exam (30%), and one final exam (40%). The midterm exam will be held on November 9 (9:00 am-12:00 pm), and the final exam will on January 11 (9:00 am-12:00 pm).
COURSE OUTLINE
Readings refer to Gordis (2000), Epidemiology, 2nd edition, W. B. Saunders Co. (Gordis), and Lilienfeld and Stolley (1994), Foundations of Epidemiology, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press (Lilienfeld and Stolley).
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Sep 14 |
Lecture |
Orientation: format, grading, readings Epidemiologic approach to health and disease |
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Reading |
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Sep 21 |
Lecture |
Epidemiologic concepts: transmission of disease and investigation of an epidemic |
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Reading |
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Sep 28 |
Lecture |
Measuring the occurrence of disease: morbidity and mortality |
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Reading |
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Oct 5 |
Lecture |
Assessing diagnostic and screening tests: validity and reliability |
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Reading |
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Oct 12 |
Lecture |
The natural history of disease: ways to express prognosis |
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Reading |
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Oct 19 |
Lecture |
Study design I: clinical trials |
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Reading |
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Assignment |
Homework 1 due |
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Oct 26 |
Lecture |
Study design II: cohort studies |
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Reading |
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Nov 2 |
Lecture |
Study design III: case-control and cross-sectional studies |
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Reading |
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Nov 9 |
Lecture |
Midterm examination |
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Nov 16 |
Lecture |
Measuring the risk of disease: association |
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Reading |
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Nov 23 |
Lecture |
Deriving inferences from epidemiologic studies: association versus causation |
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Reading |
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Nov 30 |
Lecture |
University athletic activity: no class |
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Assignment |
Homework 2 due |
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Dec 7 |
Lecture |
Interpretation of epidemiologic data: bias, confounding and interaction |
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Reading |
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Dec 14 |
Lecture |
Guest lecture: Genetic epidemiology
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Reading |
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Dec 21 |
Lecture |
Guest lecture: Psychiatry epidemiology
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Assignment |
Homework 3 due |
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Dec 28 |
Lecture |
Guest lecture: Infectious disease epidemiology
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Jan 4 |
Lecture |
Legal, ethical and policy aspects of epidemiologic investigations |
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Reading |
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Jan 11 |
Lecture |
Final examination |
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