Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Lisa Smithers

Phone: +61 8 8313 0546
Email: lisa.smithers@adelaide.edu.au
Location: Level 9, AHMS Building

Course Coordinator:  Professor John Lynch
Phone: +61 8 8313 6541
Email: john.lynch@adelaide.edu.au
Location: Level 9, AHMS Building

Student & Program Support Services Hub
Email: askhealthsc@adelaide.edu.au
Phone: +61 8313 0273

1	Demonstrate an understanding of routine sources of data used in descriptive epidemiology, and appreciate their strengths and limitations accordingly;
2	Outline epidemiological measures of disease occurrence, calculate basic measures and describe patterns of disease occurrence;
3	Correctly calculate and apply absolute and relative measures of risk;
4	Differentiate epidemiological study designs, recognise the most appropriate circumstances in which to use each design, and describe the measures of disease occurrence that can be generated using each design;
5	Recognise potential threats to correctly interpreting results from epidemiological studies, and identify those most relevant to each study design;
6	Distinguish the difference between association and causation, and appreciate relevant issues in inferring causation from observational designs;
7	Demonstrated ability to review and critically appraise observational studies;
8	Summarise the principles of screening and the conditions under which a screening program would be most appropriate and cost-effective.

The textbook for the course is:
Webb P, Bain C, Page A. Essential Epidemiology: An introduction for Students and Health Professionals. 3rd edition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

The textbook is available as an e-textbook from the University library.

Other relevant reading material may be provided during the course in the form of book chapters, journal articles (both recently published and seminal), and links to websites.

Other Resources: Epidemiology Textbooks
There are many introductory epidemiology texts. Reading a text other than the set text can be helpful if a topic seems unclear or difficult – a different explanation and different examples can be illuminating. Some recommended texts for learning about epidemiology are described below.

1. Rothman K. Epidemiology: An Introduction. 2nd edition.  Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press, 2012.
This is a small introductory-level book that provides good explanations of epidemiological concepts.

2. Szklo M, Nieto FJ. Epidemiology: Beyond the Basics. 3rd edition.  MA, USA. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2014.
This text digs a little deeper into epidemiological concepts.

Other Resources: Statistical Textbook
If you are need of support for statistical concepts, a good entry-level textbook is:
3. Kirkwood BR, Sterne JAC. Medical Statistics. 2nd edition. MA, USA. Blackwell Publishing, 2010.

Other Resources:  Epidemiology Journals
Many journals also specialise in epidemiological research and you have access to the University's journal collection.  Some good epidemiological journals include:

• The International Journal of Epidemiology
• Epidemiology
• American Journal of Epidemiology
• Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
• Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

You could consider subscribing to a journal's Table of Contents, so that you can follow when new articles published in your area of interest.  This is a free service offered by most international journals.

We assume that you have access to student e-mail and that your address is the University of Adelaide student’s e-mail address that was assigned to you on enrolment.

We will send messages to your official University of Adelaide student e-mail address and assume that you read your e-mail.  The announcements page of the MyUni site for this course will also display relevant notices from time to time.

MyUni is the primary entry point to online learning at the University of Adelaide.  MyUni will be used to provide students with access to course materials, announcements, and other features to assist your study.  You can connect to MyUni on or off campus via the internet at: www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au/

For enquiries about online education services, what’s available and access to MyUni, contact the Online Education Helpdesk at 8313 3000 or by email at servicedesk@adelaide.edu.au

Lectures: Provide basic factual information and introduce and illustrate concepts.

Tutorials: Provide an opportunity to develop understanding of lecture material and clarify concepts.

Practicals: A forum for application of lecture material. They provide an interactive forum to apply concepts from lectures and clarify understanding.

Assignments: Opportunity for independent application and exploration of key concepts.

Exam: To assess the extent to which understanding has developed through the course and can be applied in novel scenarios.

In general, we recommend that students spend 3 hours of independent study for every contact hour.  This includes reading the set text, wider reading, preparing answers to tutorial questions, and making progress with assignments.  The work on assignments will be greater as the due date approaches.

Topics

• Types of Health States
• Measuring Health States
• Study Designs:  Intervention Studies
• Study Designs:  Cohort and Cross-sectional Studies
• Study Designs:  Case-control and Ecological Studies
• Effect Measures
• Random Error and P-values
• Systematic Errors:  Confounding, Selection and Information bias
• Critical Appraisal
• Screening

N/A

Small class teaching will be conducted in practicals and tutorials.

Assessment Task	Assessment Type	Weighting	Learning Outcome(s) being addressed
Assignment 1	Summative	20%	1, 2, 3, 6
Assignment 2	Summative	20%	4-7
Exam	Summative	60%	1-8

1) Students are required to attend, and expected to actively participate, in practicals and tutorials. A sign-in sheet will be provided for each practical and tutorial for students to sign.
2) Students must submit or present all pieces of work to pass the course.

1) Students are expected to prepare for tutorials by attempting the tutorial questions before the scheduled session.
2) Students are expected to actively participate in tutorials and practicals.
3) Students must submit both assignments to be permitted to sit the exam.

Students are required to submit two assignments (weighting 20% for each, with a total of two written assignments, 40%). Assignment 1 will be provided to students and posted on MyUni at the start of Week 2, and Assignment 2 will be posted on MyUni at the start of Week 8. Students will be asked to use core epidemiological concepts, to correctly conduct disease measurements, and to critically assess and interpret epidemiological research findings from health literature.

A two-hour exam at the end of course (weighting 60%) will assess your learning on the content of all lectures, tutorials and practicals as indicated in Section 2.1.

Extensions
All extensions for assignments must be requested, at the latest, by the last working day before the due date of submission.   Extensions will generally be granted only on medical or genuine compassionate grounds.  Supporting documentation must be  provided at the time a student requests an extension.  Without documentation, extensions will not be granted.  Late requests for extension will neither be accepted nor acknowledged.

Only the Course Co-ordinator(s) may grant extensions.

Supporting documentation will be required when requesting an extension. Examples of documents that are acceptable include: a  medical certificate that specifies dates of incapacity, a police report (in the case of lost computers, car & household theft etc.), a  letter from a Student Counsellor, Education and Welfare Officer (EWO) or Disability Liaison Officer that provides an assessment of  compassionate circumstances, or a letter from an independent external counsellor or appropriate professional able to verify the  student’s situation.  The length of any extension granted will take into account the period and severity of any incapacity or impact  on the student.  Extensions of more than 10 days will not be granted except in exceptional circumstances.

Late submission
Marks will be deducted when assignments for which no extension has been granted are handed in late.

All assignments, including those handed in late, will be assessed on their merits.  In the case of late assignments where no  extension has been granted, 5 percentage points of the total marks possible per day will be deducted.  If an assignment that is 2  days late is awarded 65% on its merits, the mark will then be reduced by 10% (5% per day for 2 days) to 55%.  If that same  assignment is 4 days late, the mark will be reduced by 20% (5% per day for 4 days) to 45%, and so on.

The School of Public Health reserves the right to refuse to accept an assignment that is more than 7 days late.

Assignments submitted after the due date may not be graded in time to be returned on the listed return dates.

Students submitting examinable written work who request (and receive) an extension that takes them beyond the examination period are advised that there is no guarantee that their grades will be processed in time to meet usual University deadlines.
 
Resubmission
If a student is dissatisfied with an assessment grade they should follow the Student Grievance Resolution Process  <https://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/grievance/process/>.  Students who are not satisfied with a particular assessment result should raise their concerns with Course Co-ordinator(s) in the first instance.  This must be done within 10 business days of the date of notification of the result.  Resubmission of any assignment is subject to the agreement of the Course Co-ordinator(s) and  will only be permitted for the most compelling of reasons.