MPH302 & MPH303: Basic Epidemiology and Basic Biostatistics
Course Title: Basic Epidemiology and Basic Biostatistics
Course Number: MPH302 & MPH303
Credit Hours: Basic Epidemiology – 3; Basic Biostatistics – 3
Introduction:
Epidemiology is an essential discipline for community health practice. The importance of this science is
demonstrated by the inclusion of epidemiology courses in most medical, nursing and public health
curricula. The courses on ‘Basic Epidemiology’ and ‘Basic Biostatistics’ go hand in hand. Basic Epidemiology
lays stress on the basic epidemiological principles and research methodology while, the emphasis in Basic
Biostatistics is on the understanding of the fundamental principles and on the development of the practical
skills in biostatistics rather than on mathematical calculations.
This core course is offered in the first semester of the MSPH programme at Health Services Academy.
They are particularly linked with the courses on Population Dynamics and Computer Applications in Public
Health.
Learning Goal:
The goal of this course is to enable health professionals to understand the concepts and apply the
epidemiological and statistical methods to design, conduct, analyze and apply interventions for evaluation,
making use of computer statistical software and information technology.
Basic Epidemiology
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the course, the participants must be able to:
1.
Define Epidemiology and its uses in Public Health and Research
Importance of epidemiological investigations
Developments in modern Epidemiology
Uses of Epidemiology in Health and disease.
2.
Apply the design strategies commonly used for epidemiological studies
Describe Descriptive and Analytical studies, the principals of various study designs with their
merits and main outcome measures highlighted for each study design: case report and case
series (description), cross-sectional studies(prevalence), cohort studies (incidence, relative
risks), case control studies (Odds Ratio), experimental studies/clinical trials, intervention studies
Describe each study design with its uses, strengths and limitations
3.
Assess the burden of disease using the measures of disease frequency e.g.:
Define Rates, ratios, proportion in relation to Vital Statistics. Calculate Incidence, Prevalence,
morbidity and mortality rates in human populations.
