Course Summary
This course teaches the basics of measuring disease in epidemiology, including measures of disease frequency and association, and methods for standardization of rates. Students will learn how to interpret and communicate the results of epidemiologic studies and will gain practical experience in the analysis of epidemiologic data.Key Learning Points
- Learn the basics of measuring disease in epidemiology
- Gain practical experience in the analysis of epidemiologic data
- Understand how to interpret and communicate the results of epidemiologic studies
Related Topics for further study
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the basics of measuring disease in epidemiology
- Gain practical experience in the analysis of epidemiologic data
- Learn how to interpret and communicate the results of epidemiologic studies
Prerequisites or good to have knowledge before taking this course
- Basic knowledge of statistics
- Familiarity with epidemiologic concepts
Course Difficulty Level
IntermediateCourse Format
- Online self-paced course
- Video lectures
- Interactive quizzes
Similar Courses
- Introduction to Epidemiology
- Principles of Epidemiology
Related Education Paths
Related Books
Description
Epidemiological research is ubiquitous. Even if you don’t realise it, you come across epidemiological studies and the impact of their findings every single day. You have probably heard that obesity is increasing in high income countries or that malaria is killing millions of people in low income countries. It is common knowledge that smoking causes cancer and that physical activity is protective against heart disease. These facts may seem obvious today, but it took decades of epidemiological research to produce the necessary evidence. In this course, you will learn the fundamental tools of epidemiology which are essential to conduct such studies, starting with the measures used to describe the frequency of a disease or health-related condition. You will also learn how to quantify the strength of an association and discuss the distinction between association and causation. In the second half of the course, you will use this knowledge to describe different strategies for prevention, identify strengths and weaknesses of diagnostic tests and consider when a screening programme is appropriate.
Knowledge
- Calculate and interpret appropriate measures in order to describe disease frequency, association and attributable risk for given scenarios.
- Calculate sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, in order to interpret these values in the context of screening.
Outline
- Measures of disease frequency
- Introduction to Epidemiology
- Odds
- Prevalence
- Cumulative Incidence
- Incidence rate
- About Imperial College & the team
- How to be successful in this course
- Grading policy
- Glossary & Additional readings
- Recap: Measures of Frequency
- Quiz Instructions
- Relationship between Measures of Frequency
- Measures of Frequency
- Measures of association
- Association and Causation
- Relative Measures of Association
- Absolute Measures of Association
- Relative and Absolute Measures of Association
- Ratios Versus Differences
- The 2x2 Table
- Recap: Measures of Association
- Quiz Instructions
- Quiz Instructions
- Measures of Association: Part 1
- Measures of Association: Part 2
- Attributable risk and strategies for prevention
- Attributable Risk
- Population Attributable Risk
- The Prevention Paradox
- Recap: Attributable Risk
- Quiz Instructions
- Overview of Measures in Epidemiology
- Strategies of Prevention
- Attributable Risk
- Disease detection and screening
- Sensitivity and Specificity
- Predictive Values
- Calculation of Diagnostic Test Metrics
- Screening
- Evaluating Screening
- Course Summary
- Disease Detection and Diagnostic Tests
- Recap: Diagnostic Test Metrics
- Diagnostic tests and the COVID-19 pandemic
- Quiz Instructions
- Receiver Operative Characteristic (ROC) Curve
- Quiz Instructions
- Misclassification
- Diagnostic Test Metrics
- Wrap up: Measuring Disease
Summary of User Reviews
The Measuring Disease in Epidemiology course on Coursera has received positive reviews from many users. The course covers important topics in epidemiology, and the instructors are knowledgeable and engaging. One key aspect that many users appreciated was the interactive nature of the course, which included engaging lectures, quizzes, and assignments.Pros from User Reviews
- The course covers important topics in epidemiology
- The instructors are knowledgeable and engaging
- The course is interactive and engaging with lectures, quizzes and assignments
Cons from User Reviews
- The course is challenging and requires a lot of time and effort
- Some users found the course content to be too basic
- The course could benefit from more practical examples
- The course could be more engaging in terms of discussions and peer feedback
Filippos Filippidis
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