Unit details

PUBH2203 Foundations of Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Credit

6 points

Offering
(see Timetable)

Availability	Location	Mode
Semester 2	UWA (Perth)	Face to face

Details for undergraduate courses

• Level 2 core unit in the Population Health major sequence
• Level 2 complementary unit in the Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing major sequence
• The area of knowledge for this unit is Life and Health Sciences
• Category B broadening unit for students
• Level 2 elective

Content

This unit introduces students to the use of epidemiology and biostatistics as tools in understanding health. The main epidemiological research designs and related statistical analyses are described and evaluated. Discussion focuses on how health and disease are measured and compared across populations and how researchers measure associations between exposures and health outcomes. Analytical skills are developed using statistical computer software (SPSS) for analysis of research data as well as the critical appraisal of epidemiological studies, which incorporates understanding of the roles of bias, chance and confounding in interpreting study results. The implications of epidemiologic research findings for public policy are also illustrated.

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) explain how research questions are developed from clinical observations, current knowledge and reflection; (2) describe the basic statistical concepts of estimation and hypothesis testing; (3) calculate, interpret and compare measures of health and disease frequency; (4) summarise and present data relevant to epidemiological research; (5) interpret commonly used statistical analyses of epidemiological studies; (6) describe the major types of epidemiological study design; (7) describe the process and limitations of causal inference; and (8) appraise the strengths and weaknesses of epidemiological studies.

Assessment

Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) an assignment; (2) short online quizzes; and (3) preparation and participation in tutorial and class activities. Further information is available in the unit outline.

Supplementary assessment is not available in this unit except in the case of a bachelor's pass degree student who has obtained a mark of 45 to 49 overall and is currently enrolled in this unit, and it is the only remaining unit that the student must pass in order to complete their course.

Unit Coordinator(s)

Professor Jane Heyworth

Unit rules

Prerequisites:

for student enrolled in Population Helath Major (MJD-PPHLT)
and
all students other than those enrolled in the Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing major: one of the following; PUBH1101 Health and Illness in Human Populations
or
PUBH1102 Health and Globalisation
or
ANHB1101 Human Biology I: Becoming Human
or
ANHB1102 Human Biology II: Being Human
or
ANTH1001 Being Human: Culture, Identity and Society
or
ANTH1002 Global Change, Local Responses
or
PUBH2209 Plagues, Pox and Pandemics
or
SCOM1101: Communicating Science
or
BIOL1130: Frontiers in Biology
or
BIOL1131: Plant and Animal Biology;

for students enrolled in the Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing major MJD-ABHWB: either (INDG1150 Aboriginal Encounters: Strangers in our Backyard
or
INDG1160 Boodjar Moort Katatjin: Introduction to Indigenous Heritage and Knowledge),
and
AHEA2201 Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing;

Advisable prior study:

knowledge of basic algebra, familiarity with hand-held calculators and familiarity with computing in the Windows environment

Incompatibility:

IMED2003 Essentials of Research in the Health and Medical Sciences

Contact hours

lectures: 2 hours per week; tutorials: 2 hours per week

Text

Gordis, L. Epidemiology, 5th edn: Saunders Elsevier 2014