Aim and Content

Epidemiology is the study of the distributions and determinants of health related status and disease in populations. It constitutes a basic science for public health and biomedical sciences, and uses observations, surveillance and experiments to test hypotheses and assess causal relationships. The ultimate goal of epidemiology is to prevent disease and to promote health.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge:

After completing the course, the students should be able to

- know about basic epidemiological methods

- know about basic methods relevant for prevention and health promotion care

Skills:

After completing the course, the students should be able to

- discuss the most important study designs and their strengths and weaknesses

- understand measures of occurrence (incidence, prevalence), associations, effect modification/interaction and principles of screening

- assess possible sources of errors and causality in published studies

- use their knowledge to plan and execute studies

General skills:

After completing the course, the students should be able to

- hold the theoretical knowledge necessary to independently assess published studies related to medical causal research

- critically reflect over scientific literature and participate in discussions

Course offered (semester)

Autumn and spring

Pre-requirements

Passed course in medical statistics (1st year) (MEDSTA or equivalent).

Teaching Methods

Lectures and group work/discussions

Compulsory Requirements

Group work with concluding written paper.

Assessment methods

Group exam (ca. 5 students pr group), with concluding written paper

Grading Scale

Pass/fail

Reading List

Scientific papers will be handed out to the students during the course.