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College of Public Health

University of South Florida


Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Syllabus

Online Course Name: Introductory Epidemiology


Prefix & Number: PHC 6000
Sections: 1) 310
Semester: Fall 2016
Course
Description:

This course is an introduction to epidemiologic concepts and methods used


to evaluate the distribution and determinants of health and disease in
populations.

Credit hours:

Pre-Requisites:

None

Co-Requisites:

N/A

Location:

online

Instructor
Information:

Instructor

Name:

Office Location:

EPB 2108, MDC 56

Office Hours:

Wednesday 2-4pm

Phone:

(813)974-3240

E-mail:

korourke@health.usf.edu

Preferred Contact
Method:

Teaching
Assistant
Information:

Syllabus

Dr. Kathleen ORourke,


Ph.D.,M.P.H.

Reply Policy:
TA 1

Communicate first via e-mail


Only use the health.usf email address above. Do not
send to mail.usf email address. Emails sent to
mail.usf address will not be answered.
Within 72 hours
TA 2
TA 3

Malinee Neelamegam
COPH 2116

Office/mailing address

Fridays 11am-12noon

Office hours

mneelame@health.usf.edu

Email address

Only use the health.usf


email address above. Do
not send to mail.usf email

e-mail

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College of Public Health


University of South Florida

Required
Materials:

Recommended
Materials:

Course Format:

Syllabus

address. Emails sent to


mail.usf address will not
be answered.
24 hours weekdays
24 hours weekdays
48 to 72 hours weekend
Required Text book:
1.Aschengrau A & Seage GR. Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health.
Third Edition (2013). Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers,
2003.

Optional Exercise book:


1. Oleckno, William A. Essential Epidemiology, Principles and
Applications. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc., 2002.
2. Gordis, L. Epidemiology, 5th Ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders:
http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/pdf/HSC_GradTextbook_OrderForm.
pdf
Web-based; computer-aided instruction; weekly units; exercises
and assignments. Individual and group assignments, online office
hours

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College of Public Health


University of South Florida
Learning Objectives:
(Objectives must be numbered)

1. Describe the history of epidemiology and its contributions to public health;


2. Develop a population-based perspective of disease and other health-related events;
3. Recognize ethical issues in epidemiologic research;
4. Identify the need for data-based research on diverse cultural groups;
5. Learn the methodology used to study the distribution and determinants of health-related events in
6. populations;
7. Discern the differences between experimental and observational study designs;
8. Calculate and interpret measures of health status and measures of association;
9. Distinguish between association and causation. Describe the criteria used to evaluate causal
10. associations;
11. Apply the basic methodology related to the design and conduct of observational and experimental
12. epidemiologic studies;
13. Recognize the roles of chance, bias and confounding in the interpretation of epidemiologic
results;
14. Explain the difference between confounding and effect-modification;
15. Systematically begin to critically evaluate the epidemiologic literature;
16. Discern the basics of the epidemiology of infectious diseases. Outline the methodology to
investigate
17. an epidemic outbreak and techniques for disease surveillance;
18. Acquire the basic skills of applied epidemiologic techniques in screening for disease control.

Syllabus

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College of Public Health


University of South Florida
Assessment Strategies:
(Strategies must be numbered)
1.Exams (2)
2. Practice Activities
a. Assignments
b. Group activities
c. Quizzes
d. Individual activities
3. Occasional extra point activities

Each module has a document identifying all the components of the module. In general, students should
do the pre-activities at the start of a module. There are a variety of materials available for you to use,
including interactive lectures, textbook readings, non-graded practice activities, optional videos, and
module quizzes. Collectively these materials will allow you to understand the class materials. If at any
time, you are having difficulty understanding the materials, please contact the TAs. You should complete
all the module activities before taking the quiz.

The majority of modules last a week but several of them have an extended time period to allow you to
complete all the materials. The first weeks due dates are extended to allow for add/drop but the initial
discussion post MUST be done by Thursday at 5:00 as it is used to measure First Day of Attendance.
Students not completing this assignment will be dropped from the class, and it is a pain to get back in.

Also please sign into a group as soon as possible. The students who tend to sign into groups late also
tend to be the poorest contributors so if you wait until we assign you to a group, you will likely be in a
group of low performers. Be advised!!

Due dates are listed in Canvas. Exams have an extended time period of availability so we expect you
can complete them during that time. Those who leave exams until the last minute and then cannot
complete them will get little sympathy and consideration. Students not fulfilling group projects in
a timely manner will get even less sympathy. You have a responsibility to your group and we
take that very seriously.

Late assignments:
All quizzes, group discussion posts, and exams must be completed by the due date. In valid special
circumstances, with the instructors permission, late submissions of assignments must be made

Syllabus

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College of Public Health


University of South Florida
NO LATER THAN 5 DAYS after the due date on canvas and will be subjected to a 25% grade
deduction.

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College of Public Health


University of South Florida

This course meets the following MPH Core Competencies.

Learning
Objectives

Competency

Assessment
Strategies

1.a Apply the study of patterns of death, disease, and disability to the
prevention (primary, secondary, and tertiary) of health issues

2,14

1,2,3

2. Apply public health ethical principles.

1,2,3

1,2,5,6,7,8,10,
11,13

1,2,3

1,2,3

1,2,3

5,7,9

1,2,3

This course meets the following MSPH Core competencies.


1. Critically evaluate scholarly research in public health in terms of
scientific rigor, appropriate use of methods and measures, and
contribution to science.
2. Apply the study of patterns of death, disease, and disability to the
prevention (primary, secondary, and tertiary) of health issues.
3. Apply ethical principles guiding the conduct of research on human
subjects
This course meets the following MHA Core competencies.
A.5. Build analytic thinking acumen.

Syllabus

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College of Public Health


University of South Florida

Grading Scale
and Criteria:

Grading Policies:

Grading Events:
At the end of the course, each student will have an Average Score, which is
obtained by summing the number of points earned on each grading event,
(e.g. initial exam, exam II, and practical activities) and then dividing by the
total number of points possible in the course. The number of points possible
for each grading event is listed below (Table 1). A letter grade will then be
determined according to Table 2 below for a given Average Score.
Table 1. Points possible for each grading event
Grading
Exam 1
Exam 2
Final
Assignments
event
Take
& Quizzes &
Home
Rate this Unit
Project
Surveys
Points
40
40
30
275
Total points possible = 385 points
Table 2: Grading Scale
A
B
C
D
F
90-100%
80 - <89%
70-79%
60-69%
<60%
>347
308-346
270-307
231-269
<231
Practice Activities/Assignments
Practice activities will include various assignments and quizzes relevant to
practice of epidemiological concepts. These activities will include practice of
real life epidemiological issues, practice of concepts learned in each module
and quizzes based on important topics. For specific activities for each week
please check Canvas. It is expected that all activities will be completed by the
due date. Where necessary, peer activities will also include a peer
assessment of the other students.
Exams
The two exams are online (see table above for number of points possible in
each exam and the Canvas for dates). See policies regarding administration
of examinations. The second exam will be cumulative (i.e., includes material
from the entire course). Students are welcome to use a calculator during
examinations.
All examinations are to be solely the work of the student. All exams are open
book.
Exams will last last 3 hours. Students must be aware that they are responsible
for entering the exam during the open period with sufficient time to complete
the exam before the submission deadline.
For example, Exams 1 allows 3 hours for completion and should be entered
no later than 3 hours before the submission deadline to have the full 3 hours
available to complete the exam. Students who enter later will only have the
time from entry until the submission deadline to complete the exam. [For
example, when the submission deadline is 11:59 PM EST; students must
enter no later than 9:59 PM EST].
The instructors reserve the right to re-examine any student either orally or in
writing should an issue of academic misconduct arise related to any course
grading event.

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College of Public Health


University of South Florida
Make-up Exams:
Make-up exams will be given only under special circumstances such as
documented illnesses or emergencies. If you need to change the time you
take any exam, you MUST notify the professor in charge of that segment at
least 24 hours before the exam. Students are required to provide appropriate
documentation, which will be determined acceptable by the instructor, before
being allowed to take any make-up exam.
If you miss any exams, you must notify the Professors by e-mail no later than
by noon of the Friday that follows. Exams that are missed because of lack of
reading instructions or other events that are not considered of an urgent
nature cannot be retaken and will receive a score of zero.
Extra credit opportunities:
Throughout the course there will be several extra credit opportunities. Specific
activities related to extra credit will be described in lectures and in
assignments. Students are responsible to read lectures and assignments
carefully and submit extra-credit assignments in timely manner.
COURSE POLICIES
Online
Attendance &
Participation:

Permission to
Use Lectures:

Changes to
syllabus

Instructor
Expectations:

Incomplete
Policy:

Syllabus

Students are strongly urged to review all lectures, complete reading


assignments and to attend review complete practice activities. Be sure you
carefully monitor the due dates.
See Institutional Policies section for Emergency Preparedness for Academic
Continuity.
All unauthorized recordings of class are prohibited. Recordings that
accommodate individual student needs must be approved in advance and
may be used for personal use during the semester only; redistribution is
prohibited. The Professors of this course do not allow students to download
lectures or save them for use after the semester is over.
This syllabus may be changed or amended due to unforeseen circumstances.
In the unlikely event of a university closure, alterations in course content
and/or structure may be necessary and any changes will be conveyed via
CANVAS.
Students are expected to use netiquette when accessing the Discussion
boards. Netiquette guidelines:
http://eta.health.usf.edu/publichealth/standards/syllabus/Online_Netiquette.pdf
Course Assistance:
For questions related to course content- students can either post to the
content forum located on the discussion board, or contact the TAs via email
through the CANVAS course website. You MUST sign all emails! [Do NOT
use your personal email account to send emails to TAs. Use your .health
account].
If an email regarding course content is sent to the instructor, it will
immediately be forwarded to the TA, which will slow down the response time.
For questions related to changes in exam dates, or problems regarding
confidentiality, contact the professor in charge (Dr. ORourke).
See the COPH policy:
http://publichealth.usf.edu/academicaffairs/academic_procedures.html

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College of Public Health


University of South Florida
Schedule Change
Policy:

Any changes to the course schedule will be posted on Canvas..

STUDENT RESOURCES
Library Resources:

USF Library: http://www.lib.usf.edu/


Shimberg Health Sciences Library: http://library.hsc.usf.edu/
Shimberg Health Sciences Library Tutorials:
http://guides.lib.usf.edu/instructional_links (follow links under Instructional
Services section)

Creating Citations &


Using Refworks:

http://guides.lib.usf.edu/CitingSources

APA Citation Style


Guide & Tutorial

Style Guide:
http://eta.health.usf.edu/publichealth/APAstyle.pdf
Tutorial:
http://eta.health.usf.edu/publichealth/APApresentation/player.html

Netiquette
(online etiquette for
online courses):
Plagiarism:

http://eta.health.usf.edu/publichealth/standards/syllabus/Online_Netiquette.pdf

Avoiding Plagiarism: http://www.lib.usf.edu/guides/avoiding-plagiarism/


Turnitin: http://turnitin.com/en_us/training/student-training/submitting-a-paper
Using Turnitin in Canvas: http://guides.instructure.com/s/2204/m/4212/l/64908how-do-i-submit-a-turnitin-assignment

USF Email Accounts:

http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/access_emails.html

Canvas Tutorials:

http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/student_resources.html

Collaborate
Participant
Orientation:
(for online courses)
Accessing Virtual
Tools:

http://www.brainshark.com/blackboardinc/vu?pi=zGLzYw5XBz35Sgz0

Using a virtual desktop, remotely access to the College of Public Health Computer
Labs for a specialized list of software packages. For directions on how to access
these resources visit:
https://documents.health.usf.edu/display/UHID/How+to+Access+the+COPH+Virtu
al+Computer+Labs+Remotely
Browse the USF Application Gateway (apps.usf.edu) where there are over 40
different software applications to use, just by logging in with your USF netID. For
more info, http://www.usf.edu/it/class-prep/downloads.aspx

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College of Public Health


University of South Florida
Accommodations:

Students in need of academic accommodations for a disability may consult with


Students with Disabilities Services to arrange appropriate accommodations.
Students are required to give reasonable notice prior to requesting an
accommodation. For more information, visit: http://www.usf.edu/sds

Course Calendar

Students are strongly urged to review all lectures, complete all exercises and complete all reading
assignments. Students are responsible for downloading assigned journal articles at the Shimberg Health
Sciences Library. (Check previous page under Additional Resources>Library Resources).
Students must complete required readings, and are strongly urged to work with their wiki group. These
additional resources provide an opportunity to further discuss concepts and practice methods that are
discussed in lectures and texts. We have found that students can enhance their learning opportunities when
they belong to study groups that meet (virtually or in-person) regularly throughout the semester.
For specific weekly readings, assignments, quizzes and due date.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Date
Module Schedule
Aug 22-29, 2016

Module 1 Introduction to Epidemiology


Note: (some assignments due in the next week to allow for add drop)
1) Vaccination assignment
2) Introduction post
3) Quiz 1

Aug 28-Sept 4, 2016

Module 2: Disease Frequency


1) Pre-quiz (need to complete to open the module)
2) High Risk Assignment
3) Quiz 2

Sept 4-11, 2016

Module 3: Descriptive Epidemiology


1) Epiville Ecological Studies
2) Ethics discussion
3) Quiz 3

Sept 11-21, 2016

Module 4: Analytic Epidemiology 1* (Case-control and cohort studies)


1) Ghost in your genes
2) Epiville Case Control
3) Epiville Cohort Studies
4) Quiz 4

Sept 21-Oct 2, 2016

Module 5: Analytic Epidemiology II* (Experimental studies)


1) Verteroplasty Assignment

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College of Public Health


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2)
3)
Oct 3- 9, 2016
Oct 9-19, 2016

Epiville Randomized Controlled Trial


Quiz 5

Exam 1 (Units 1-5))


Module 6: Bias and Error
1) Types of Error
2) Epiville assignment for Bias
3) Quiz 6

Oct 19-30,2016

Module 7: Confounding and Effect Modification


1) Write a tweet
2) Epiville Assignment for Confounding
3) Quiz

Oct 30-Nov 6, 2016

Module 8: Causation and validity


1) Epiville for causation
2) Causation vs Correlation
3) Quiz 8

Nov 6 Nov 13, 2016

Module 9: Screening
1) Screening exercise
2) Epiville Screening
3) Quiz 9

Nov 13-Nov 20, 2016

Module 10: Infectious Disease and outbreak investigation


1)
Help me stop pandemics
3)
Quiz 10

Nov 20 Nov 30, 2016

Module 11: Surveillance and critical review


1) Disease Detectives
2) Epiville SARS Investigation
3) Calling the shots

FINAL TAKE HOME ASSIGNMENT Due Dec 4


Dec 5-8, 2016

Syllabus

Exam 2

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College of Public Health


University of South Florida

INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES
The most recent version of the Institutional Policies information can be found on the Academic Affairs
Forms page at http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/forms.html
(Summer 2012)

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