TV5040 - Introductory Epidemiology

Available to graduate students with a degree in Public Health, Medical, Veterinary or related Sciences. Other appropriately trained graduates may enrol at the discretion of the Academic Head of Veterinary Science

An introductory module in veterinary epidemiology designed to provide a sound foundation in epidemiology that can be applied in practice and upon which further studies in various disciplines can be built. It is presented as a multi-mode learning module, which will enable students to complete it at their own pace and primarily off campus. The module covers epidemiological terms, aspects of population medicine, disease outbreak investigation, clinical epidemiology, disease causation, experimental studies, observational studies, surveys, analytical tools, serological tests and making sense of data

Learning Outcomes

• define and explain epidemiological terms and classify disease factors into determinants and variables;
• apply the concepts of spatial, temporal and population patterns to veterinary practice and disease outbreak investigations;
• evaluate clinical data using epidemiological tools and be able to hypothesise the causes of disease based on an understanding of the concepts of causality;
• design surveys, cross-sectional, case control, cohort and experimental studies and interpret their results using the correct epidemiological tools;
• define and discuss the concepts of sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of diagnostic tests; and the concepts of association, confounding, effect modification validity, misclassification, reliability and standardisation with respect to population data and diagnostic tests.

Subject Assessment

• end of semester exam (60%)
• tutorial attendance and participation (40%).

Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.