Overview
Participants will step into the shoes of infectious disease investigators. They will use epidemiological principles and real-world examples to explore disease spread, risk measurement, and intervention evaluation. Through practical exercises, they will calculate incidence and prevalence, assess relative risk and odds ratios, and learn how to interpret results in the context of epidemic detection and control.
The course also explores the strengths and limitations of different study designs, the role of diagnostic tests in disease control, and common pitfalls such as bias and error in research. Upon completion of this course, participants will have a clear understanding of the fundamental concepts underlying infectious disease epidemiology and will be equipped to critically evaluate public health evidence.
This course is part of the Epi Training Toolkit, an open-access online learning strategy for infectious disease epidemiology and public health data science, developed by the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and powered by data.org for the Africa region. This learning strategy aims to strengthen local epidemic response capacity and foster knowledge exchange between regions facing similar epidemiological challenges.
- Learn how to calculate the incidence and prevalence of infectious diseases.
- Understand measures of association, including relative risk and odds ratios, and their importance in determining risk factors for infectious diseases.
- Identify the characteristics of different types of epidemiological studies (cohort studies, case-control studies, and cross-sectional studies) commonly used to study infectious diseases.
- Identify general theoretical and practical concepts related to diagnostic tests for the early detection, accurate surveillance, and effective management of the spread of infectious diseases.
- Identify common errors and biases that can affect epidemiological studies.
- Understand the key elements of infectious disease epidemiology research.
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