Community Health and Epidemiology

Master of Public Health

Courses

Students must take seven core courses and three elective courses:

Core Courses offered by the Department
Elective Courses offered by the Department
Elective Courses available from other Departments

Core Courses Offered by the Department

EPID 801: Introduction to Epidemiology

This course deals with the design and analysis of research in epidemiology. Topics include measures of health status; risk factors and associations between them; study design including descriptive, analytical, experimental, and theoretical approaches; validity issues; critical appraisal; sources of data, and data collection and management.

Three term-hours, fall; every year; Instructor: K. Aronson; Course Outline

EPID 812: Health Services and Program Evaluation

This course provides an introduction to public health program evaluation methods. The intent is to familiarize the student with the major issues, methods and challenges faced by program evaluators working in the public health field. The emphasis will be on conceptual approaches and design issues, as well as the interpretation and applicatin of evaluation findings.

Three term hours, winter; every year.

Instructor: D. Hunter

Course outline

EPID 821: Introductory Biostatistics

This course introduces the basis statistical concepts, principles and techniques essential for community health and epidemiologic research. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability distribution, estimation, hypothesis testing, simple linear regression, correlation and measures of association, and some non-parametric methods.

PREREQUISITE: Permission of the Instructor.

Three term hours; fall; every year. M. Lam, B. Chen, P. Peng

EPID 821 LAB, SAS Tutorial, Instructors: A. Day, J. Zhang-Salomons

EPID 825: Foundations of Public Health Practice

This is an introductory course in public health. The course will introduce students to health promotion and health protection strategies at various levels, including the individual, community, region and nation. Examples will be drawn from chronic disease and injury prevention, reproductive and child health, infectious disease prevention and control, and environmental health. Students will also be introduced to the role of surveillance in determining public health priorities.

Three term hours, fall; every year. K. O'Connor

EPID 826: Determinants of Health

This half term course is required for students enrolled in the Master's of Public Health program in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology. This course examines the determinants of health from a population health perspective, including social, cultural and economic factors; physical environmental factors; personal health practices; individual coping skills; and health services.

Three term hours; fall; every year beginning in 2010. For MPH students, required in their second year. B. Alvarado Prerequisites: either EPID 801 or EPID 821

EPID 827: Public Health Leadership and Administration

This course provides an introduction to public health leadership and administration. The intent is to familiarize with the main components of the organization, financing, and delivery of public health services in Canada. Students will also learn principles of strategic planning, public health marketing, the legal and ethical basis for public health interventions, and systems thinking for resolving community health and organizational problems. Finally, the course will build competencies in critical thinking and communication skills necessary for public health practice.

Three term hours; fall, every year. For MPH students, required in their second year. D. Hunter. Prerequisite: EPID 825

EPID-828: Infectious Diseases

This course provides an introduction to the principles of infectious disease prevention and control relevant to public health practice. The course focuses on the etiology, history, societal impacts and determinants of infectious diseases of major public health importance. There is an emphasis on modern prevention and control efforts that can be applied at the local, national and international levels.

Three term hours; winter, every year. A. Jolly. Prerequisities: EPID 801 and EPID 821

EPID 886

Currently under revision.

Fall/winter term. 36 hours total, every year, Beatriz Alvarado, Coordinator

EPID 887: Practicum

This four month practicum is the second of two which are requirements of the program. It is offered in the Spring/Summer term and is intended to provide students with an opportunity to apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills acquired from their course-work in a supervised public health setting. Students will have an opportunity to work as part of an interdisciplinary public health team in a substantive area that is of interest to the student and of importance to the sponsoring public health agency.

Spring/summer term. 25 hours per week. Every year. Colleen Davison, coordinator.

Elective Courses Offered by the Department

EPID-803 Issues in Health Services and Health Policy

This survey course will provide an overview of the health, health service, and policy context in which epidemiologic and health service methods are applied. Secondly, it is intended to provide a brief introduction to selected research areas available for more in depth study through elective courses. Topics include: public health and health determinants; health services and the health care system; health economics and cost evaluations; and health policy and policy analysis.

Three term-hours; fall; every year. H. Stuart

EPID-804 Advanced Epidemiologic Methods

This course deals with advanced methods and issues in the design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation of epidemiologic studies. The content focuses on observational study design and analysis, and builds on epidemiologic principles presented in EPID-801. Data analysis will emphasize the application and interpretation of statistical concepts in epidemiologic research.

PREREQUISITE: EPID-801

Three term-hours, winter; every year. W. King

EPID-805 International Priorities in Maternal and Child Health

This course provides an overview of the major current issues in International Health. The epidemiology and prevention of the major causes of morbidity and mortality will be discussed as will the organization, management, and cost evaluation of health care resources.

(Jointly offered with RHBS-880)

Three term-hours, winter, alternate years; Not offered in 2012. H. Onyett.

EPID-807 Introduction to Health Economics

This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to economic concepts and analysis relevant to health, health care, and health care systems. Topics include: health as an economic variable; health production models; uncertainty in health and its effects; the behaviour and influence of various participants (health care providers, patients, government) on health care utilization and health status. No prior economic background is required, although students must have basic quantitative skills.

Three term-hours, every Fall; A. Johnson

EPID-810 Controlled Clinical Trials

This course will cover material relevant to the design and conduct of controlled clinical trials. Design topics will include methods used to achieve unbiased results with improved precision, such as adequate sample size, randomization, blinding, pre- and post-stratification, cross-over designs, placebos and the counting of relevant events. Attention will be given to the problems of conducting multi-centre clinical trials. Topics covered will include drafting of protocols, design of data forms, logistics of data flow, methods of follow-up, data management and quality control, periodic reporting, final data analysis, and the production of final reports. Ethical issues and the role of randomized trials in clinical investigation will be discussed.

Course notes

Three term-hours, winter; every year. R. Meyer, D. Tu

EPID-813 Survey Methods

This course provides a practical understanding of how to plan, conduct and manage a sample survey. Topics covered will include: developing survey objectives, stratification, sampling frames, drawing the sample, questionnaire design, pilot testing, sampling and non-sampling errors, interviewing skills. Each student will prepare a survey proposal.

PREREQUISITE: EPID-801, EPID-821, or equivalent.

Six hours per week for six weeks, Spring, H. Ouellette-Kuntz or Duncan Hunter. Not offered in 2012.

EPID-815 Independent Study

Designed for individual students with special interests that are not covered by existing courses offered in the Department. Normally, this will take the form of a closely supervised reading course in the area of a graduate instructor's expertise but may also include practical field experience. The proposed study must be approved by the appropriate instructor, the Coordinator of Graduate Studies and the Head of the Department.

EPID 817 - Foundations of Cancer Control

This course is intended for graduate students, clinical fellows and postdoctoral fellows who are engaged or interested in cancer research. It will provide students with training in the fundamentals of epidemiologic methods in cancer research and with knowledge of how epidemiology could contribute to better understanding of cancer etiology and control in human populations.

The course will focus on concepts and methodological issues central to the conduct of epidemiologic studies of cancer etiology and control. Topics will include: an introduction to basic epidemiologic concepts; biologic concepts central to the investigation of cancer; study design; clinical epidemiology; molecular epidemiology; and cancer control and prevention.

Three term hours; winter; every year; B. Mackillop.

EPID-822 Intermediate Statistics for Epidemiologists

This course deals with the commonly used statistical methods proven useful in health services research and the epidemiologic analysis of the relationship between traits, exposures or treatment, and diseases or other medical outcomes. The course emphasizes the statistical modeling approach with topics including multiple regression, analysis of variance and covariance, reliability of measurements, analysis of categorical data, and logistic regression.

PREREQUISITE: EPID-821 or equivalent* (*applicable to Biostats Collaborative students only)

Three term-hours; winter; every year. M. Lam, B. Chen, K. Ding, D. Tu, C. K. Ding EPID 822 LAB, SAS Tutorial; Instructors: A. Day, J. Zhang-Salomons.

EPID 823 - Advanced Methods in Biostatistics

An advanced course in the theoretical issues and analytic practices in epidemiology and biostatistics. Major topics include the life-table method, demography and confounding and its solutions. Detailed design and analysis of cohort, care-referent and experimental studies shall be performed. Multifactor techniques including log-linear logistic and Cox's proportional hazard models will be discussed in detail.

PREREQUISITE: EPID 822

Three term hours; M, Lam, P. Peng, D. Tu, fall, every year

EPID 829 - Foundations in Global Health

Students will be exposed to various global health concepts and be trained to work through potential solutions in a public health context. The course will be taught through formal lecture, seminar and small group learning, and
online modules. Topics may include: health, public health and development; Aboriginal health; health systems and
policies; Canada's role in global health and social justice; and special populations.

Three term hours; K. Yeates, J. Carpenter, Winter, every year.

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