Module 2: Fundamentals of Epidemiology - Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR)

Module 2: Fundamentals of Epidemiology

After completing this module, students will be able to:

Describe the distribution of disease in a population according to person, place and time
Calculate measures of disease occurrence and disease severity including incidence, prevalence and case-fatality
Compare major epidemiologic study designs including strengths and weaknesses of each and issues of interpretation of each including bias and confounding
Calculate measures of association including relative risk and odds ratios
Interpret measures of association, confidence intervals and p-values
Evaluate medical and public health literature and its implications for patient and population health

Class Lecture Materials

APTR members who are logged-in will be able to access the following information at the end of this page.

Supplemental Materials

Understanding study design is the foundation for accurately interpreting research. Health care professionals should be able to distinguish well-conducted research from poorly conducted research and know how to apply that knowledge to the care of their community. After participating in this exercise students will be able to recognize the advantages and disadvantages of experimental versus observational studies. This case discusses the proposed association between the MMR vaccine and autism. Students will be prompted to create a study that investigates this claim and to utilize the fundamentals of epidemiology to measure the strength of association between these two variables.

Weighing the Evidence: Misconceptions About Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) Vaccine and Autism Student Guide (PDF)
Weighing the Evidence: Misconceptions About Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) Vaccine and Autism Preceptor Version (PDF)