Epidemiology Methods I - USF Health

Course Name: N Epidemiology 

Me ethods I 

Prefix & Number: PHC P 6010 

Sections s: 1) 001 ref f# 13984 

Semeste er: Spring, 2011 

CCourse 

This s course is designed d to cover c the immportant 

conccepts 

in epiddemiology 

and 

their 

DDescription: 

app plication in ep pidemiologic cal research. 

Emphasis on measurees 

and quanttitative 

tech hniques, proper 

interpret tation and exxplanation 

oof 

quantitativve 

measuress 

and 

resu ults. 

CCredit 

hours s: 3 

PPre-Requisit 

tes: PHC C 6000: Epid demiology (C Core Coursee) 

CCo-Requisite 

es: N/A A 

Location: 

Innstructor 

Innformation: 

Teaching 

AAssistant 

Innformation: 

RRequired 

MMaterials: 

RRecommend 

ded 

MMaterials: 

Syllabus 

CPH H 2022 

Ham misu Salihu, 

MD, PhD 

Offic ce: CPH 212 27 

Fri 3:00-5:00 3 PM M 

Pho one: (813) 97 74-7594 

hsalihu@health 

h.usf.edu 

Ema ail contact preferred 

TA 1 

N/A A 

Departme ent of Epid demiology and Biostaatistics 

Syllabus S 

Instructo or 1 

“Epidemiology 

y: Beyond th he Basics” SSecond 

Edittion 

by Moysses 

Szklo annd 

F. 

Javier 

Nieto; Jo ones and Bar rtlett Publishhers 

2007; ISSBN 

97807663729271 

HSC C Bookstore http://usfhsc. 

h .bkstore.comm. 

College C off 

Public HHealth 

Un niversity oof 

South FFlorida 

Insstructor 

2 

Jason L. SSalemi, 

MPHH 

N/A 

Office: CPPH 

2117 

Mon, Wed 3:00-4:00 PPM 

Phone: (8113) 

974-7716 

jsalemi@hhealth.usf.eddu 

Email conttact 

preferreed 

TA 2 

N/A 

N/A 

Instructorr 

3 

TA 3 

Paage 

1

CCourse 

Form mat: 1. This cou urse will contain 

weekly content lecctures 

in whhich 

the instrructor(s) 

or guest t instructor(s s) will providee 

his/her inssight 

and perrspectives 

on 

textbook k and other reading r mateerial. 

Although 

faculty wwill 

lecture, it is 

strongly y encouraged d that studennts 

be prepaared 

prior to each lecturee 

and ask 

question ns, engage in 

discussionn, 

provide their 

own insigghts 

and expperiences 

to supplement 

cours se material. 

Syllabus 

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2. Each cla ass will also use quizzess 

and in-claass 

skill building 

exerccises 

to 

facilitate e the necessary 

acquisitiion 

of skills aand 

concepttual 

understaanding 

of 

topics to o develop the e required eexpertise. 

Acctivities 

may be expectedd 

to be 

complete ed individua ally or in smaall 

groups. 

3. Lastly, homework h exercises e wwill 

be assignned 

to aid in driving homme 

course 

subject matter m and permit p an oppportunity 

forr 

students too 

master appplication 

of course 

material to o solve real-world 

probleems. 

Paage 

2

The 

primary objectives o of f this course e are to: 

1. 

Describe and analyze e concepts in n epidemiolo ogic research 

methodoloogy 

such as: 

exposure aand 

outcome assessment 

a ts in cohort studies; s clas ssification of diseases annd 

exposurees; 

bias identtification 

and minim mizing; 

2. 

Provide in n depth unde erstanding of o epidemiolo ogic screeninng 

and surveeillance 

systtems 

and skkills 

needed to o evaluate and 

identify th he strengths s and limitations 

of epideemiological 

sstudies. 

3. 

Provide students 

the skills to describe 

the role 

of confounnding 

in epiddemiologic 

sstudies 

and tthe 

methods available a to control for confounding. 

c . 

4. 

Demonstr rate and mod del techniqu ues to effectively 

evaluatte 

and commmunicate 

stuudy 

findings to 

various au udiences. 

Syllabus 

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Learnin ng Objectivves: 

(Objectives must be nummbered) 

Paage 

3

The 

course in nstructor will use several 

strategies to t assess sttudent 

comppetency 

and progress: 

1. Exam m: Students will w have two o (2) in-class s examinatioons 

during thhis 

course, a midterm annd 

final. 

2. Quizz zes: Student ts will be give en short (ap pproximately y 15 minutes) 

quizzes onn 

a weekly or 

near- 

weekly 

basis to as ssess under rstanding of course mateerial 

previously 

covered as well as to 

assess 

preparation 

for ma aterial to be covered in the t current leecture. 

3. Home ework: Appr roximately 5-6 

homework 

assessmeents 

will be aassigned 

durring 

the courrse 

to 

permit t an opportu unity for students 

to dem monstrate theeir 

mastery oof 

course maaterial 

and ability 

to 

apply knowledge to solve real-world 

problems. 

Ex Examination n Policy 

All 

examinatio ons are closed 

book, unless 

otherwise 

specifiedd 

by the instrructor. 

Studeents 

may noot 

use any 

ellectronic 

dev vises or leav ve the classr room during the examinaation 

withoutt 

the instructtor’s 

permisssion. 

Students 

who o fail to appe ear for the ex xamination or o other courrse 

grading eevent, 

who ddid 

not receiive 

peermission 

in advance for 

the absenc ce, will only be allowed tto 

retake thee 

examinatioon 

or other ggrading 

evvent 

based on o documen ntation of the e serious and d unanticipaated 

nature oof 

the absence. 

The justification 

mmust 

be acce eptable to the e instructor and a approve ed by the Deepartment 

Chhair. 

MMake-up 

Exa ams 

MMake-up 

exam mination is only o given du ue to extrem me circumstaances, 

or emmergencies. 

SStudents 

aree 

reequired 

to pr rovide appro opriate docum mentation which 

will be determined acceptable by the instruuctor 

BEFORE 

bein ng allowed to 

take any make-up m exa am. 

Syllabus 

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Assessm ment Strateggies: 

(Strategies must be nummbered) 

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4

Thhis 

course meets the following f Ep pidemiology y competenncies. 

Coompetency 

Describe and discuss s the history y and theory of epidemioology 

Identify, describe, d an nd discuss th he public hea alth problemms 

in 

terms of magnitude, person, time e, and place. 

Describe and discuss s strengths and a limitations 

of 

experime ental and obs servational study s design ns. 

Identify and a discuss risk r factors and a their rela ationships too 

health ou utcomes. 

Demonst trate proficie ency in basic c and interme ediate 

epidemio ologic methods 

and princ ciples. 

Demonst trate proficie ency in data analysis and d appropriatee 

interpreta ation of results. 

Syllabus 

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1, 2 

Learninng 

Objectivves 

1, 2, 3 

1, 2, 3, 4 

1, 2, 3, 4 

1, 2, 3, 4 

3, 4 

Asssessment 

Strrategies 

1, 2, 3 

1, 2, 3 

1, 2, 3 

1, 2, 3 

1, 2, 3 

1, 2, 3 

Paage 

5

GGrading 

Scale 

and 

Criteria: 

GGrading 

Policies: 

Syllabus 

Gradin ng Policy 

At the end of the course, c eachh 

student will 

have a WAAS 

(Weighteed 

Averag ge Score), which w is obtaained 

by mulltiplying 

his/hher 

numericc 

score 

(range e 0 –100) on each of graading 

eventss, 

homeworkk 

(5 or 6 asssignments 

contrib bute to a fina al homeworkk 

grade*), mmidterm 

examm 

and final exam by 

its corresponding 

weight w (perccentage) 

acccording 

to Taable 

1, and tthen 

summing 

them up. 

A letter graade 

will thenn 

be determinned 

accordinng 

to the 

Table 2 for a given n WAS. 

Table 1: Percenta age for eachh 

grading eevent 

Grad ding 

event 

Perce entage 

Table 2: Letter gr rade for a ggiven 

WAS 

WAS 

Grade 

95.5 - 

100 

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90.5- 

95.4 

A + A 

Homework 

H 

(A Assignmentss) 

86.5- 

90.4 

15% 

83.5- 

86.4 

A - B + 

779.5- 

883.4 

Quizzess 

Midterrm 

examinaation 

15% 

76.5- 

79.4 

73. .5- 

766.4 

B B - C + C C - 

30% % 440% 

*Note: Homework assignmentts 

will each rreceive 

equaal 

weight. A final 

homew work grade will w be calculated 

from thhe 

average ( (mean) of thhe 

grade 

percen ntages. For example, e if a student recceived 

six homework 

grrades 

– 

90%, 100%, 1 80%, 40%, 100% %, 100% - thee 

final homeework 

grade would be 

85%. The T final hom mework gradde 

will be ussed 

in calculating 

the WAAS, 

and 

will rec ceived a wei ight of 15% as stated in the above table. 

Homework 

Gradi ing Policy 

Homew work will be graded on the 

basis of bboth 

effort aand 

merit. Students 

will rec ceive 50% of 

the possiblle 

points for making a clear 

attempt at each 

problem, 

while the e remaining 550% 

will deppend 

on the correctnesss 

of the 

work. Students S are e encourageed 

to show aall 

work for partial 

credit. Late 

homew work will be accepted, a buut 

may receive 

a penaltyy 

of up to 100% 

per 

day lat te. 

Exam Grading Po olicy 

Exams s are graded d based on thhe 

correctneess 

of the woork. 

Partial ccredit 

may 

be awa arded for calculation-bassed 

problemms, 

thereforee 

students arre 

strongly 

encourage ed to show aall 

work. 

69.5- 

73.4 

66.55- 

69.44 

63.5- 

66.4 

FFinal 

Exammination 

59.5- 

63.4 

D + D 

56.5- 

59.4 

Paage 

6 

< 

56.5 

D - F

AAttendance: 

Permission 

to t Use 

Leectures: 

Innstructor 

Ex xpectations s: Studen nts are expe ected to activvely 

engagee 

in class disscussions 

annd 

skill 

activities 

about assigned 

readings 

and related 

conceppts. 

Studentss 

are 

expect ted to come to class preepared 

in addvance 

for the 

current leccture 

by 

having g read chapt ters from thee 

required teextbook 

as wwell 

as any additional 

articles s or other re eadings that may be possted/distributted. 

Inncomplete 

Policy: P 

An “I” grade g may be b awarded at the discreetion 

of the instructor 

onnly 

when 

the stu udent is othe erwise earninng 

a passingg 

grade and only if the 

incomp plete is due to the omisssion 

or fault of the studeent. 

Studentss 

are 

advise ed to initiate a written conntract 

for inccomplete 

graades. 

The coontract 

should d include a description 

Fiield 

Trip Po olicy: 

Class 

Partici ipation: 

Syllabus 

Studen nts are expe ected to attennd 

classes. Students witth 

planned aabsences 

on day ys of examin nations needd 

to notify thee 

instructor iin 

advance. In case 

of any absence, st tudents are rresponsible 

for any misssed 

materiall 

and/or 

handouts. 

Student ts are also eencouraged 

tto 

take advaantage 

of offfice 

hours 

and an ny review cla asses that mmay 

be offereed 

by the course 

instructor(s). 

See In nstitutional Policies P sectiion 

for Emerrgency 

Preparedness 

for 

Acade emic Continu uity. 

All una authorized re ecordings off 

class are pprohibited. 

Recordings 

thhat 

accom mmodate individual 

studeent 

needs mmust 

be approoved 

in advaance 

and 

may be 

used for personal p usee 

during the ssemester 

onnly; 

redistribuution 

is 

prohib bited. 

of the work w to be completed, c thhe 

date by wwhich 

the woork 

is to submitted 

and sh hould be app proved and ssigned 

by the 

instructor. Until removved, 

the 

“I” is not 

computed d in the gradde 

point averrage. 

If not rremoved 

afteer 

two 

terms (including Summer), 

“I” grade will bee 

converted to “IF” or “IUU” 

(Incom mplete- 

Fail/Un nsatisfactory y). Students do not regisster 

for coursses 

in whichh 

they are 

only co ompleting re equirements to change aan 

“I” grade. If a student wants to 

audit a course for review in ordder 

to compplete 

course requirementts, 

full 

fees must m be paid. . All “I” gradees 

must be rremoved 

beffore 

graduattion. 

(See 

Graduate 

Catalog for further ddetails). 

COPH H policy: 

http://p publichealth. .usf.edu/acaademicaffairss/academic__proceduress.html 

N/A 

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COUR RSE POLICIEES 

Althou ugh faculty will w lecture, it t is strongly eencouraged 

that students 

be 

prepar red prior to each e lecture and ask questions, 

enggage 

in discuussion, 

provide 

their own insights andd 

experiencees 

to supplemment 

coursee 

material. 

Paage 

7

DDATE 

MMeeting 

1 

001/11/11 

MMeeting 

2 

011/18/11 

MMeeting 

3 

011/25/11 

MMeeting 

4 

022/01/11 

MMeeting 

5 

022/08/11 

MMeeting 

6 

022/15/11 

MMeeting 

7 

022/22/11 

MMeeting 

8 

033/01/11 

MMeeting 

9 

033/08/11 

033/15/11 

MMeeting 

10 

033/22/10 

033/26/11 

MMeeting 

11 

033/29/11 

MMeeting 

12 

044/5/11 

MMeeting 

13 

044/12/11 

MMeeting 

14 

044/19/11 

MMeeting 

15 

4/ /26/11 

MMeeting 

16 

055/03/11 

Syllabus 

CLASS TO OPICS/REA ADINGS 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 10: Epidem miologic Issuees…….. 

LECTURE E 2: Measurem ment and Clas ssification of DDisease 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 4: “Under rstanding lack of validity” 

LECTURE E 3: Measurem ment and Clas ssification of EExposure 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 4: “Under rstanding lack oof 

validity” 

LECTURE E 4: Measurin ng Effects I 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 3: “Measu uring Associatiions 

Between EExposures 

and Outcomes” 

LECTURE E 5: Measurin ng Effects II 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 3: “Measu uring Associatiions 

Between EExposures 

and Outcomes” 

LECTURE E 6 : Validity and Reliabilit ty 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 8: “Quali ity Assurance aand 

Control” 

LECTURE E 7: Screening g & Surveillan nce 

READINGS: 

Rothman, Chapter C 22: “Surveillance”; 

RRothman, 

Chaapter 

25: “Screeening” 

MID-TER RM EXAMIN NATION 

LECTURE E 8: Bias I: Overview 

and Information I 

BBias 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 4: “Under rstanding Lack k of Validity: BBias” 

********** ************ *** No Class: : SPRING BRREAK 

******* ************ ************* ** 

LECTURE E 9: Bias II: Selection S Bias in Cohort Stuudies 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 4: “Under rstanding Lackk 

of Validity: BBias” 

********** ********* Las st day to withd draw without t academic pennalty 

******* ************ ** 

LECTURE E 10: Bias III: 

Selection Bia as in Case-Conntrol 

Studies 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 4: “Under rstanding Lack k of Validity: BBias” 

LECTURE E 11: Confoun nding I 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 5: “Identi ifying Noncaussal 

Associationns: 

Confoundinng” 

LECTURE E 12: Confoun nding II 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 5: “Identi ifying Noncaussal 

Associationns: 

Confoundinng” 

LECTURE E 13: Effect Modification 

M 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 6: “Defini ing and Assesssing 

Heterogenneity 

of Effectss: 

Interaction” 

LECTURE E 14: Standar rdization of Ra ates 

READINGS: 

Szklo, Cha apter 7: Stratifi ication and Adj djustment 

FINAL EX XAMINATIO ON 

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Cour rse Calendaar 

LECTURE E 1: Issues of Epidemiologic 

Evidence 

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NN/A 

NN/A 

Syllabus 

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Reference 

Listt 

Additional A Course C Infoormation 

Page 9

INSTITUTIONAL 

POLLICIES 

The most rec cent version of o the Institut tional Policie es informatioon 

can be fouund 

on the Accademic 

Affairrs 

Forms 

page at htt tp://health.us sf.edu/publicchealth/formms.html 

( Fall 2010) 

Student Ha andbook: 

Student Co onduct: 

Disruption of 

Academic 

Process/Ac cademic 

Integrity of f Students: 

Academic 

Dishonesty y/ 

Plagiarism: 

Syllabus 

http://www w.sa.usf.edu u/handbook/ / 

USF Stude ent Rights/Re esponsibilitiess: 

http://wwww.sa.usf.edu/ 

/srr/page.asp?id=81 

USF Stude ent Code of Conduct: C httpp://www.sa.usf.edu/srr/paage.asp?id= 

=88 

Disruption of the acade emic process and violationss 

of the policiies 

regarding 

academic integrity will not n be toleratted. 

Review UUSF 

policies oon 

Disruption of the 

Academic Process and the Academic 

Integrity of f Students at: 

http://gen neralcounsel.usf.edu/reggulations/pdffs/regulationn-usf3.025.pddf 

Plagiarism m will not be to olerated and iis 

grounds for 

failure. Reviiew 

USF Academic 

Dishonest ty and Disrupt tion of Acadeemic 

Process Policy at: 

Undergrad duate: 

http://www w.ugs.usf.ed du/pdf/cat10011/2010-2011DRAFT.ppdf#page=611 

Graduate: 

College C off 




http://www.grad.usf.edu/ 

/inc/linked-filess/USF_Grad__Catalog_20100_2011.pdf#paage=42 

The Unive ersity of South h Florida has an account wwith 

an automated 

plagiarissm 

detection service s (SafeA Assign), whicch 

allows instructors 

and sstudents 

to submit 

student as ssignments to o be checked for plagiarismm. 

I (the instruuctor) 

reservee 

the 

right to 1) request that assignments 

a 

be submittedd 

as electronicc 

files and 2) submit 

students’ assignments 

a 

to SafeAssignn, 

or 3) requeest 

students too 

submit theirr 

assignmen nts to SafeAs ssign through myUSF. Assignments 

aree 

compared 

automatica ally with a dat tabase of journal 

articles, wweb 

articles, the internet aand 

previously y submitted pa apers. The insstructor 

receives 

a report sshowing 

exacctly 

how 

a student’s s paper was plagiarized. 

p 

NOTE: An n institution may m not releasse 

a paper to a plagiarism detection softtware 

without the e student’s pr rior consent uunless 

all perssonally 

identiffiable 

informaation 

has 

been remo oved, such as s a student’s nname, 

social security nummber, 

student number, 

etc.. Note that a paper/ /essay is conssidered 

an edducational 

reccord 

and an innstitution 

may not as sk a student to t waive theirr 

rights under FERPA for thhe 

purpose of 

submitting g papers to a plagiarism deetection 

softwware. 

For more information i about 

Plagiarissm 

and SafeAAssign, 

visit: 

Plagiarism m tutorial: http p://www.cte.uusf.edu/plaggiarism/plag. 

html 

SafeAssig gnl: 

http://med dia.c21te.us sf.edu/pdf/stuudent/bbstudd_subsafeasssgn.pdf 

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10

Cheating Statement: 

S 

Undergradu uate 

Academic Policies P 

and Proced dures: 

Special 

Accommod dations: 

Holidays an nd 

Religious 

Observances: 

Emergency y 

Preparedne ess: 

Student Gr rievance 

Procedure: : 

Syllabus 

The USF College C of Pu ublic Health exxpects 

studennts 

to maintaiin 

academic hhonesty 

in all cours ses. By virtue e of being registered 

in an public health course, studeents 

agree to re efrain from ch heating. If cheeating 

in any fform 

(academmic 

dishonesty) 

is 

detected, appropriate a action a will be ttaken. 

(Refer to USF Acaddemic 

Dishonesty 

Policy). 



Graduate: 

http://www w.grad.usf.e edu/inc/linked- 

files/USF_Grad_Cata 

alog_2010_22011.pdf#paage=42 


Students in 

need of aca ademic accommmodations 

ffor 

a disabilityy 

may consultt 

with the 

office of Services 

for St tudents with DDisabilities 

to arrange apprropriate 

accommod dations. Students 

are requuired 

to give rreasonable 

nootice 

(typicallyy 

5 

working da ays) prior to requesting r an accommodaation. 

Students with w Disabilitie es Services: hhttp://www.ssds.usf.edu/ 

Students: http://www.s sds.usf.edu/ /students.asp 

Faculty: ht ttp://www.sd ds.usf.edu/faaculty.asp 

http://gen neralcounsel.usf.edu/policies-and-prrocedures/pddfs/policy-100 

045.pdf 

In the event 

of an emer rgency, it mayy 

be necessary 

for USF to suspend norrmal 

operations s. During this s time, USF mmay 

opt to conntinue 

deliveryy 

of instructioon 

through methods m that in nclude but aree 

not limited tto: 

Blackboard, 

Elluminatee, 

Skype, 

and email messaging and/or a an alternate 

scheduule. 

It’s the ressponsibility 

off 

the 

student to monitor Blac ckboard site foor 

each class for course sppecific 

communic cation, and the e main USF, College, and department wwebsites, 

emails, 

and 

MoBull me essages for im mportant geneeral 

informatioon. 

Review US SF Academic c Grievance PPolicy 

at: 

http://gen neralcounsel.usf.edu/policies-and-prrocedures/pddfs/policy-100- 

002.pdf 



Graduate 

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http://www w.grad.usf.e edu/inc/linked- 

files/USF_Grad_Cata 

alog_2010_22011.pdf#paage=50 

Student as ssistance is provided p by DDivision 

of Student 

Affairs, OOffice 

of the SStudent 

Ombudsm man. http://ww ww.sa.usf.eddu/ombudsmman 

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Library Res sources: 

Creating Ci itations & 

Using Refw works: 

Netiquette 

(online communication 

etiquette for r online 

courses): 

Plagiarism 

Assign: 

USF Email Accounts: 

Blackboard d Tutorials: 

Elluminate Live 

Tutorials: 

(for online courses) c 

Syllabus 

& Safe 

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RESOURCE 

R ES FOR STUUDENTS 

USF Libr rary Resource es and Servicces: 

http://wwww.lib.usf.eddu/ 

Shimberg g Health Scie ences Library: : http://healthh.usf.edu/libbrary/ 

Shimberg g Health Scie ences Library Tutorials: htttp://library.hssc.usf.edu/ 

(ffollow 

links under 

‘Instruction nal Services’ section) 

http://gu uides.lib.usf.e edu/CitingSoources 

http://eta a.health.usf. edu/publichealth/standaards/syllabuss/Online_Neetiquette 

.pdf 

See Acad demic Dishon nesty/Plagiarissm 

Section 

http://he ealth.usf.edu/publichealthh/eta/pdf/MyyUSF_Emaill.pdf 

http://me edia.c21te.usf.edu/bbstuudents.html 

http://me edia.c21te.usf.edu/ellumminatestudennts.html 

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Epidemiology Methods I - USF Health

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