Learning Outcomes
After completing this module, the student will be able to:
- Describe the general steps involved in identifying and addressing public health problems.
- Describe and give examples of the role of surveillance systems in public health.
- Explain what is meant by the term “notifiable disease” (or “reportable disease”).
- Describe the breadth of modern public health surveillance systems and give specific examples
- Define “syndromic surveillance” and explain how syndromic surveillance can be advantageous over regular surveillance.
- Explain how the characteristics of person, place, & time are used to formulate hypotheses in acute disease outbreaks and in studies of chronic diseases.
- Distinguish among case reports, case series, cross-sectional surveys, and ecological studies and explain their importance.
- Explain the concept of ecologic fallacy.
- Describe the difference between descriptive and analytic epidemiologic studies.
- Define and explain the distinguishing features of a cohort study and distinguish between retrospective and prospective cohort studies.
- Define and explain the distinguishing features of a case-control study.
- Explain the distinguishing features of an intervention study (clinical trial).
- List and define the three major threats to validity in analytical studies.
- Describe the contributions and quantitative and qualitative research to public health.
Developed by Wayne W. LaMorte, MD, PhD, MPH, Assistant Dean for Education, Boston University School of Public Health.