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Unit Summary

Unit type

UG Coursework Unit

Credit points

12

AQF level

7

Level of learning

Advanced

Former School/College

Former School of Health and Human Sciences

Pre-requisites

MAT00330 - Research and Analysis in Health OR MWF10663 - Research and Evidence Based Practice OR MAT71004 - Introduction to Evidence for Health Science Practitioners

Unit aim

Introduces the science of population health and disease. Students will study the principles, methods and application of epidemiology in the identification, control and prevention of disease in the community.

Unit content

  • General principles in epidemiology
  • Measuring health
  • Descriptive epidemiology
  • Association and causality
  • Analytic epidemiology
  • Biostatistics
  • Epidemiology and health policy
  • Screening and prevention of chronic disease
  • Communicable disease and epidemics
  • Determinants of health

Learning outcomes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

GA1: Intellectual rigour, GA2: Creativity, GA3: Ethical practice, GA4: Knowledge of a discipline, GA5: Lifelong learning, GA6: Communication and social skills, GA7: Cultural competence
On completion of this unit, students should be able to: GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 evaluate the current health status of Australians in the context of population health history Knowledge of a discipline
2 explain the role of epidemiology in the determination of causation in communicable and non-communicable disease, and the relevance of environmental, social and cultural determinants of health Knowledge of a discipline Cultural competence
3 perform basic methods of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis Intellectual rigour
4 source scientific literature related to common questions on health and disease and critically evaluate different types of epidemiological studies Intellectual rigour Lifelong learning
5 evaluate the approaches to disease surveillance and the underlying strategies for disease prevention Intellectual rigour
6 critically review the principles required to investigate outbreaks and conduct screening to detect early disease Intellectual rigour

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. evaluate the current health status of Australians in the context of population health history
    • GA4: Knowledge of a discipline
  2. explain the role of epidemiology in the determination of causation in communicable and non-communicable disease, and the relevance of environmental, social and cultural determinants of health
    • GA4: Knowledge of a discipline
    • GA7: Cultural competence
  3. perform basic methods of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis
    • GA1: Intellectual rigour
  4. source scientific literature related to common questions on health and disease and critically evaluate different types of epidemiological studies
    • GA1: Intellectual rigour
    • GA5: Lifelong learning
  5. evaluate the approaches to disease surveillance and the underlying strategies for disease prevention
    • GA1: Intellectual rigour
  6. critically review the principles required to investigate outbreaks and conduct screening to detect early disease
    • GA1: Intellectual rigour