units

MPH5040

Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

print version

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

Monash University

6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Postgraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Organisational Unit

Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine

Coordinator(s)

Associate Professor Dianna Magliano

Quota applies

This unit is quota restricted. Selection is on a first-in, first enrolled basis.

Offered

Alfred Hospital

Synopsis

To be taken concurrently with MPH5041 together they are prerequisites for clinical epidemiology elective units. Contents: rates, sources of data, descriptive & analytical epidemiology, epidemiological study designs, critical appraisal of literature, screening, prevention, exposure assessment, outbreak investigation, confounding & bias.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. explain and contextualise the purposes of descriptive and analytical epidemiology;
  2. explain and contextualise the concepts of study questions, population, sampling, exposure assessment, bias and confounding;
  3. analyse the strengths and weaknesses of different epidemiological study designs;
  4. critically analyse epidemiological papers from the medical research and OHS literature;
  5. evaluate the adequacy of exposure assessment in epidemiological studies;
  6. interpret and communicate the results of epidemiological studies; and
  7. solve complex problems relating to the use of epidemiological concepts and study designs.

Assessment

Examination (MCQ/SAQ) (2.5 hours) (45%)
Written assignment (15%)
Test (MCQ) (45 minutes) (25%)
Written task (500 words) (5%)
Online quiz (SAQ) (1 hour) (5%)
Participation (5%)

Workload requirements

2 contact hours per week for on-campus students.

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

Off-campus attendance requirements

2 day compulsory on-campus block for off-campus students.

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Co-requisites

MPH5041, except for students enrolled in courses 3896 (Perioperative stream), 2312 or 0160.

Additional information on this unit is available from the faculty at: