91009 - Elements of Epidemiology

Learning outcomes

At the end of the module the student knows: - the contents of epidemiological studies: data sources, frequency and risk measures; - the epidemiology and general prevention of infectious diseases; - the epidemiology of chronic-degenerative diseases.

Course contents

The course introduces the fundamental principles of epidemiology and their application to the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related events in populations, with particular reference to public health applications.

The following topics will be covered:

• Introduction to epidemiology and epidemiological thinking. Epidemiology and public health. Sources of epidemiological data.

• Measures of disease occurrence: prevalence, cumulative incidence and incidence rate. Ratios, proportions and rates.

• Measures of association between exposure and outcome: relative risk, odds ratio and other effect measures.

• Measures of impact and attribution: risk difference, attributable fraction among the exposed and attributable fraction in the population.

• Validity and precision in epidemiological studies. Random and systematic error.

• Main sources of bias: selection bias and information bias. Sensitivity and specificity of measurements.

• Confounding and general principles for its control.

• Main epidemiological study designs: ecological, cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies.

• Experimental studies and randomized controlled trials.

• Association and causation in epidemiology. Causal models and criteria for assessing causal relationships.

• Principles of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

• Application of epidemiological principles to the study and prevention of communicable and chronic non-communicable diseases.

Readings/Bibliography

Celentano D. Gordis Epidemiology. 7th Edition. Elsevier, 2024. ISBN: 9780323877751541.

Rothman KJ. Epidemiology: An Introduction. 3rd Edition. Oxford University Press, 2024. ISBN: 9780323877756.

Teaching materials presented during the lectures and additional learning resources will be made available to students through the Virtuale platform.

Teaching methods

The course consists of lectures supported by presentations and complemented by examples, exercises and discussion of epidemiological cases.

Particular attention will be devoted to the practical application of the main epidemiological measures, the interpretation of study results and the critical appraisal of scientific literature.

Active participation of students in the discussion of examples and epidemiological problems will be encouraged in order to promote the development of epidemiological reasoning.

Assessment methods

Learning outcomes will be assessed through a written examination designed to evaluate both knowledge of the fundamental principles of epidemiology and the student's ability to apply and interpret them.

The examination may include multiple-choice questions, true/false questions and/or short-answer questions covering the topics addressed during the course, including simple applications of the main epidemiological measures.

Assessment will take into account the accuracy of the answers, understanding of epidemiological concepts and the ability to correctly interpret epidemiological measures, study designs and results.

The final grade of the integrated course is determined according to the assessment procedures established for MICROBIOLOGY AND PUBLIC HEALTH, ELEMENTS OF EPIDEMIOLOGY (I.C.).

Teaching tools

Lectures will be supported by presentations and teaching materials made available through the University of Bologna Virtuale platform.

Scientific articles, examples from the epidemiological literature, exercises and supplementary materials may also be used to facilitate the understanding and application of the concepts covered during the course.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro De Vita