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Credits: 3
This course will provide students with an overview of surveillance systems as well as the issues involved in the design and execution of epidemiological surveys. At the end of the course, participants will be able to: describe the history of surveillance, the principles of public health surveillance, identify data sources for interpretation of surveillance data, describe the steps required to evaluate a surveillance system, and describe legal and ethical aspects of public health surveillance. Students will also be exposed to the structure of the following surveillance system: national and international reportable disease surveillance systems; surveillance systems designed to detect chronic disease and diseases related to behaviors and risk factors; surveillance for injuries; and infectious diseases of major public health interest. Syndromic surveillance, surveillance for environmental exposures, surveillance for veterinary diseases of public health interest, as well as surveillance for medical products will be described. Students will be able to describe the essential steps of survey design; calculate the reliability and validity of a survey instrument; describe the advantages and disadvantages of various survey administration methods; and discuss analysis of survey data.
Prerequisites: Introduction to Epidemiology and Introduction to Biostatistics