Study Designs for Epidemiologists

EPI 525 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

This course reviews the main study designs currently used to describe, predict, and investigate the causes of adverse health outcomes in humans. We will examine general principles, interpretation, strengths, and limitations of the study designs that are commonly used for population research. The course covers ecological, cross-sectional, cohort, case-control, and case-only designs in a number of different settings. Issues related to study population identification, exposure and disease definition and ascertainment, misclassification, confounding, and generalizability are considered in the light of typically available data sources. Idiosyncrasies of several fields, from infectious disease to occupational epidemiology, and their relevance to the selection of an optimal study design are discussed. This course fulfills a core course requirement for the MPH in Epidemiology.