Overview
This unit introduces the essential knowledge required for your career in the health sector. It introduces epidemiological and statistical principles, concepts, and skills that form the foundation of public health and evidence-based practice. Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states/events in specified populations, and the application of study findings in the prevention and control of health problems in the community. It addresses the 5Ws: What (health states/events), Who (people), Where (places), When (time), and Why/How (causes, risk factors, and modes of disease transmission) of health-related states (not just diseases!) in populations. The unit provides an introduction to the analysis and interpretation of numerical data for epidemiological study and reporting. You will also learn essential statistical concepts and methods to estimate the magnitude of disease risk in the community, which forms the basis for public health research, practice, and decision-making processes. This unit will focus on ethical principles used to maintain and protect the Data Sovereignty of First Nations People and other health research populations. In this unit, you will be introduced to knowledge translation frameworks and consider their utility and guidance for effective dissemination of epidemiological findings, disease prevention, control, and improvement in health outcomes in the population.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from SUTE
Both positive and negative feedback was given regarding content to real-world applications.
Continue to embed activities related to the topic to encourage application of theoretical learning, with a focus on current relevant issues in epidemiology.
Feedback from SUTE
Positive feedback related to lecturer passion for the discipline and challenging students to think and question.
Continue to foster a learning culture of enquiry.
Feedback from Unit Coordinator
There were a high proportion of reported academic integrity cases.
Review current Assessment structure.
- Demonstrate a foundation level knowledge of epidemiology and statistics, and their application in public health
- Apply epidemiological methods and measures to identify and document the occurrence and patterns of disease in a public health context, and their relationship with determinants of health
- Recognise the differences between social and traditional epidemiology, and between endemic, epidemic, and pandemic diseases, relating them to population and environmental factors
- Apply statistical methods, including descriptive and inferential statistics, in the analysis of epidemiological data
- Critically appraise and interpret epidemiological studies, including study methods, analyses, outcomes, and their relevance to public health practice
- Apply ethical principles in population health research related to Indigenous Data Sovereignty that reflects the rights and responsiveness of First Nations People when using, collecting, analysing, presenting, and interpreting epidemiological data
Not applicable
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | ||||||
| 2 - Communication | ||||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||||
| 4 - Research | ||||||
| 5 - Self-management | ||||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||||
| 7 - Leadership | ||||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||||
Textbooks
Essential epidemiology: an introduction for students and health professionals
Edition: 4th (2020)
Authors: Penelope Webb, Chris Bain and Andrew Page
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge Cambridge , United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781108935487
VLeBook and hardcopy of this book (Essential epidemiology: an introduction for students and health professionals) is available at the CQU library.
https://cqu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991002023173903441&context=L&vid=61CQU_INST:61CQU&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&tab=Everything&lang=en
VLeBook and hardcopy of this book (Essential epidemiology: an introduction for students and health professionals) is available at the CQU library.
https://cqu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991002023173903441&context=L&vid=61CQU_INST:61CQU&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&tab=Everything&lang=en
Statistics translated: a step-by-step guide to analyzing and interpreting data
Edition: 2nd (2021)
Authors: Steven R. Terrell
The Guilford Press
New York New York , United States of America
ISBN: 1-4625-4543-2; 1-4625-4541-6
The eBook of Statistics Translated: A Step-by-Step Guide to Analyzing and Interpreting Data is available at the CQU Library.
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cqu/detail.action?docID=6462082&pq-origsite=primo
The eBook of Statistics Translated: A Step-by-Step Guide to Analyzing and Interpreting Data is available at the CQU Library.
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cqu/detail.action?docID=6462082&pq-origsite=primo
Additional Textbook Information
eBooks of the prescribed texts are available at the CQU Library.
Prescribed textbooks, along with recommended supplementary materials and readings, are all accessible electronically via the Moodle e-Reading list.
The SPSS statistical program will be available on the campus lab computers.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Word processing and Spreadsheet applications
- SPSS 29.0
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
ekramul.hoque@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction to epidemiology
- Welcome
- Structure of Unit PBHL20003 (Epidemiology & Statistics)
- Introduction to concept of epidemiology
- Historical perspectives of epidemiology
- Purpose and application of epidemiology
- Social epidemiology
Chapter
See weekly learning activities and e-Reading list in Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
In addition to weekly lectures and resources, tutorials provide the opportunity to complete individual and group activities; and build your skills and knowledge base related to Unit content.
Module/Topic
Measures of disease frequency in epidemiology
- Incidence and prevalence
- Measures of morbidity
- Measures of mortality
- Data standardisation
- Measures of association
Chapter
See weekly learning activities and e-Reading list in Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
In addition to weekly lectures and resources, tutorials provide the opportunity to complete individual and group activities; and build your skills and knowledge base related to Unit content.
Module/Topic
Epidemiological study designs I: descriptive and analytic study design and measurements
- Case study and case series
- Ecological study
- Cross sectional and longitudinal studies
- Cohort and case-control studies
- Attributable risk and population attributable risks
- Experimental study: RCT
- Years of (potential) life lost
Chapter
See weekly learning activities and e-Reading list in Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
In addition to weekly lectures and resources, tutorials provide the opportunity to complete individual and group activities; and build your skills and knowledge base related to Unit content.
Module/Topic
- Understand aspects of screening and diagnostic tests
- Requirements for a screening program
- Validity and reliability of screening and diagnostic tests
- Compare measures of validity of tests, including sensitivity and specificity
- Introduce positive and negative predictive values
- Discuss potential biases and ways to avoid bias in evaluation of tests and treatments
Chapter
See weekly learning activities and e-Reading list in Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
In addition to weekly lectures and resources, tutorials provide the opportunity to complete individual and group activities; and build your skills and knowledge base related to Unit content.
Module/Topic
Sampling methods and data collection
- Learn the reasons for sampling
- Develop understanding about different sampling methods
- Distinguish probability and nonprobability sampling
- Discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of sampling methods
- Discuss the procedures of data collection
Chapter
See weekly learning activities and e-Reading list in Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
In addition to weekly lectures and resources, tutorials provide the opportunity to complete individual and group activities; and build your skills and knowledge base related to Unit content.
Module/Topic
No classes
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Validity, reliability and biases in data
- Understand concept and types of bias
- Influence of bias on estimation in epidemiological studies
- Identify methods to prevent bias
- How to deal with bias
- Understand the need to keep a critical mind
Chapter
See weekly learning activities and e-Reading list in Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
In addition to weekly lectures and resources, tutorials provide the opportunity to complete individual and group activities; and build your skills and knowledge base related to Unit content.
Module/Topic
Infectious disease epidemiology: concepts of disease transmission
- Concept of disease occurrence by pathogen types
- Modes and infection transmission cycles
- Epidemiological characteristics of infectious diseases
- Natural history of disease propagation
- Stages of infectious disease occurrence and prevention
- Concept of epidemiological triad/triangle
- Epidemic pattern and factors influencing occurrence of infectious diseases
Chapter
See weekly learning activities and e-Reading list in Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
In addition to weekly lectures and resources, tutorials provide the opportunity to complete individual and group activities; and build your skills and knowledge base related to Unit content.
Module/Topic
Introduction to (bio)statistics
- Basic concepts of (bio)statistics
- Understanding of variable types
- Frequency distribution of data
- Measures of data distribution and data dispersion
- z-score distribution and its use in health care determination
- Understanding of correlation between variables
Chapter
See weekly learning activities and e-Reading list in Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
In addition to weekly lectures and resources, tutorials provide the opportunity to complete individual and group activities; and build your skills and knowledge base related to Unit content.
Short Answer Questions on epidemiological concepts Due: Week 8 Friday (9 May 2025) 6:00 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Inferential statistics: Probability and hypothesis testing
- Understand concepts probability and normal curve model
- Understand confidence interval and hypotheses testing
- Appreciate different types of parametric tests
- Appreciate different types of non-parametric tests
- Know how to select an appropriate statistical test
Chapter
See weekly learning activities and e-Reading list in Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
In addition to weekly lectures and resources, tutorials provide the opportunity to complete individual and group activities; and build your skills and knowledge base related to Unit content.
Module/Topic
Analysis of statistical data using SPSS
- Create an SPSS data file
- Statistical data file preparation
- Data manipulation
- Analysis of descriptive data
- Creating graph
- Correlation analyses
- Non-parametric statistical tests
- Parametric statistical tests
Chapter
See weekly weekly learning activities and e-Reading list in Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
In addition to weekly lectures and resources, tutorials provide the opportunity to complete individual and group activities; and build your skills and knowledge base related to Unit content.
Module/Topic
Critical appraisal in epidemiology: an evidence-based practice
- Understand the principles of critical appraisal and why to undertake a critical review of research paper
- Learn to appraise published literature and judge its reliability
- Understand the difference between a ‘simple’ association and a ‘causal’ association of disease
- Know about Hill’s “causality criteria”
- Understand the relevance of published research literatures to public health practice or work
Chapter
See weekly learning activities and e-Reading list in Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
In addition to weekly lectures and resources, tutorials provide the opportunity to complete individual and group activities; and build your skills and knowledge base related to Unit content.
Module/Topic
Ethics in health research
- Define ethics
- Understand historical context of ethical practice
- Appreciate the importance of informed consent
- Understand the underlying ethical principles/theories
- Understand the application and practical relevance of principles of biomedical ethics in health research
Chapter
See weekly learning activities and e-Reading list in Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
In addition to weekly lectures and resources, tutorials provide the opportunity to complete individual and group activities; and build your skills and knowledge base related to Unit content.
Critical appraisal of epidemiological research article Due: Week 12 Friday (6 June 2025) 6:00 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
This unit is offered at Melbourne, Sydney and online:
Lecturer at Melbourne and online:
- Dr Ekramul Hoque (ekramul.hoque@cqu.edu.au) - Unit Coordinator
Lecturers at Sydney:
- Dr Pinika Patel (p.n.patel@cqu.edu.au)
- Dr Lal Rawal (l.rawal@cqu.edu.au
Any inquiry about this unit, kindly, refer to your campus Lecturer or Unit Coordinator
Holiday replacement classes
- Holiday replacement class arrangements will be announced on the unit Moodle site
1 Written Assessment
Assessment Overview
This individual assessment is designed to evaluate your understanding of key concepts used in epidemiological investigation and their application in public health. It will assess your ability to distinguish different measures of disease frequency, their association with determinant factors, data sampling and validity, and their interpretation and application in real-world public health scenarios.
Assessment Format & Structure
- The assessment will contain short - questions with blank spaces underneath each question to allow you to answer the questions.
- It will consist of 5 short-answer questions, requiring critical thinking, data interpretation, and application of epidemiological concepts.
- The total marks available for this assessment are 50 marks.
- The assessment will be available from Friday (2 May 2025) of Week 7 and is due on Friday (9 May 2025) of Week 8 at 6:00 pm.
Scope of Assessment
The assessment covers content from Weeks 1 to 7, focusing on fundamental epidemiological principles, including:
- Epidemiological Measures: Understanding measures of frequency, including cumulative incidence, incidence rate, and prevalence (point and period), as well as mortality, morbidity and case fatality rates, and data standardisation.
- Measures of Association: Exploring the relationship between exposure factors and outcomes to calculated risk/rate ratios, odds ratios, impacts of association, and the interpretations of the measures.
- Epidemiological study designs: Characterise different types of quantitative study designs both descriptive and analytical and their measures or associations.
- Population data distribution, presentation and analysis: Distribution of data into exposure and outcome groups, conduct appropriate data analysis, explain effects, and interpret the findings.
- Sampling process and data validity: Identify the sampling strategy, procedures and assess data validity and representativeness and generalisability of the study data.
Preparation & Study Recommendations
To ensure you are well-prepared:
- Engage with Weekly Content: Review lecture and tutorial materials, readings, and discussions from Weeks 1–7.
- Review Quizzes & Activities: Revisit quizzes and learning activities from previous weeks to reinforce key concepts.
- Seek Clarification: If you have any questions, reach out to your lecturer or engage in discussion forums.
Week 8 Friday (9 May 2025) 6:00 pm AEST
Assessment window will open on 2 May (Friday) 12:00 PM and will close on 9 May (Friday) 2025 at 6:00 PM
Week 10 Friday (23 May 2025)
- Marks will be allocated according to weight of the short questions and their component questions.
- A set of requirements by the question types will be created which will be used to assess the quality of the response to the questions and allocation of grades on the assessment task.
- Assessment marking criteria will be available on the unit Moodle site with the distribution of marks per questions.
- Late penalty may apply for late submission of the assessment.
Please refer to the Generative AI Permission document available on your Moodle site for guidelines on the acceptable and unacceptable use of generative AI in this unit.
- Demonstrate a foundation level knowledge of epidemiology and statistics, and their application in public health
- Apply epidemiological methods and measures to identify and document the occurrence and patterns of disease in a public health context, and their relationship with determinants of health
- Recognise the differences between social and traditional epidemiology, and between endemic, epidemic, and pandemic diseases, relating them to population and environmental factors
2 Written Assessment
Assessment Overview
For Assessment task two, you will be provided with a peer-reviewed research article and are required to conduct a systematic and objective critical appraisal to evaluate its trustworthiness, relevance, and findings. This task requires a strong understanding of epidemiological and statistical concepts covered throughout the unit.
This assessment is designed to develop students’ ability to critically evaluate epidemiological research and apply key public health principles in a structured and evidence-based manner. This assignment will require student to focus on all the topics and activities covered throughout this Term.
To support the appraisal process, students will be given a validated critical appraisal checklist (tool) to systematically extract and assess key information from the article. Based on this analysis, students will then construct a critical appraisal report that synthesises their findings.
Each student will select one article out of four available articles for the critical review.
Assessment components: students must submit both the files:
- The completed critical appraisal checklist (graded but excluded from the word count).
- A 1,500-word critical appraisal report (graded but the title, abstract and reference list of report are excluded from the word count): A detailed assessment instruction sheet outlining the requirements of the report will be available on the unit's Moodle site.
Week 12 Friday (6 June 2025) 6:00 pm AEST
Students are permitted to submit the assessment up to two weeks before the deadline.(23 May 2025, 12:00 PM)
Exam Week Friday (20 June 2025)
Critical appraisal checklists: 20%
Critical appraisal Report: 80% marks
Assessment marking criteria will be available on the unit Moodle site.
Please refer to the Generative AI Permission document available on your Moodle site for guidelines on the acceptable and unacceptable use of generative AI in this unit.
- Demonstrate a foundation level knowledge of epidemiology and statistics, and their application in public health
- Apply epidemiological methods and measures to identify and document the occurrence and patterns of disease in a public health context, and their relationship with determinants of health
- Recognise the differences between social and traditional epidemiology, and between endemic, epidemic, and pandemic diseases, relating them to population and environmental factors
- Apply statistical methods, including descriptive and inferential statistics, in the analysis of epidemiological data
- Critically appraise and interpret epidemiological studies, including study methods, analyses, outcomes, and their relevance to public health practice
- Apply ethical principles in population health research related to Indigenous Data Sovereignty that reflects the rights and responsiveness of First Nations People when using, collecting, analysing, presenting, and interpreting epidemiological data
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
