Syllabus

Schedule

Course Calendar

• Wednesday – Wednesday 
• Week 1: Oct 20 – Oct 27
• Week 2: Oct 27 – Nov 3
• Week 3: Nov 3 – Nov 10
• Week 4: Nov 10 – Nov 17
• Week 5: Nov 17 – Nov 24
• Week 6: Nov 24 – Dec 1
• Week 7: Dec 1 – Dec 8
• Week 8: Dec 8 – Dec 12 (Sunday)

Week 1: General Principles of Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Weekly Outcomes

• Describe the history of infectious disease epidemiology
• Describe the biological characteristics of infectious disease organisms
• Discuss the natural history of infectious diseases
• Explain disease transmission using the epidemiological triangle

Readings

• Textbook: Chapter 2 – Epidemiology of Infectious Disease: General Principles
• Centers for Disease Control. Achievements in public health, 1900-1999: control of infectious diseases. MMWR. 1999;48(29):621-629.

Videos

• Week 1 Lecture Part 1 – Infectious Disease Epidemiology Course Overview
• Week 1 Lecture Part 2 – History and Overview of Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Assignments

• Introduction Discussion 
• Week 1 Discussion – Infectious Disease of Interest 

Week 2: Completing an Outbreak Investigation

Weekly Outcomes

• Apply critical thinking skills to a real-life public health issue.
• Describe the steps for completing an outbreak.
• Establish a case definition based on person, place, and time.

Readings

• Textbook: Chapter 5 – Outbreak Epidemiology
• Centers for Disease Control. Outbreak Investigation: Section 6.

Videos

• Week 2 Lecture: Outbreak Investigation

Assignments

• Week 2 Discussion – Case Definition
• Week 2 Assignment – Outbreak Simulations

Week 3: Surveillance

Weekly Outcomes

• Assess the prevalence of STIs in their states using a CDC website.
• Interpret morbidity and mortality rates.
• Communicate surveillance data with a lay audience.

Readings

• Textbook: Chapter 24 (pages 800-807): ‘Epidemiology and Behavior’ till the end of the chapter.
• Surveillance: About Notifiable Infectious Diseases & Conditions Data
• McCrorie AD, Donnelly C, McGlade KJ. Infographics: healthcare communication for the digital age. Ulster Med J 2016;85(2):71-75.
• Scott H, Fawkner S, Oliver CW, Murray A. How to make an engaging infographic? Br. J. Sports Med. 2016;0(0):1-2.
• Health equity: CSC STD Health Equity

Videos

• Week 3 Lecture: Sexually Transmitted Infections and the Use of Surveillance Data

Assignments

• Week 3 Discussion: STIs and Health Equity
  
• Week 3 Quiz

Week 4: Study Design: Case Control and Cohort Studies

Weekly Outcomes

• Apply foundational knowledge on study designs
• State research questions related to the cause, prevention, or control of infectious disease
• Select the appropriate study design to answer research questions
• Design a data collection tool for an infectious disease outbreak investigation

Readings

• Textbook: Chapter 3 – Study Design
• Textbook: Chapter 5 – Collecting Risk Information
• Wu YC, Chen CS, Chan YJ. The outbreak of COVID-19: an overview. J Chin Med Assoc 2020;83:217-220.
• Developing strong research questions
• Finding and creating surveys/questionnaires

Videos

• Week 4 Lecture 1: Study Design
• Week 4 Lecture 2: Questionnaire Design

Assignments

• Week 4 Discussion – Questionnaire Design

Week 5: Levels of Disease Prevention

Weekly Outcomes

• Apply knowledge related to different levels of disease prevention
• Evaluate the use of a technological app in the prevention of disease

Readings

• Textbook: Chapter 27 – Malaria
• World Health Organization. World Malaria Report 2019. https://www.who.int/malaria/. Published 2019.
• Lee M, Lee H, Kim Y, Kim J, Cho M, Jang J, Jang H. Mobile app-based health promotion programs: a systematic review of the literature. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2018; 15(12):2838. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122838
• Salabarría-Peña Y, Apt BS, Walsh CM. Practical use of program evaluation among sexually transmitted disease (STD) programs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Published 2007.

Videos

• Week 5 Lecture: Evaluating the Use of Technology in Disease Prevention

Assignments

• Week 5 Discussion – The Use of Technology in Malaria Prevention
• Assignment – Journal Article Summaries

Week 6: Study Design: Experimental Studies

Weekly Outcomes

• Apply foundational knowledge on experimental study designs
• Explain the application of health equity principles to a real-life public health issue
• Apply critical thinking skills related to One Health

Readings

• Textbook: Chapter 11 – Vaccines: Past, Present, and Future
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One Health.
• Le TK, Cha L, Han HR, Tseng W. Anti-Asian xenophobia and Asian American COVID-19 disparities. AJPH. 2020;110(9):1371-1373.

Videos

• Week 6 Lecture 1: Experimental Studies and Health Equity
• Week 6 Lecture 2: One Health

Assignments

• Week 6 Discussion –  Infectious Disease and Health Equity
• Week 6 Quiz

Week 7: Outbreak Investigation Plan

Weekly Outcomes

• Apply concepts covered in earlier weeks of the course including case definition, generating a hypothesis, survey design, and communication.

Readings

• CDC Section 6: Investigating an Outbreak
• It is also a good idea to reach out to the Student Academic Success Center for writing help.

Videos

• Week 7 Lecture: Writing the Outbreak Investigation Plan

Assignments

• Final Project -Outbreak Investigation Plan

Week 8: Healthcare Associated Infections

Weekly Outcomes

• Apply knowledge of disease transmission principles to prevention and control practices
• Describe disease prevention and control practices for healthcare-associated infections

Readings

• Textbook: Chapter 14 – Healthcare-Associated Infections
• Haque M, Sartelli M, McKimm J, and Abu Bakar M. Health care-associated infections – an overview. Infect Drug Resist. 2018;11 2321-2333.

Videos

• Week 8 Lecture: Healthcare-Associated Infections

Assignments

• Week 8 Discussion – HAIs Scenario

Student Resources

Online Student Support

Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.

Questions? Visit the Student Support Public Health page

UNE Libraries:

• Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Blackboard/Brightspace.
• Public Health Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/public-health/
• Library Tutorial: Find an article
• Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.

UNE Student Academic Success Center

UNE's Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of free online services to support your academic achievement. Writing support, ESOL support, study strategy and learning style consultations, as well as downloadable resources, are available to all matriculating students. The SASC also offers tutoring for GPH 712 Epidemiology, GPH 716 Biostatistics, GPH 717 Applied Epidemiology, GPH 718 Biostatistics II, and GPH 719 Research Methods. To make an appointment for any of these services, go to une.tutortrac.com. For more information and to view and download writing and studying resources, please visit:

• UNE Student Academic Success Center

Information Technology Services (ITS)

• ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673

Accommodations

Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.

Policies

AMA Writing Style Statement

The American Medical Association Manual (AMA) of Style, 11th edition is the required writing format for this course. Additional support for academic writing and AMA format is provided throughout the coursework as well as at the UNE Portal for Online Students.

Online resources: AMA Style Guide

Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool

The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.

Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.

You can learn more about Turnitin in the Turnitin Student quick start guide.

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements

Course Evaluation Policy

Course surveys are one of the most important tools that University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.

Late Policy

Students are responsible for submitting work by the date indicated in Brightspace.

Quizzes and Tests: Quizzes and tests must be completed by the due date. They will not be accepted after the due date.

Assignments: Unless otherwise specified, assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.

Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.

Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.

Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit https://www.une.edu/studentlife/plagiarism.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
4. Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations.  Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final.  Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.