ADVANCED EPIDEMIOLOGY: CAUSAL INFERENCE IN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES

NUTRSCI 379

Provides undergraduate students of all disciplines with an introduction to the field of epidemiology. As the "detectives of public health," epidemiologists investigate the causes of disease, track outbreaks, screen and monitor the health of populations, and design studies to track health over time. Epidemiological research is used to identify groups at-risk for disease, guide public health programs and policies and generate hypotheses about the causes of diseases which can inform further research. Also examines association and causality, study design, and limitations to epidemiological evidence, drawing from real examples, both current and historical.

PUBAFFR 281

Introduces the key conceptual and methodological tools used in public program evaluation, with an emphasis on understanding the forces that shape health and disease as well as various policy solutions. Introduces the Potential Outcomes Framework, also known as the Rubin Causal Model. Establishes the distinction between causation from correlation using counterfactual thinking. Explores a wide variety of experimental and quasi-experimental research methods used to estimate causal effects, including randomized experiments, regression, matching, instrumental variables, fixed effects, regression discontinuity, difference-in-differences, and synthetic control. Many of the causal inference methods that we discuss require statistical and computational training in order to implement. Focuses on the nontechnical conceptual, theoretical, and intuitive underpinnings of these methods that are most salient to policymakers.

POPHLTH 806

Apply and extend methodologic knowledge learned in the epidemiology methods sequence to selected key activities of a practicing epidemiologic researcher, including: study implementation; scientific writing and presentation; manuscript peer-reviewing; measurement validation; and commonly used epidemiology field instruments and methods.

POPHLTH 798

The main emphasis is the design and interpretation of epidemiologic studies. Includes hands-on experience in the evaluation of epidemiologic evidence, the analysis of epidemiologic data, and the discussion of strategies aimed to improve study validity and efficiency.

POPHLTH/SOC 797

Design, implementation and interpretation of epidemiologic studies; emphasis on methodologic problems in the measurement of disease frequency, natural history and risk factors.