Imperial College London

Measuring Disease in Epidemiology

This course is part of Epidemiology for Public Health Specialization

Taught in English

Some content may not be translated

Filippos Filippidis

Instructor: Filippos Filippidis

22,830 already enrolled

Included with Coursera Plus

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

4.7

(715 reviews)

|

96%

Beginner level

Recommended experience

10 hours (approximately)
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
Prepare for a degree

What you'll learn

  • Calculate and interpret appropriate measures in order to describe disease frequency, association and attributable risk for given scenarios.

  • Calculate sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, in order to interpret these values in the context of screening.

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

7 quizzes

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

4.7

(715 reviews)

|

96%

Beginner level

Recommended experience

10 hours (approximately)
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
Prepare for a degree

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Placeholder

Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Epidemiology for Public Health Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
  • Learn new concepts from industry experts
  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate
Placeholder
Placeholder

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV

Share it on social media and in your performance review

Placeholder

There are 4 modules in this course

One of the main purposes of epidemiology is to describe the frequency of diseases or other conditions that are important for the health of populations. Depending on the circumstances, there are different types of measures that you can use to do this. In this module, you will learn to calculate measures such as the prevalence, odds, cumulative incidence and incidence rate. We will highlight what they have in common as well as their differences. By the end of the module, you will be able to select and calculate the appropriate measure of frequency in a variety of contexts.

What's included

5 videos9 readings1 quiz2 discussion prompts1 plugin

This module starts by introducing the distinction between association and causation, which is critical not only for epidemiology, but for research in general. Subsequently, you will learn all the main measures epidemiologists use to quantify association; mainly risk and rate differences and risk, rate and odds ratios. Over the course of this module, you will develop the skills to calculate and interpret measures of frequency. This is not enough by itself though, so you will also learn to select the most appropriate measure depending on the research question and the availability of data.

What's included

5 videos5 readings2 quizzes1 discussion prompt

Published studies often report the magnitude of the association they investigate, which is clearly important when trying to identify causal links. Sometimes though, what we are interested in is the impact of a factor or of a disease on the population as a whole. This is when the concepts of attributable risk and of population attributable risk come in handy. These measures quantify the population impact of a health-related factor and therefore are particularly useful for health policy. Equipped with this knowledge, you will then explore the two main approaches to disease prevention: the high-risk and the population approach.

What's included

3 videos4 readings1 quiz1 discussion prompt

Diagnostic tests are used all the time to determine whether an individual is sick or not. However, these tests are far from perfect. Quantifying their imperfection allows us to understand their limitations and interpret their results. In this module, you will learn to calculate and interpret the metrics used to do this, including sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values. Using these metrics, you will subsequently learn to evaluate whether a screening programme can be effective or not considering its methodological and practical aspects.

What's included

6 videos6 readings3 quizzes1 plugin

Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.8 (225 ratings)
Filippos Filippidis
Imperial College London
4 Courses31,274 learners

Offered by

Recommended if you're interested in Public Health

Why people choose Coursera for their career

Felipe M.
Learner since 2018
"To be able to take courses at my own pace and rhythm has been an amazing experience. I can learn whenever it fits my schedule and mood."
Jennifer J.
Learner since 2020
"I directly applied the concepts and skills I learned from my courses to an exciting new project at work."
Larry W.
Learner since 2021
"When I need courses on topics that my university doesn't offer, Coursera is one of the best places to go."
Chaitanya A.
"Learning isn't just about being better at your job: it's so much more than that. Coursera allows me to learn without limits."

Learner reviews

Showing 3 of 715

4.7

715 reviews

  • 5 stars

    82.17%

  • 4 stars

    13.23%

  • 3 stars

    2.64%

  • 2 stars

    0.27%

  • 1 star

    1.67%

GR
5

Reviewed on Jul 27, 2019

CR
5

Reviewed on Feb 22, 2021

AN
4

Reviewed on Jul 8, 2020

New to Public Health? Start here.

Placeholder

Open new doors with Coursera Plus

Unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription

Advance your career with an online degree

Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online

Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business

Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy

Frequently asked questions