Epidemiologic Methods in Healthcare Planning and Evaluation

Importance of the pre-analytical phase in the diagnostic procedures of infection diagnosis
Role of healthcare workers in the prevention of drug-resistance of infection aetiological agents

At the end of the course, students will know the objectives of epidemiology, the investigation methods, and the related fields of application. This objective will be achieved through the acquisition of knowledge about:
Meaning and use of the epidemiological approach: data analysis, planning and evaluation of health services.
Use of health and demographic data in epidemiology:
- Main sources of health and demographic data
- The indicators: meaning and use.
- Health conditions of the female population; birth rate, maternal health and abortion
- Socio-economic determinants of health and gender inequalities
- Guided analysis of current health data
Health status of a population
- Determinants and factors that influence the state of health: biological-natural factors (age, sex and ethnicity), behaviors and lifestyles, physical and social environment, access to health care and services in general
- Socio-economic determinants and inequalities in health and gender
-Methods of descriptive or geographical epidemiology
- Population health profiles
Frequency measurements:
- Ratio, proportions, rates;
- Concept of prevalence, incidence, density of incidence, cumulative incidence
- Standardization of rates
- Guided exercises
Study designs and their application
- Ecological (or correlation) studies and their application: case study
- Prevalence studies and their application: case study
- Cohort studies and their application: case study
- Case control studies and their application: case study
- Experimental studies
Associations and impact measures: relative risk, odds ratio, risk attributable as absolute and relative measures
Evaluation of effectiveness
- Therapeutic and preventive studies
- Epidemiological impact of vaccinations
- Evaluation and meaning of screening tests
- Case study: efficacy of the HPV vaccine, Pap test and HPV-DNA test
Global Health
- Key concepts and definition of global health (GH); evolution of GH from tropical medicine to public health and international health
- Global burden of disease, epidemiological transition and progress in health indicators; Recent phenomena and future of global health - Social and economic determinants of health
- Principles of gender medicine and women's health
- Sustainable development goals (SDGs); Tuberculosis as a model in global health burden and response
- Tuberculosis and antimicrobial resistance: two models of complex global health problems
- The World Health Organization and other major actors in GH; International Cooperation; the great challenges: migrations and climate change