Units / PHI5040
PHI5040 · Introductory Epidemiology
2026 Handbook6 credit pointsLevel 5Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine
Last checked: 23 Aug 2026 UTCOverview
Upon completion of this unit, you will be able to measure frequencies of disease i.e. incidence, prevalence, "population at risk"; and measure associations in epidemiological studies; different study designs i.e. observational studies, experimental study designs; bias associated with study designs, misclassification, confounding and effect modification. You will critically appraise different epidemiological studies, apply diagnostic and screening tests, and examine outbreak investigation.
Areas of study: Public health
Offerings
| Campus | Teaching period | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | Monash Indonesia term 1 | Teaching activities are on-campus (ON-CAMPUS) |
Assessment
The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.
| # | Assessment | Type | Weight | Hurdle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Individual activities (3 x 10%) | Exercise | 30% | — |
| 2 | Short video recording for social media | Presentation | 35% | — |
| 3 | Critical appraisal | Written | 35% | — |
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Requisites
Learning outcomes
- Explain and contextualise the purposes of descriptive and analytical epidemiology;
- Explain and contextualise the concepts of study questions, population, sampling, exposure assessment, bias and confounding;
- Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of different epidemiological study designs;
- Critically analyse epidemiological papers from the public health literature
- Evaluate the adequacy of exposure assessment in epidemiological studies;
- Interpret and communicate the results of epidemiological studies; and
- Solve complex problems relating to the use of epidemiological concepts and study designs.
Workload
24 hours per week including directed and self-directed learning (scheduled classes, prescribed activities and independent work).
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Workshops | 3 hours |
| Lectures | 3 hours |
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