Erasmus Summer Programme Courses
Take a look at all the courses in the Erasmus Summer Programme, and find the course right for you.
View all ESP coursesHistory of Epidemiologic Ideas [ESP53]
Course highlights
EC points
0.7
Start date
8 August 2022
End date
12 August 2022
Course days
Monday to Friday (5 mornings)
Course time
From 8:45 till 11:45 CEST
Faculty
Prof. Alfredo Morabia
Course fee
€ 740
Location
Erasmus MC, Rotterdam NL
Level
Intermediate Advanced
Prerequisites
There is no prerequisite but the course covers material of increasing conceptual complexity as it moves from the 17th to the 21st century. Doctoral students usually benefit the most from the class, but, because the class is strictly conceptual – no statistical notions are required -, students without a statistical background usually get insights into methods and concepts (e.g., causal models) that are usually taught in a statistical way.
Disciplines
- Epidemiology
- Methodology
- Public Health
Course Materials
Digitally, download instructions will be sent before the start of the course, by e-mail.
Recommended texts:
Enigmas of Health and Disease How Epidemiology Helps Unravel Scientific Mysteries Alfredo Morabia Columbia University Press
https://cup.columbia.edu/book/enigmas-of-health-and-disease/9780231168854
MORABIA A. Pandemics and methodological developments in epidemiology history. J Clin Epidemiol. 2020 Sep;125:164-169. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2020.06.008. Epub 2020 Jun 12. PubMed PMID: 32540385; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7291979.
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Detailed information about this course:
Description
Faculty: Prof. Alfredo Morabia, MD PhD
Because of the key role it played in forecasting and modelling the evolution of the covid-19 pandemic, epidemiology is better known now by the public at large, but is it? What is epidemiology? The methods (group comparisons) and concepts (confounding, bias, interaction) of epidemiology have been developed through attempts to understand the causes of major epidemics of infectious diseases, as well as the epidemic rise of non-communicable diseases, from the 17th century through the 21st. Its unique combination of population thinking and group comparison has helped society to control and prevent these major scourges. The course reviews these epidemics and pandemics, and discusses their impact on the research methods and concepts taught today in epidemiology. The course is comprised of lectures by Alfredo Morabia, but students are requested to respond to short questions at the end of every lecture. The responses are discussed the next day in class.
Objectives
- Understand that epidemiologic methods and concepts are in constant evolution and transformation
- Link the plague, cholera, tuberculosis, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, HIV/AIDS, and Covid-19, in their societal context, with the evolution of specific methods and concepts in epidemiology
- Develop an identity of epidemiologists aware of the history of their discipline
Participant profile
Clinical researchers, clinical epidemiologists, decision scientists, public health researchers, historians of science.
Assessment
Attendance