Disease Clusters

Ends in 5 days! Save 40% on your access to 10,000+ programs and make a real impact in your career. Save now.

Disease Clusters

Instructors: Dr. Megan Weil Latshaw, PhD

15,223 already enrolled

Included with Learn more

Ask Coursera

5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

318 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

7 hours to complete

Learn at your own pace

95%

Most learners liked this course

5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

318 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

7 hours to complete

Learn at your own pace

95%

Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

Explain how disease is studied.
Describe what happens during a disease cluster investigation.
Assess the two main parameters of a disease cluster investigation: time and space.
Explain challenges in studying disease clusters, including why they often yield inconclusive results.

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

3 assignments¹

AI Graded see disclaimer

Taught in English

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

Learn more about Coursera for Business

logos of Petrobras, TATA, Danone, Capgemini, P&G and L'Oreal

There are 5 modules in this course

Do a lot of people in your neighborhood all seem to have the same sickness? Are people concerned about high rates of cancer? Your community may want to explore the possibility of a disease cluster, which happens when there is a higher number of cases of disease than expected.

When communities hear about cases of disease in their neighborhood, they are rightfully concerned. However, the results of investigations by the health department often find no evidence of a cluster. This course will help you understand what a disease cluster is and how it is studied. The goal is to empower community (or citizen) scientists, and to help build better relationships between communities and health officials.

Welcome! We're excited to lay out the rationale behind this course and begin to talk about disease and it's study.

What's included

3 videos

Now we dive into the study of disease, looking at how we can break things down by place and over time. . . with a special focus on unusual disease events. The five question quiz asks about what we've covered up to that point.

What's included

4 videos1 assignment

How do people working in health departments handle disease cluster investigations? Who else is involved? Module 3 starts off with some videos and a discussion. We look forward to engaging with you! At the end of the module, a quiz asks about material covered since your last quiz.

What's included

3 videos1 reading1 assignment1 discussion prompt5 plugins

3 videosTotal 38 minutes

Starting the Process18 minutes
Other Considerations11 minutes
Who Does What during a Disease Cluster Investigation?8 minutes

1 readingTotal 10 minutes

Directions for Discussion Forum10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 5 minutes

25 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

Module Two Discussion Forum10 minutes

5 pluginsTotal 75 minutes

2.1 What is Cancer Cluster15 minutes
2.2 What is a Cancer Cluster?15 minutes
2.3 Advice for Communities - From Professionals15 minutes
2.4 Advice for Other Communities from the Frederick Community15 minutes
2.5 Cancer Registry15 minutes

As we've mentioned, the tools available to public health often don't lead to the answers for which a community hoped. This module covers some of the reasons for that. Your final quiz asks about material presented in Module 4.

What's included

4 videos1 assignment

Around the world, many communities grapple with disease clusters every day. Hear from an organization in the US working with those communities to help answer their questions. Your final assignment asks to you bring together everything you've learned to develop a plan for how you will (or would) handle a disease cluster investigation. We hope to see lots of innovative ideas!

What's included

2 videos1 reading1 peer review

Instructors

Instructor ratings

(68 ratings)

Dr. Megan Weil Latshaw, PhD

Johns Hopkins University

2 Courses94,947 learners

Dr. Ellen Silbergeld

Johns Hopkins University

1 Course15,223 learners

Offered by

Johns Hopkins University

Explore more from Public Health

Universiteit Leiden
Population Health: Syndemics
Course
Category: Preview
Johns Hopkins University
Outbreaks and Epidemics
Course
Status: Free Trial
University of California San Diego
Genomic Data Science and Clustering (Bioinformatics V)
Course
Status: Free Trial
University of Michigan
Assessing and Improving Community Health
Course
Status: Free Trial

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

5 stars
79.87%
4 stars
16.35%
3 stars
2.83%
2 stars
0.31%
1 star
0.62%

Showing 3 of 318

Reviewed on May 14, 2020

This course is about the investigation of a disease cluster, it has many samples to study so you can apply this knowledge to your problem. I'm glad to register for this course.

Reviewed on Jul 13, 2020

Excellent course, I have learned so much in this course, it was a joy to do it. Excellent quizzes and peer assessed assignment was great. Thank you so much .

Reviewed on Jul 16, 2020

The peer review assignment takes a little while to get graded because there aren't that many people enrolled, otherwise, it's a great class with case study lectures that showcase disease clusters.

View more reviews

Frequently asked questions

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.