Melissa A. Marx, PhD, MPH +1 more instructor

Offered By

Investigating Epidemics like COVID-19: An Analyst's Guide

Johns Hopkins University

About this Course

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Do you want to learn how to detect, identify the cause, and decrease the morbidity and mortality from outbreaks or pandemics like COVID-19? Are you considering a career in public health practice, but aren’t sure how health departments collect and use outbreak data? 
Are you working in public health, but interested in moving into analytical and/or technical roles or curious how health departments investigate outbreaks? If so, this course is for you. 

After taking this course you be able to define key terms related to outbreaks and describe how surveillance data are collected and analyzed to detect outbreaks. You will be able to create epidemic curves and draw conclusions about transmission and cause from the shape of the curve and median incubation period. You will be able to describe the steps to investigating outbreaks and use that knowledge to guide an outbreak investigation. Using statistical software or excel, you will be able to identify demographic and geographic disparities and key exposures, and to calculate secondary attack rates. You will be able to quantify associations between health outcomes and key exposures using odds ratios and confidence intervals and to interpret and use findings to inform public health responses.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Intermediate Level

Basic public health and epidemiology. Quantitative skills, proportions, and ratios. Ability to perform calculations & create graphs in Excel or R.

Approx. 12 hours to complete

English

What you will learn

Conduct an outbreak investigation
Create epidemic curves and draw conclusions about the cause of an outbreak from the shape of the curve and median incubation period
Identify disparities and quantify associations between exposures and health outcomes and use findings to inform the public health response

Skills you will gain

Outbreak investigation
Data Analysis
Data Visualization (DataViz)
interpretation of results
Epidemiology

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Intermediate Level

Basic public health and epidemiology. Quantitative skills, proportions, and ratios. Ability to perform calculations & create graphs in Excel or R.

Approx. 12 hours to complete

English

Instructors

Melissa A. Marx, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor

International Health and Epidemiology

208 Learners

1 Course

Heather M. Saunders MPH, RN, CIC

Research Nurse Program Manager

Division of Infectious Diseases

208 Learners

1 Course

Offered by

Johns Hopkins University

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Week1

Week 1

1 hour to complete

Introduction

1 hour to complete

Week2

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Public Health Surveillance

2 hours to complete

Week3

Week 3

7 hours to complete

Methods and Tools to Investigate Outbreaks

7 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 132 min), 4 readings, 5 quizzes

8 videos

Trends Activity Introduction Video2mTrends R Activity Walkthrough (Optional)16mTrends Excel Activity Walkthrough (Optional)21mDisparities R Activity Walkthrough (Optional)33mDisparities Excel Activity Walkthrough (Optional)33mDisparities Excel Extra Help (Optional)3mSpatial R Activity Walkthrough (Optional)14mSpatial Excel Activity Walkthrough (Optional)8m

4 readings

Lab Activities in R or Excel10mIntroduction10mMore About Lab Activities10mDisparities Lab Activity2m

5 practice exercises

Outbreak investigation: an overview5mHow the data analyst detects an outbreak5mTrends Lab Activity15mDisparities Activity15mSpatial Disparities Lab Activity2m

Week4

Week 4

4 hours to complete

Using your New Skills to Support Response to an Outbreak of COVID-19 in an Assisted Living Facility

4 hours to complete

2 videos (Total 59 min), 2 readings, 2 quizzes

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. 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.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
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. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
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.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Investigating Epidemics like COVID-19: An Analyst's Guide

Investigating Epidemics like COVID-19: An Analyst's Guide

About this Course

What you will learn

Skills you will gain