(Click here to view full screen) (Click on the browser BACK button to return to the frame window)


CHSC 432 Analytic Methods in Public Health
 Spring 2002
3 Semester Hours (Call #31846)
  

Instructor: 

Colleen Monahan, DC, MPH 
Office/Titles:

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Director, Center for the Advancement of Distance Education (CADE)
Director, Information Technology
UIC-School of Public Health
1603 W. Taylor St., 10th Floor Room 1057
Chicago, Il 60612 

Work No.: 312-996-1360
Home No.: 847-587-8250 
Email:
WWW Site:

cmonahan@uic.edu
http://www.uic.edu/classes/chsc/chsc432
Class location: SPH Basement Computer Lab
Class Time: Mondays 4:00-6:45 pm 
Prerequisites: EPID 400, BSTT 400, CHSC 400 or Consent of instructor 
   

 

menu | top of page

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This class will provide some analytic skills needed for assessment and planning in public health and provide relevant analytical and computer skills which are required to maximize the acquisition and use of data for public health assessment and planning. The emphasis will be on the use and analysis of aggregate data. The method of instruction emphasizes understanding of analytical concepts/frameworks through a combination of lecture, computer lab and active student participation in class discussion. Computer-based exercises will make use of skills in word processing (including the incorporation of graphics), simple data base management and descriptive analysis (using Excel and ArcView GIS), geocoding and mapping of data (using ArcView GIS). Students will also be expected to access the Internet, including using HTML code to develop a small public health data site on the Internet. Class size is limited to 19. Each student will be required to obtain a UIC computer account, including an account on the Unix computer called Icarus.

menu | top of page

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Overall goals for the course are for students to:
  1. Achieve familiarity with the use of analytic methods in a public health system.
  2. Understand basic frameworks for viewing problems in health status and access to care.
  3. Understand the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods for use in assessment and planning.
  4. Understand the need to know the historical and current context (social and political factors) of a problem including other programs addressing the problem.
The principal scientific basis objectives include knowledge and understanding of the following:
  1. The use of mortality and morbidity in analytical public health problems.
  2. Review of health status of populations; determinants of health and illness; health beliefs; help-seeking behaviors, dimensions of access to and use of health care, and characteristics of health care systems.
The principal methodological and analytical skills objectives include knowledge and understanding the following:
  1. Strengths and limitations of research design/sampling in assessment and the use of basic descriptive statistics.
  2. Epidemiological concepts and descriptive epidemiology, e.g. crude and adjusted rates, incidence, prevalence, secular trends, the use of confidence intervals and the limitations of these methods.
  3. Strengths and limitations of qualitative and quantitative methods in public health.
  4. Data collection strategies, strengths and limitations: surveys, focus groups (qualitative) and record-based information (service data).
  5. Issues in the use of secondary data including vital statistics, and national data bases (e.g., synthetic estimation, denominator problems, standard definitions of data elements, etc.).
  6. The preparation and interpretation of data from vital statistics, census, surveys, service utilization and other relevant special reports on the health of the population.
  7. Demonstrate appropriate analytical conceptualization, data use and descriptive methods for problem identification and resolution, program planning, implementation and evaluation.
  8. Formulate questions about a public health/maternal and child health problem, select and define variables and a data strategy.
  9. Evaluate the integrity and comparability of aggregate data and identify gaps in data.
  10. Extract data from primary and secondary sources, use basic statistical and graphics software for data management and analysis.
The principal management and communication objectives include knowledge and understanding of the following:
  1. Accurately and effectively prepare and present reports using demographic, statistical, programmatic and scientific information to influence others.
The principal policy and advocacy objectives include knowledge and understanding of the following:
  1. The structure and roles of legislative and administrative bodies at the national, state and local levels relevant to the creation and acquisition of relevant public health data.
The principal cross-cutting issues objectives include knowledge and understanding of the following:
  1. The involvement of persons representing many disciplines to assess multifaceted problems.
  2. The importance of the development of partnerships with communities and constituencies in the design and implementation of public health assessment.

menu | top of page

 

COURSE EVALUATION and GRADING

Evaluation is based on achievement of course educational objectives. The principal aim is the application of information and skills gained from the course. Grasp of basic concepts and mastery of relevant factual knowledge is evaluated by means of computer-based exercises. Readings will also be assigned and students should be able to discuss them in class.

The final grade will be based on work done in the exercises.

The exercises will, in combination with lecture material, provide the students skills to complete the objectives of this class. The exercises will be available on the Internet on the class day it is assigned. The due date for the exercise will be stated on the exercise or in the "Weekly Topic and Assignments" below. A method for delivery to the instructor will be provided in the exercise. You will get a 2 point deduction automatically if it is late.  The instructor has the option to drop the exercise with the lowest grade (it will only be done if the student attempted to complete all the exercises).

menu | top of page

 

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

All materials required for the course are available at the WWW address above or will be handed out in class. You should save your work to your UIC 'H' drive or bring one or more 3.5" diskettes with you to each class. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO SAVE YOUR WORK so lost files are not an excuse for late or absent assignments.

Occasionally the instructor may post audio presentations on the web which you may want to hear.  In this case you will need to use the RealPlayer which is available on lab machines (you can plug your headset into the CD player on your computers to hear the presentation) or you may need to download the free version to your home machine (http://www.real.com)

menu | top of page

 

 

Weekly Topics and Assignments

Always Tentative (keep watching this site)  

Week 1:

January 7 Intro to class web site, course syllabus and computer lab.  Exercise #0 (does not count for grade)
Week 2:

January 14 Create your own web site! Review public health web sites and examine the way they display, report and/or provide data to users.  Exercise #1 (counts as 10 points)

Week 3:

January 21 Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. No classes.

Week 4:

January 28 Using Census Data  Exercise #2

Week 5:

February 4 Continue working on using census data

Week 6:

February 11 Generating Descriptive Statistics and Histograms Exercise #3

Week 7:

February 18 Using Confidence Intervals to compare to a standard Exercise #4

Week 8:

February 25 Synthetic Estimation and National Survey Data lecture and assignment given. Exercise #5a

Week 9:

March 4 Continue working on Synthetic Estimation Exercise 5 continued
(no in-class session)

Week 10:

March 11 Intro to Geographic information systems/mapping. Exercise #7

Week 11:

March 18 SPRING BREAK 

Week 12:

March 25 Continue in lab on Geographic information systems/mapping. Exercise #7 continued
Week 13:
April 1 Setting Performance and Outcome Measurements: Methods for Setting Annual Targets. Exercise #8
Week 14:

April 8 Ranking and Scoring Methods: Index Construction Exercise #9

Week 15:
April 15 Ranking and Scoring Methods Exercise #10

Week 16:

April 22 Ranking and Scoring Methods due by end of lab.Last day of class!!

menu | top of page

  

Colleen Monahan, DC, MPH.
Copyright © 1997 University of Illinois at Chicago. All rights reserved.
Revised:  December 2002 .