Infectious Diseases Challenges: Epidemiology and Control (PHCM9782)
This course supports you achieving a range of capabilities you'll need if you're planning to have a career in epidemiology and infectious disease control.
This course supports you achieving a range of capabilities you'll need if you're planning to have a career in epidemiology and infectious disease control.
In our history pathogens such as HIV, Ebola, Avian Influenza, SARS and more recently Zika virus and COVID-19 have emerged to challenge human populations. This course will introduce you to the challenges of identifying and controlling infectious diseases through an appreciation of key factors such as differing modes of transmission, the importance of surveillance in achieving disease prevention and control, key steps in outbreak investigation and current disease control strategies. Examples including Ebola, influenza, measles, pneumococcal disease, rota virus, SARS, COVID-19 and TB will be used to learn about preparing for and containing diseases with potentially catastrophic impact to the health and economic stability. This course supports you achieving a range of capabilities that you will need if you are planning to have a career in epidemiology and infectious disease control.
This is a PLuS Alliance course offered through UNSW. Students at UNSW, Arizona State University and King's College London who are in a PLuS Alliance program can enrol into this course.
Please note prior to 2019 this course was titled Current Challenges in Infectious Diseases.
This course is a core course for the Masters of Infectious Diseases Intelligence and for the Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Control specialisation available across the master’s programs. It is an elective course across all master’s programs available at the School of Population Health. It comprises of 6 units of credit towards the total required for completion of the study program.
Face-to-face classes on-campus for Internal students & fully online for Distance External students
A/Prof James Wood
Course Convenor
+61 (2) 9385 8769
james.wood@unsw.edu.au
A/Prof Holly Seale
Course Convenor
+61 (2) 9385 3129
h.seale@unsw.edu.au
We welcome students from any discipline and level of experience to contribute perspectives and understandings. In addition, we encourage you to engage with the material, ask questions, discuss relevant issues with teachers and colleagues, and regard the available literature with a critical eye.
This course aims to introduce you to the challenges of infectious diseases through an appreciation of the theory of their transmission modes and epidemiology, the important role of surveillance; the process of undertaking outbreak investigations, the challenge of antimicrobial resistance and the range of prevention and control strategies available for implementation at an individual, organisational and national level. Lastly, we will explore the development and implementation of infectious disease prevention and control programs and the issues that may arise.
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
Postgraduate teaching aims to support students in developing their capacity for inquiry and critical thinking. In this course, an active learning approach is encouraged through interactive instruction, self-directed learning, collaborative problem solving and peer learning. Core content is provided through lectures, with some of the lectures facilitated by external experts to allow students the opportunity to be exposed to a diversity of perspectives. Weekly small group activities, including the use of case studies and online student discussions, have been designed to engage students in the learning process. Lastly, for each module we cover, you will find a dedicated Moodle book which will include additional resources such as short lectures, videos and key readings to promote and encourage active and self-directed learning. It is expected that students will draw on a range of resources to enrich their own learning.
The approach to learning and teaching that we use in this course has been designed to allow flexibility in the way that you engage with the material each week and to provide you with the skills to empower you to be a lifelong learner.
The course is designed around the key aspects of infectious disease epidemiology and control as outlined in the learning outcomes. Each week, the course convenors or external experts will present material focused on a different topic and will provide opportunities for discussion (in class or via Moodle). This course features blended learning elements, with pre-recorded lectures for some weeks to reserve more time for tutorial activities in class and online and through discussion forums. The learning approach will vary according to the module content. While each week covers a different topic, they build upon each other. For example, an appreciation of surveillance approaches will assist with learning about outbreak investigations and knowledge about the epidemiology of different infectious diseases will help when we talk about different control strategies.
Assessment Task 1 – Weekly Online Quizzes
Weighting: 20%
Length: Number of questions: 2-5
Assessment Task 2 – Short Epidemiology Case Study
Weighting: 30%
Length: 1000 words
Assessment Task 3 – Report
Weighting: 50%
Length: 2000 words
Learning resources for this course consist of the following, all available in Moodle: