Please note - Swinburne University of Technology

5~754 Introduction to Health Statistics
12.5 credit points
No. of hours per week: four hours
prerequisites: SM751 and SM750
Instruction: class teaching and workshops
suoplemented bv audio-visual presentations and
computer technology sessions
Assessment: practical and theoretical tests
Subject aims and description
This subject aims to introduce students to statistical measures
and techniques which are specifically relevant to the health
sciences and to enable them to make reasoned conclusions
from the measures.
This subject will include a descriptive study of the following:
demographic disease measures including birth and death
rates, fertility rates, infant mortality rates;
rates and risks including prevalence versus incidence, point
and period prevalene, cumulative incidence, person-time
rates, age-standardised rates and standardised mortality
rates;
measures of association including risk differences, risk
ratios, rate differences and rate ratios, odds ratios,
attributable risks, population attributable risks;
n
-. - an introduction to epidemiological methods.
5. References
To be advised.
d
2. Computer Packages
m Epi Info V5 (1992)
@ Excel Version 4 (1992)
SPSSIPC, Version 5.1 (1991) andlor SPSS for Windows (1992)
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3
lo. - ~ ~ 7 5 6
Elementary Statistical Modelling
No, of hours per week: four hours
Prerequisites: SM751 and SM750
Instruction: class teaching and workshops
supplemented by audio-visual presentations and
laboratory sessions
Assessment: practical and theoretical tests
-
2 Subject aims and description
This subject aims to extend the work done in lntroduction to
Data Analysis by further developing the concepts of statistical
estimation and testing.
Analysis of variance and simple linear regression. lntroduction
to multiple regression. lntroduction to experimental design and
non-parametric methods. Determination of sample size.
Analysis of categorical data and measures of association.
References
To be advised.
Statistical packages
To be advised.
5~757 Epidemiological Methods
12.5 credit points
No. of hours per week: four hours
Prerequisites: SM755 and SM756
Instruction: class teaching and laboratory sessions
Assessment: assignments and a test
Subject aims and description
This subject aims to develop critical skills in the evaluation of
the health and medical literature involving epidemiology with
an emphasis on statistical and methodological analysis.
Epidemiological study designs: descriptive and analytical
studies, observational versus experimental des~gns, crosssectional
surveys, cohort and case-control studies, clinical
trials and intervention studies. Determination of sample
size.
Confounding: identifying potential confounding:
stratification and adjusted estimates, regression and
multivariate adjustment, matching.
Diagnostic tests: repeatability and validity of tests for
disease, sensitivity and specificity of tests, predictive value
and prevalence. Bayes' theorem.
Screening for disease: reasons for screening, requirements
for screening, prevalent and incident cases, quality of
screening test.
References
To be advised.
Computer packages
To be advised.
~ ~ 7 5 8 Analysis of Risks and Rates
12.5 credit points
No. of hours per week: four hours
Prerequisites: SM755 and SM756
Instruction: class teaching and computer
laboratory sessions
Assessment: assignments and a test
Subject aims and description
This subject aims to develop critical skills in the evaluation of
health and medical literature on risks and rates with an
emphasis on statistical and methodological analysis.
Analysis of risks: the binomial distribution, risk estimates,
confidence intervals for proportions, risk differences, z-test
and chi-square test, confidence interval for a difference,
risk ratios, odds ratios, confidence interval for an odds
ratio. Logistic regression. Determination of sample size.
Analysis of rates: the Poisson distribution, rate estimates,
confidence interval for a rate, rate ratios and confidence
intervals for a rate ratio. Poisson regression. Determination
of sample size.
References
To be advised.
Computer packages
To be advised.