Reproductive, Perinatal Epidemiology&Biostatistics - SWCH9011

Faculty: Faculty of Medicine

School: School of Women's and Children's Health

Course Outline: http://wch.med.unsw.edu.au/postgraduate-obstetrics-gynaecology

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 0

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

Description

This course aims to provide an understanding of statistical methodology and critical appraisal for students undertaking study in a reproductive-health related Program.

This course is a core subject for Program 9014 Masters of Women's Health Medicine, which aims to introduce students to research methodology and statistical analysis. Using examples drawn specifically from the field of reproductive medicine this course will also develop student’s ability to critically analyse/appraise literature pertinent to that area. It is likely to be most relevant to those working in a reproductive health setting, in particular gynaecologists in training, sexual health physicians, primary care physicians and family planning practitioners, as well as nurses, counsellors and scientists with a special interest in this field.

The course will cover topics:
  • Introductory statistics and epidemiology overview
  • Study design
  • Study validity
  • Measures of disease frequency and association
  • Hypothesis tests – Theory and Application
  • Sample size calculations
This course is delivered entirely online. Discussion forums will form the basis of formative assessments. Summative assessment comprises multiple choice questionnaires completed at the end of each module. The remainder of the summative assessment will be determined by short answer questions, critical appraisal and data analysis related to the topics covered during the course.

Course Aims


This course aims to provide a basic grounding in research methods, critical analysis of epidemiological studies and statistical analysis. Specifically, it seeks to provide the student with the skills required to critically analyse relevant literature, both primary research
and reviews. Since this course sits within a Program which focuses on reproductive health, examples cited in the course are drawn from that field of study making them relevant to course participants and applicable to their specific work context.

Learning Outcomes


At the conclusion of this course, students should be able to:
  1. Demonstrate an awareness of the various epidemiological study designs and the benefits and limitations of each of these within a perinatal, maternal and reproductive health context
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of applied biostatistical methods, confidence intervals and statistical significance
  3. Use SPSS software as a means of analysing limited data
  4. Critically appraise literature published in the field of reproductive, perinatal and sexual health, assessing both study design and method, with an understanding of the potential errors and bias which could potentially impact on any conclusions reached by the researchers
  5. Explain the benefits and limitations of specific research findings when providing information/opinion to patients and colleagues