Ateneo - UPO

The Integrated Course (IC) consists of two modules: (1) Epidemiology; (2) Statistical methods for experimental studies

1) Barbuti, Fara, Giammanco. Igiene, medicina preventiva, Sanità Pubblica Monduzzi Editore. 2022; Rothman. Epidemiology: An Introduction. Oxford press. Versione italiana: Rothman. Epidemiologia. Idelson – Gnocchi 2) Whitlock MC, Schluter D.Analisi statistica dei dati biologici. Zanichelli, 2010.

1) EPIDEMIOLOGY Knowledge and understanding: To know the most important sources of epidemiological data. To understand the elements in the design and conduct of the most important types of epidemiological studies. To know the most important sources of bias in epidemiological studies. To understand the criteria for characterizing the causality of associations in Medicine. To know the key features of a systematic review of the scientific literature. To know the most important determinants of health in Italy and worldwide. To know the key features of the process of drug discovery and development and of pharmacoepidemiology. To understand the key features of Evidence-Based Medicine. To know the structure of an epidemiological paper and of the scientific editorial system. To know the main ethical aspects of epidemiological research Applying knowledge and understanding: to be able to calculate measures of frequency and association. To be able to interpret the results of a meta-analysis 2) STATISTICAL METHODS FOR EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES At the end of the course, students will be able to describe from a statistical point of view of the data obtained from an experiment based on the type of variable measured and to identify and carry out the correct statistical test based on the biological hypothesis that guided the experiment carried out

EPIDEMIOLOGY: None STATISTICAL METHODS FOR EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES: none

The two IC modules adopt the following common teaching methods: Interactive Lectures with Presentations in MS-Power Point format. Use of elearning platform and educational Internet sites

Specific exercises are planned on the topics covered in each of the modules. A pdf copy of the projected slides, the in-depth material and all the information regarding the course and examination methods will be made available on the DIR (https://www.dir.uniupo.it/).

The two IC teachings adopt the modality of the written exam test. The test is based on closed questions, open questions, calculation exercises and interpretation of the results. The final grade is determined taking into account the achievement of the expected learning results of all the modules of the integrated course.

1) EPIDEMIOLOGY General principles of Public Health Definition of Hygiene and Public Health. The concept of Health and its evolution over time. Epidemiological methods for Public Health Introduction to medical statistics (sources of data; elaboration and presentation of epidemiological data; health indicators: incidence, mortality, prevalence, survival; measures of frequency and association). Main Epidemiological studies: clinical trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, cross-sectional studies, descriptive studies. Sources of uncertainty in epidemiology: the role of chance, bias and confounding. Effect modification. Causal inference in Epidemiology. Systematic reviews, meta-analyses. Introduction to pharmacoepidemiology. Evaluation of the efficacy of health interventions process of drug discovery and development Adverse Drug Events and pharmacovigilance Evidence-based medicine Disease mongering. the structure of an epidemiological paper; the scientific editorial system; 2) STATISTICAL METHODS FOR EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES Descriptive statistics (frequencies, position and variability indexes) Basics of probability and normal distribution Confidence intervals and hypothesis test for one mean Hypothesis test for proportions Chi-squared test T Test for independents and paired tests Correlation Simple linear regression Operating characteristics of a diagnostic test

At the end of the course the student must have acquired the knowledge and full understanding of the topics deriving from the achievement of the educational objectives of each of the two teachings of the IC. 1) EPIDEMIOLOGY Knowledge and understanding: To know the most important sources of epidemiological data. To understand the elements in the design and conduct of the most important types of epidemiological studies. To know the most important sources of bias in epidemiological studies. To understand the criteria for characterizing the causality of associations in Medicine. To know the key features of a systematic review of the scientific literature to know the most important determinants of health in Italy and worldwide. To know the key features of the process of drug discovery and development. to understand the key features of Evidence-Based Medicine. To know the key features of National Health Systems. Applying knowledge and understanding: To be able to calculate measures of frequency and association; to able to interpret the results of a meta-analysis 2) STATISTICAL METHODS FOR EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES Knowledge: At the end of the course the students will know the main descriptive and inferential statistical analysis techniques Skills: Students will be able to describe the results deriving from a biological experiment and carry out the correct statistical test based on the biological hypothesis that guided the experiment carried out. They will also be able to understand the results reported in a scientific article regarding regression. Transversal skills: Students will be able to understand the statistical analysis and the results reported in a scientific article in order to verify what is already known in the literature about a specific biological question of interest and compare the results obtained with those available in the scientific literature.