Biostatistics – HLTH 501

CG • Section 8WK • 11/08/2019 to 04/16/2020 • Modified 09/05/2023

Course Description

The course prepares the student in the development and application of statistical reasoning and methods in addressing, analyzing and solving problems in public health; healthcare; and biomedical, clinical and population-based research.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

The purpose of this biostatistics course is to provide students in the Master of Public Health program the opportunity to attain statistical literacy. It is important for public health professionals to be able to understand, apply, and effectively articulate concepts pertaining to research design, data collection, data analysis, results reporting, statistical testing and interpretation. Additionally these professionals must be able to critically evaluate the public health scientific literature in light of the aforementioned concepts.

Course Assignment

After reading the Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will complete 1 Discussion in this course. The student will post one thread of at least 300 words. The student must then post 2 replies of at least 200 words. For each thread, students must support their assertions with at least 2 scholarly citation in AMA format. Each reply must incorporate at least 2 scholarly citation in AMA format. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years(except for the Bible and the textbook). Acceptable sources include the textbook, the Bible, or professional publications.

In each module, the student will complete 10–30 problems from the chapters that are from the assigned reading. This work will ensure the student understands the concepts he or she is reading and is able to apply those concepts to statistical problems.

The student will complete 4 Excel exercises. The data for the weekly Excel assignments are found in the Excel Assignment Spreadsheet and on the Excel online workbook provided by the publisher.

Students will review the ten Essential Services of Public Health. They will discuss how four of the Essential Services of Public Health relates to the issues of medication advertising and the role of biostatistics. The answer must include at least 500 words.

The student will be given a case study to evaluate. The evaluation will include analysis and interpretation of data.  The student will use the provided rubric to evaluate/grade the case study and report the findings in both written and oral formats. Data are to be concisely interpreted and the resulting summary paper cannot exceed 300 words in length for each question.

The four quizzes will be based on the chapter readings. The quizzes are open-book/notes and comprise of multiple-choice, true/false, and essay questions. The student will have a week to complete each quiz. The Quiz: Final will include all material presented during the term.