Descriptive Epidemiology 3 Part Assignment:
This assignment assesses CEPH Competency 2.19: Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, in writing and through oral presentations
Part 1: Descriptive Epidemiology Brief Report Guidelines (5 pages maximum; 60 points total)
Each student is expected to write a brief paper using the most up-to-date research and/or data to describe the epidemiology of a disease, injury, or health condition. The topic will be selected by the student but must be approved by the instructor. The instructor will post a link through which the student will submit a topic choice with a specific definition of the disease, how the cases of the disease are defined and what restrictions in terms of person, place and time, will limit the cases to be included in the paper. The instructor will provide feedback/approval of the topic.
Each paper should contain the following information:
- Definition: A case definition of the disease, injury, or health condition being researched
- Descriptive Epidemiology: A description of the epidemiology of the disease or condition that includes ALL of the following:
- Incidence/prevalence (overall, not by subgroups)
- Mortality (overall, not by subgroups)
Differences in the incidence and mortality according to:
- Person characteristics (i.e., age, sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, occupation, religion, and marital status, if applicable)
- Place characteristics (i.e., geographic distribution; compare within a state (county/region) to state and national; urban/rural; or compare by physical environment, biological environment, if applicable)
- Time characteristics (i.e., changes in rates over time, trends in years, etc.)
- Discussion: Make conclusions about the epidemiology of the disease, injury, or health condition; for example, do these data suggest that certain factors may be associated with the condition? What are the established risk factors for the disease? Are the descriptive characteristics consistent with established risk factors for the disease? Is there an area of controversy or something unexplained or unexpected? How could these data be used by public health administrators and planners to establish priorities, allocate resources, and plan and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment and prevention programs? Does the data suggest a topic of research for an epidemiological study? If so, describe/discuss.
Format: The descriptive epidemiology brief should be at least 4 pages but no more than 5 typed pages, not including references, and should be double-spaced with standard margins using a 12- point Times Roman font. Insert the page number at the bottom middle of each page. Points will be deducted for exceeding the page length. References should be cited, using APA format, both within the text and in the reference section at the end of the document. Students will need a minimum of 5 references from professional journals published within the last 5 years. Additionally, students are encouraged to also use credible websites to obtain the latest data (incidence/mortality rates). USE HEADINGS FOR EACH SECTION. The underlined text above represents appropriate headings.
The descriptive epidemiology brief is worth 60 points. Below is an outline of how this assignment will be assessed:
- Completion of all required items (10% or 6 points)
- Followed format requirements (page length, font, spacing, and references) (10% or 6 points)
- Quality of response (correct synthesis and demonstrates understanding of components; logically written, well documented/cited, with few grammatical errors) (80% or 48 points)
Below is an outline of how the 48 points in the quality of response section will be scored:
- Definition (6 points)
- Descriptive Epidemiology (30 points)
- Incidence/prevalence b. Mortality
c. Person characteristics d. Place characteristics
e. Time characteristics
- Discussion (12 points)
Part 2: Descriptive Epidemiology Infographic Instructions (20 points)
Assume that you will be giving out written information to a high-risk population that you have identified from the descriptive epidemiology of your selected disease/injury. The one-page Infographic should be a resource for the high-risk population. Develop the infographic with health communication materials appropriate for your high-risk population. Create materials that can lead to increased knowledge or a change in actions of the identified high- risk group. The one-page handout should be understandable and meaningful to your target audience. Keep in mind that larger print will enable people who have trouble reading or seeing. Consider culture and literacy skills when developing your educational material. You should craft and deliver the Infographic using vocabulary and reading comprehension levels appropriate to your target population (i.e., identified high risk population). Both written and oral communications for the epidemiology brief should be culturally appropriate.
Part 3: Descriptive Epidemiology Presentations Instructions (20 points)
Assume that you have been asked to give a 15-minute presentation about your findings from the Descriptive Epidemiology Brief to an audience you have identified as “High Risk”. Develop a PowerPoint presentation with notes pages and audio recording. A good rule of thumb is one slide per minute. So, you should have about 12- 17 slides for this presentation. Your presentation should NOT be a cut and paste from the text of your descriptive epidemiology paper, but rather should include highlights from each major section to communicate appropriate information to the High-Risk audience. Do not include too much information on one slide. Here are some general guidelines for formatting the presentation:
- Keep text to a minimum (6-8 lines per slide, no more than 30 words per slide). The bullet points should be headlines, not your whole paper. Write in sentence fragments using key words and keep your font size 24 or bigger. If you think something needs further explanation, put it in the notes pages.
- Make sure your presentation is easy on the eyes. Stay away from weird colors and busy backgrounds. Use easy- to-read fonts such as Arial and Times New Roman for the bulk of your text, and, if you have to use a funky font, use it sparingly.
- Leave out sound effects and background music. This will make it easier to hear your oral presentation.
The main headings for your presentation should reflect your target audience and convey the essential information from the descriptive epidemiology paper. Demographics of the identified high-risk population should be shared on the first slide. You should craft and deliver the presentation using vocabulary and reading comprehension levels appropriate to your target population (i.e., identified high risk population). Both written and oral communications for the epidemiology brief should be culturally appropriate.
- Demographics of the High-Risk Population
- Definition:
- Descriptive Epidemiology:
- Incidence/prevalence
- Mortality
- Person characteristics
- Place characteristics
- Time characteristics
- Discussion
- References
Instructions for posting and discussing the Descriptive Epidemiology Presentations and Infographics:
After developing the presentation and the Infographic, you will post the PowerPoint presentation (with audio) and the Infographic to be viewable by all class group members. You will be responsible for viewing/listening to all presentations and Infographics from classmates in your group. You will also provide responses/comments to 3 presentations AND about 3 Infographics. Comments should focus on improving understanding of the presentation or Infographic contents from the perspective of the High-Risk population and/or comments about some specific content aspects.
The presentations and Infographics will have two due dates:
Deadline 1: Post presentation and Infographic to designated discussion space
Deadline 2: Post comments to 3 student presentations AND 3 Infographics
