Course Syllabus

DEPARTMENT: Epidemiology

COURSE NUMBER: 590 R

CREDIT HOURS: 1 credit

SEMESTER: Spring ‘22

COURSE TITLE: Disease Surveillance: Applications to Selected Occupational Diseases 

DATES & LOCATION: Tuesday – Saturday (Jan. 4-8), 10:00 – 11:50 p.m. and 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.  Room: TBD

INSTRUCTOR

Dr. Ki Moon Bang

Email: kbang6@emory.edu

Phone: 304-216-7171

Office Hours: After class or email to make an appointment

Course Description

Occupational disease surveillance is the systematic and ongoing data collection, analysis, and dissemination of information on occupational diseases for the prevention of morbidity and mortality. The total occupational diseases and injuries were 3.5 million reported by private industry employers in the United States, 2019. The incidence of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses among private industry employees was 2.8 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2019. The total estimated costs of injuries and illnesses were 250 billion in 2011.

This course is focused on practical applications of epidemiology in surveillance activities to selected occupational diseases (e.g., asbestosis, silicosis, etc.). This course is one credit hour to be taught during the Winter pre-term period during the week of January 4-8, 2022 for about 4 hours per day. The first objective is for the student to learn about occupational diseases in terms of the magnitude of occupational diseases (incidence, prevalence, mortality), causes and risk factors, surveillance data and systems, analysis of surveillance data using epidemiologic methods, and also dissemination of surveillance information to the public as well as government and local health agencies. The second objective is for the student to learn how to access the selected national occupational diseases surveillance data available and analyze using the computer. The third objective is for the student to get experience in reviewing and critiquing published articles relevant to occupational diseases surveillance and writing a summary of the selected topic from published articles in occupational diseases surveillance.

Epidemiology Competencies

1. Describe distributions of morbidity, mortality, and risk factors in terms of magnitude, time, place, and population.
2. Differentiate among the strengths, limitations, and differences, and similarities of various study designs.
3. Interpret individual published epidemiologic studies in which the major epidemiologic study designs are used.
4. Interpret epidemiologic results in a causal framework.
5. Communicate epidemiologic information in a written scientific report.

Overall Course Learning Objectives

1. Learn basic principles of occupational diseases surveillance. Occupational diseases (occupational cancer, asbestosis, silicosis, etc.) can affect morbidity and mortality in the United States. You will learn the reason why surveillance of occupational diseases is important in disease control and prevention.

2. Learn the disease surveillance systems and access the selected national occupational diseases surveillance data available using the computer. You will learn the surveillance systems by different occupational diseases in the United States.

4. Learn to analyze and interpret disease surveillance data. You will learn descriptive or analytic analysis of the surveillance data and methods to track the surveillance data of occupational diseases over time.
5. Learn how surveillance information of occupational diseases can guide to develop, control, and prevention of these diseases. You will learn the process of providing surveillance information to develop the guidelines for control and prevention of occupational diseases.

Evaluation

Final Exam: 70%

Final Paper: 15%

Presentation: 10%

Class Attendance: 5%

Final Exam – 70%

Students will take a final exam in the class. Students need to prepare well for the final exam, reviewing all lecture materials and reading assignments to better understand the topics. Students will receive multiple choice exam questions on all the topics discussed in the class.

Final Paper – 15%

Students will summarize the chosen published article on occupational diseases surveillance and submit the report (less than 5 double-spaced pages) to the office of the Department of Epidemiology: Due by January 20, 2022. The format of a final paper is purpose, methods, results, strengths and weaknesses, limitations, conclusions, and references. In addition, a copy of the reviewed paper should be included. Late submission of the final paper will not be accepted unless you have obtained permission from the instructor before the due date. The purpose of this assignment is for the student to understand and develop the skills to critically evaluate occupational diseases surveillance papers published in the literature. 

Presentation – 10%

Each student will select one article among published articles on occupational diseases as a review paper. All students will present their review papers during class using a PowerPoint for 5 – 10 minutes. Students can select any occupation-related disease or injury including asbestosis, silicosis, occupational asthma, occupational cancer, malignant mesothelioma, musculoskeletal disorders, tuberculosis in healthcare workers, fatalities in construction workers, nonfatal injuries, organic dust toxic syndrome, metal fever, etc. The format of a presentation in class will be: purpose, methods, results (surveillance data, etc.), strengths and weaknesses, limitations, conclusions, and references. 

Class Attendance – 5%

To get all 5% class attendance points, students need to attend all classes. TA will check students’ attendance in the class every day.

This Winter Pre-term course is a short course for 5 days from January 4-8, 2022. There will be 2 or 3 lectures on selected occupational diseases (occupational cancer, occupational asthma, etc.) each day and training of disease surveillance data access from the government surveillance system for three days. The syllabus of the course will be sent to each student via email by TA. The students can also access posted syllabus from Canvas. Students are expected to read it.   

There will be 12 lectures throughout the Pre-term course period. Each lecture material (PowerPoint slides) will be emailed by TA to you right before the lecture date for your review. For lectures each day, the instructor will present the PowerPoint slides on each topic and discuss causes, risk factors, surveillance data, and important issues about disease prevention and control. Students are expected to ask questions on the topics discussed and clearly understand the lectures.

For sessions for the training of surveillance data access, each student should bring their own laptop to the class. The students will learn how to access disease surveillance data available from the Government surveillance system for one hour each day for three days.   

Reading Assignments

Students are expected to read all daily assignment papers or textbooks as listed on the course syllabus.

COURSE POLICIES

Required textbook: There is no required textbook. Reference books and articles for each lecture topic are recommended to read.

Recommended reference books:

Teutsch SM, Churchill RE, ed. Principles and Practice of Public Health Surveillance. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Bang KM, ed. Occupational Epidemiology. Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus, Inc., 1996.

Levy BS and Wegman DH. Occupational Health: Recognizing and Preventing Work-Related Disease, Third Edition. Little, Brown and Company, New York, 1995.

Attendance and Engagement

Students are expected to attend all sessions and to be engaged in the class for 5 days. I strongly encourage you to identify strategies to help yourself stay engaged in these sessions.

During this pre-term Winter course due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some students might be sick or will need to go into isolation or quarantine. If you are sick or in quarantine, please email me as soon as feasible so that I can discuss your individual circumstances and try to make up missed sessions and data access training sessions in person or remotely, if needed. 

For safety from the COVID-19 pandemic, all students must follow the guidelines in the classroom below.

• Students must properly always wear a mask.
• Sit in the marked seats, always maintaining at least 6 feet of distance between yourself and others.
• Maintain the same seating arrangements.
• Only use the entrance door to enter the classroom.
• Sanitize hands before entering the classroom.
• No drinking or eating.
• Students should not work in groups or gather during class or breaks.
• Take all belongs and trash with you when you leave.
• When exiting the classroom, those sitting nearest the exit should leave first.
• Sanitize your hands upon leaving the classroom.

My goal is for all students to be able to participate fully and have their learning supported in the class. Therefore, I will open a discussion session on the lecture topic and the TA will email each student lecture slides in advance for review. I and the TA are here to support you throughout the course. Please let me and the TA know of ways to improve the course and best support you for effective learning.

As the instructor of this course, I will try to provide an inclusive learning environment. However, if you experience barriers to learning in this course, do not hesitate to discuss them with me and the Office for Equity and Inclusion, 404-727-9877.

Accessibility and Accommodations

Emory’s Department of Accessibility Services (DAS) works with students who have disabilities to provide reasonable accommodations. In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the DAS. It is the responsibility of the student to register with DAS. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive and that disability accommodations are not provided until an accommodation letter has been processed.

Students who registered with DAS and have a letter outlining their academic accommodations are strongly encouraged to coordinate a meeting time with me to discuss a protocol to implement the accommodations as needed throughout the semester. This meeting should occur as early in the semester as possible. 

Contact the Department of Accessibility Services for more information at (404) 727-9877 or accessibility@emory.edu. Additional information is available at the DAS website 

Honor Code

You are bound by Emory University’s Student Honor and Conduct Code. RSPH requires that all material submitted by a student fulfilling his or her academic course of study must be the original work of the student.  Violations of academic honor include any action by a student indicating dishonesty or a lack of integrity in academic ethics. Academic dishonesty refers to cheating, plagiarizing, assisting other students without authorization, lying, tampering, or stealing in performing any academic work and will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

The RSPH Honor Code states: “Plagiarism is the act of presenting as one’s own work the expression, words, or ideas of another person whether published or unpublished (including the work of another student). A writer’s work should be regarded as his/her own property.” 

Communication

 We need clear and extra mindful of the importance of good communication during this pre-term course period. Due to the nature of this course, most questions are best-addressed face-to-face, rather than by email. This allows us to get a better understanding of the question(s) at hand and allows for a much smoother conversation to help improve your understanding.

Questions about the selection of topics related to occupational diseases or injuries for your presentation and final papers are best addressed after class during office hours.

If your situation changes regarding health, housing, or in any other regard with respect to your ability to participate in the class, please contact the appropriate Emory student support organization first and then me as soon as feasible. This does not mean I can successfully respond to every request for consideration, but I will try to help you succeed in this course.     

Health Considerations

Everyone must adhere to Emory’s Student Community Compact. Please look out for yourselves, each other, and our community as we work to our part to reduce the spread of COVID-19. All members of our community must wear a face covering and maintain 6 feet (2 meters) of physical distance between themselves and others. Due to the necessity of keeping your face covered on, eating, and drinking is strictly forbidden in the class. Students must follow guidelines for safety in the classroom (see page 5). If you see someone who is not following these guidelines, please provide a respectful reminder to them.

If you are sick with a high fever, shortness of breath, dry cough, and other symptoms that might be related to COVID-19 symptoms stay at home and reach out for health consultation. Please consult the campus FAQ for how to get the health consultation. As you know, Emory does contact tracing if someone has been diagnosed with COVID-19. A close contact is defined as someone you spend more than 15 minutes with, at a distance less than 2 meters, not wearing facial coverings. This typically means your roommates, for example. However, your classmates are not close contacts as long as we are following the personal protective equipment protocols in the classroom: wearing facial covering & staying 6 feet apart.     

Course Schedule can be downloaded here