| Title: |
Global Tuberculosis epidemiology and intervention |
| Keywords: |
TB
Disease prevention, control and elimination
Communicable diseases
|
| Country: |
Norway
|
| Institution: |
Norway - Centre for International Health, Universitetet i Bergen
|
| Course coordinator: |
Tehmina Mustafa
|
| Date start: |
2027-01-04 |
| Date end: |
2027-01-29 |
| About duration and dates: |
4 weeks, all online. Application deadline is 1st November 2026 for the course in January 2027. |
| Classification: |
advanced optional
|
| Mode of delivery: |
Distance-based
|
|
Course location:
Online Learning |
|
| ECTS credit points: |
5 ECTS credits
|
SIT:
Total SIT: 130 hours .
This is an online course and is delivered via the learning platform MittUiB (Canvas). The work during the 4 weeks is divided into:
- 30 hours participation in online lectures, videos, guided powerpoint content
- 50 hours individual reading texts from the online platform and from the literature list
- 50 hours individual work including participation in online discussion forums, completing exercises, preparing for and taking quizzes |
|
| Language: |
English
|
Description:
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
1. Critically analyse the global epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) and evaluate the historical development of TB control, including the impact of HIV co-infection and drug resistance on the dynamics of the epidemic.
2. Analyse and integrate the determinants of TB exposure, infection, disease, and transmission, with knowledge of TB pathogenesis, natural history, and clinical presentation.
3. Appraise approaches to TB diagnosis and control, including assessing the role and limitations of diagnostic methods and interpreting laboratory and treatment register data, including treatment outcomes and cohort analyses, to evaluate programme performance and inform TB management.
4. Evaluate TB prevention and control strategies from a public health perspective and analyse the social and socioeconomic consequences of TB. |
|
Assessment Procedures:
Portfolio assessment:
Each course module includes quizzes designed to assess students’ understanding of the material covered. Students are permitted one attempt per quiz, and results are provided immediately upon completion.
Active participation in the discussion forums is mandatory. Students are required to contribute their own posts to demonstrate engagement with the course content and their peers. Assessment of discussion activities is based solely on participation; the content or quality of contributions will not be formally graded.
The scores from quizzes and discussion participation are incorporated into the overall course assessment and together constitute 30% of the final grade.
Oral examination:
The oral examination is intended to provide a valid and reliable assessment of the student’s independent understanding of the course material and attainment of the learning outcomes.
The examination will be conducted individually via an online meeting platform and will last approximately 15 minutes per candidate. Two examiners will be present: one serving as the primary examiner and the other as co-examiner/observer.
The examination will be organised as an individual question-and-answer assessment covering the full scope of the course content across all modules. To ensure consistency, fairness, and transparency in grading, an assessment form will be completed for each candidate based on the following assessment criteria:
(1) the accuracy and relevance of the candidate’s responses; (2) the ability to integrate and apply knowledge from across the course; (3) critical understanding and reflection; and (4) the clarity, coherence, and structure of oral communication.
The final grade will be determined based on the extent to which the candidate demonstrates achievement of the course learning outcomes.
The oral examination constitutes 70% of the final course grade.
The grading is from A to F.
The max score on the total examination result is 100.
A = 80 or higher; B = 70 – 79; C = 60 – 69; D = 50 – 59; E = 40 – 49; and F > 40 ( to pass the student must have 40 point or more)
Students who fail the exam may resit it within the same semester, provided that at least three weeks have passed since completion of the course. The resit examination will be an online oral examination covering the full course syllabus. |
|
Content:
The course covers the following topics: global TB epidemiology and historical perspectives; determinants, pathogenesis and clinical presentation of TB; diagnosis and treatment; TB infection and preventive treatment; drug-resistant TB; TB management and control; TB comorbidities, including HIV co-infection; diagnostic delay and BCG vaccination; and sociocultural and socioeconomic aspects of TB. |
|
Methods:
The course combines pre-recorded lectures, guided PowerPoint presentations, individual reading, clinical and epidemiological case-based exercises, analysis of TB programme data, paper reviews, online discussion forums, and self-assessment quizzes. Students apply and integrate knowledge through individual assignments and discussion of clinical and public health scenarios.
The digital learning units cover historical perspectives and global TB epidemiology; pathogenesis, natural history, and clinical presentation; diagnosis; TB infection and preventive treatment; treatment, patient care, and support; drug-resistant TB; TB management and control; comorbidities, including HIV co-infection; diagnostic delay and BCG vaccination; and sociocultural and socioeconomic aspects of TB. |
|
Prerequisites:
Participants in this course should be students enrolled in a Master’s Degree Programme, and holding a Bachelor’s degree in medicine, dentistry or related disciplines in life sciences. In addition, the course is open to physicians and dentists with a special interest in global TB epidemiology and intervention
A good working knowledge of English is necessary for non-native speakers; English TOEFL test 550 or 213 computer-based or 79/80 internet-based or IELTS band 6.0.
This is an online course run on a digital platform; the students need to have access to a personal computer with a good, stable internet connection. |
|
Attendance:
A minimum of 5 students is needed to run the course. There is no maximum number. |
|
Selection:
Students enrolled in the Master’s programme in Global Health at the University of Bergen as well as Master students from other institutions within the TropEd network, will be given priority. |
|
|
|
Scholarships:
None available. |
|
Major changes since initial accreditation:
Several sections have been revised and updated to incorporate recent advancements in the field while preserving the course's overall structure and core content. The updates focus on refining and expanding specific details, reflecting the evolving understanding of the global epidemiology of TB.
The literature list has been revised to incorporate recent key publications, improve relevance, and reduce the volume of compulsory reading. Essential materials are now prioritised, while additional important resources have been included as recommended (optional) reading. This revision was necessary to ensure that the curriculum remains up to date and manageable for students, while still providing opportunities for deeper engagement with the subject.
The assessment format is revised. Previous experience has shown that both quizzes and take-home exams can be completed using AI tools without necessarily requiring students to engage actively with the course material. It is therefore important to adjust the assessment approach to encourage students to work more thoroughly through the curriculum in order to pass the exam. Accordingly, the assessment method will be changed from a take-home exam to an oral digital examination. |
|
Student evaluation:
Each of the 10 course units includes a dedicated section for student feedback on the learning experience. Overall, students have been satisfied with the course. They had requested clarification of certain quizzes, additional material on specific topics, improvements to some lectures, and a reduction in the volume of assigned reading. These comments have informed revisions to the course in subsequent years. |
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Lessons learned:
The teachers have learned the importance of being actively engaged throughout the course by promptly answering questions and providing continuous feedback to students.
The discussion forums have proved particularly valuable, both as a space for dialogue with students and as an important source of feedback for ongoing course improvement.
We also recognise that effective online teaching requires time and sustained effort; developing as a good online teacher is a gradual process that improves with experience.
In addition, we have observed that students increasingly rely uncritically on AI tools to complete quizzes in the portfolio assessment and home examinations without engaging with the course material, even though these assessments are intended to test knowledge gained from the course. This raises concerns about academic integrity, and we often gain the impression that some students have not sufficiently engaged with the content. As it remains difficult to detect and prevent this, we have introduced an oral examination covering the full syllabus. This aims to strengthen the validity of the assessment, encourage engagement with the required readings, and ensure that the intended learning outcomes are achieved. |
|
tropEd accreditation:
Accredited in EC TelCo, Dec 2016; reaccreditated in EC TelCo in March 2022; Reaccreditated in EC TelCo in Sept 2026 This accreditation is valid until Sept 2031. |
|
Remarks:
Literature list:
1. Selected chapters from the following booklets
1.1. Toman’s Tuberculosis: Case detection, treatment, and monitoring –questions and answers (https://tbrieder.org/publications/books_english/toman_2.pdf
1.2. ERJ Tuberculosis Monograph 2018.pdf
1.3. Epidemiologic Basis of Tuberculosis Control (https://tbrieder.org/publications/books_english/epidemiology_en.pdf)
2 Selected sections from the WHO Handbooks
Module1- TB preventive treatment2024
Module 2- Systematic screening TB disease2021
Module3- Diagnosis 2025.pdf
Module4- Treatment and Care 2025.pdf
Module 5- Management TB children adolescent2022
Module6- TB comorbidities-3rd ed.pdf
3 Eighteen articles from peer-reviewed journals |
|
| Email Address: |
Linda.Forshaw@uib.no |
| Date Of Record Creation: |
2016-12-22 17:21:47 (W3C-DTF) |
| Date Of Record Release: |
2016-12-22 22:50:34 (W3C-DTF) |
| Date Record Checked: |
2017-09-12 (W3C-DTF) |
| Date Last Modified: |
2026-09-30 10:03:56 (W3C-DTF) |
