Title:	Intensive course on operational epidemiology in tropical diseases (ICOETDI)
Keywords:	Statistics Rural health Neglected diseases Epidemiology Disease prevention, control and elimination
Country:	Venezuela
Institution:	Venezuela - Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Universidad Central de Venezuela
Course coordinator:	Profs. Julio Castro Belkisyole Alarcón de Noya
Date start:	2025-06-16
Date end:	2025-07-11
About duration and dates:	Total duration: 4 weeks (from Monday to Friday, full time) 40 Contact hours/week, 5 days/week. 5 hours self-study hours/week Application deadline: 3 weeks before course start
Classification:	advanced optional
Mode of delivery:	Face to face
Course location: Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Universidad Central de Venezuela and Chichiriviche de la Costa- Venezuela (Fieldtrip)
ECTS credit points:	5 ECTS credits
SIT: TOTAL SIT: 135 h - Face-to-face hours: 120 1. Community Based Learning (32 h) 2. Lectures (37h) 3. Project Based Learning and assessment (15 h) 4. Case-based Teaching (13 h) 5. Practical exercises (23 h) - Self-study hours: 15 (private reading and group work preparation)
Language:	English
Description: At the end of this course, participants will be able to: 1. Propose a context specific public health intervention based on interdisciplinary fieldwork. 2. Discuss current challenges in the control of infectious diseases, with focus on epidemiology principles and relevant conditions present in the tropics. 3. Relate key knowledge about etiology, pathogenesis, general clinical features, diagnosis, management and community control of the most relevant tropical diseases and environmental disorders. 4. Design questionnaires and manage data using REDCap. 5. Apply descriptive statistics, measures of frequency and measures of association using e.g. Stata, R and Tableau. 6. Examine field operational issues, including laboratory services and diagnostics in the field, infectious disease prevention and control strategies, and biosafety and biosecurity.
Focus or specific features: Pre-registration period: November the 1st 2024 to November 30th 2024.
Assessment Procedures: Formative assessment: 1. Practical exercises test (60 min.) for general microscope skills and knowledge on diagnosis tools on given conditions will be assessed 2. Data analysis practical exercises Summative assessment: 1. Theoretical evaluations: 25% • During the different modules of the program/course, students will have multiple choice quizzes without prior notice, which will be carried out at the beginning or end of the activities, as decided by the instructor (20 minutes each). At least two short quizzes will be made. 2. Continued assessment during the course: 25% • Students´ engagement in discussions will be assessed on a weekly basis using rubrics designed by the facilitators team. 3. Intervention proposal presentation: 50%. A public health intervention proposal will be developed in couples based on previous problem assignments at the beginning of the course. This will be defended on an oral 20 minute per student presentation with audiovisual aids. Assessment will be carried out by peers and an expert panel, aided with rubrics designed for that purpose. A re-sit for a failing grade on the presentation (< 10/20) will be allowed as long as the total mark in previous assessments is 12 out of 20 points or better. A re-sit of the presentation has to be done three weeks after the on-campus week (online synchronous).
Content: 1. Neglected, emerging and re-emerging tropical diseases 2. Natural disasters, human migrations and microbial resistance as public health challenge/challenging situations 3. Useful tools for the epidemiological study of tropical diseases 4. Biostatistics tools for field intervention 5. Practical training on the use of statistical software, e.g. Stata or R. 6. Public health interventions in challenging situations 7. Use of social networks in the research and control of communicable diseases
Methods: 1.Lectures will introduce fundamental knowledge to students about epidemiology principles, methods and tools for operational application of theory. 2. Community Based Learning will take place in the 1-week fieldwork, where students will observe and apply previous knowledge during patient and placement evaluations, capture vectors and reservoirs and field discussion within the team. 3. Project Based Learning: At the beginning of the course each student will be assigned a general public health topic at random. Students will prepare their project and will have three weeks for consultation and discussion. During the last week they will discuss their projects and at the end they will present them for final assessment. 4. Case-based Teaching will be carried out during different consultations and practical sessions to apply theoretical basis on real cases. 5. Practical exercises will allow students to implement statistical tools and learn to analyze results they obtain.
Prerequisites: 1. Bachelor's degree in life sciences 2. Basic knowledge on statistical methods 3. At least two years' relevant work experience is desirable 4. Basic knowledge on communicable diseases at the level of the TropEd core courses. 5. Previous experience with handling statistical software is not required. 6. English language level TOEFL test 550 or 213 computer-based or 79/80 internet-based or IELTS band 6.0 or equivalent, or native speaker or completed higher education in English (with written proof) 7. Spanish A 1-2 is desirable (for fieldwork)
Attendance: Maximum of 10 students per course Maximum number of tropEd students: 10 Minimum student number: 5
Selection: For tropEd students: First come, first served principle
Fees: 1350 Euros for Latin-American students and 1650 Euros for non-LA student
Scholarships: N/A
tropEd accreditation: Accredited in Edinburgh, Sept. 2024; The accreditation is valid until Sept. 2029
Remarks: This course was designed for Troped students. It will be the first time we deliver this course to international students. It will be exhaustively evaluated for continued improvement.
Email Address:	juliocastrom@gmail.com
Date Of Record Creation:	2024-10-10 05:58:56 (W3C-DTF)
Date Of Record Release:	2024-10-10 12:14:29 (W3C-DTF)
Date Record Checked:	2024-10-10 (W3C-DTF)
Date Last Modified:	2024-11-20 09:29:19 (W3C-DTF)