Essential Epidemiologic Tools for Public Health Practice

A compact, hands-on introduction to tracking and mapping public health data—perfectly suited for beginners stepping into epidemiology.

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access	Lifetime
level	Beginner
certificate	Certificate of completion
language	English

#Coursera

Description
Additional information

What will you learn in Essential Epidemiologic Tools for Public Health Practice Course

Discover what public health and epidemiology are all about, and how they shape how communities stay healthy.
Calculate key public health metrics—like rates and proportions—to understand the burden of disease in a population.

Learn how to turn data into clear visuals that show patterns and risk factors—big help when you’re explaining public health challenges.
Get hands-on with basic mapping: use tools like QGIS to make maps that show where health issues are happening.

Program Overview

Module 1: Role of Epidemiology in Public Health

⌛ 1 hour

Topics: Definitions of public health and epidemiology. Key components for population health. Overview of the hands-on exercise.
Hands-on: Complete a short assignment plus a video and reading introduction.

Module 2: Numeric Estimates in Epidemiology

⌛ 1 hour

Topics: Counts (numerators) and populations (denominators). Calculating ratios, proportions, and rates. Understanding measures of disease burden.
Hands-on: Practice deriving and interpreting ratios, proportions, and rates from sample data.

Module 3: Depiction of Epidemiologic Data

⌛ 1 hour

Topics: Principles of effective data visualization. Identifying good vs. poor visual designs. Using global disease-burden data to visualize risk factors.
Hands-on: Create a visualization of risk-factor data using online datasets (e.g., IHME)

Module 4: Basic Mapping of Epidemiologic Data

⌛ 1 hour

Topics: The role of place in public health. GIS basics and spatial data handling. Using QGIS with Census data.
Hands-on: Download and install QGIS. Extract spatial and epi-data, then build your own map.

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Job Outlook

Great for anyone in public health training, data science, or health policy roles—especially those needing to make sense of disease patterns and health trends.
Useful for professionals managing health programs, doing GIS analysis, or planning interventions at the community or policy level.

9.7Expert Score

Highly Recommendedx

A beginner-friendly yet practical course that equips you to measure, visualize, and map health data in your community—ideal for building foundational public health skills.

Value

9.5

Price

9.3

Skills

9.8

Information

9.7

PROS

Short and clear structure—about 4 hours across four modules.
Direct, hands-on training in tools both practical and widely used—like rate calculations, data visualization, and mapping.
Part of a larger specialization from a reputable university, giving a solid career certificate if you choose to continue.

CONS

Focused on core tools—not broader concepts like epidemiologic study design or bias—which come in later courses of the specialization.
Might feel too foundational for advanced learners looking for deeper analytical techniques.