Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course students will be able to:
- Identify and describe key epidemiological concepts and terms
- Understand and interpret epidemiological data relevant to ASD
- Be able to document that ASD is an important public health issue
- Link the scientific field of epidemiology and public health with the field of special education and clinical practice
- Identify the causes of chronic diseases
- Distinguish between the different types of epidemiological studies
- Identify problems and limitations of the field of epidemiology
- Understand statistical principles useful for the understanding of literature
- Document the necessity and role of data collection in public health
- Describe the relationship between public health and medical care
- Distinguish between the scientific fields related to public health
- Identify levels of prevention in public health
- Differentiate between the concepts of prevention and health promotion
- Evaluate burning public health issues related to economics, ethics and politics
- Describe the relationship between ASD and public health
- Search for and identify global institutions that study and record data on ASD
- Understand analytical data on the prevalence of ASD at global and European level
- Understand analytical data on the prevalence of ASD in Greece
- Critically assess the validity of the attribution of the term ‘epidemic’ to ASD
- Identify relevant methodological problems and limitations related to epidemiological data
- Evaluate the change in diagnostic systems and changes in the definition of ASD in the context of the methodological problems identified in relation to ASD
- Analyse factors associated with ASD, such as degree of kinship, biological sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic/sociodemographic factors, stressors and migration, and age of diagnosis
Course Content
- Introduction to epidemiology: basic concepts, example of a typical epidemiological investigation
- Epidemiology and the causes of chronic diseases
- Basic principles and methods of epidemiology (types of epidemiological studies)
- Problems and limitations of epidemiology
- Ethical issues in epidemiology
- Statistics in epidemiological studies
- The role of data collection in public health
- Introduction to public health: what is public health, public health and medical care, public health-related sciences
- Promotion and prevention
- Public health issues: economic impact, civil liberties, ethical and religious concerns, political interventions in science
- The role of government and the role of non-governmental organisations in public health
- Public health: a public health issue
- Global bodies for the observation of ASD
- Global ASD prevalence data
- European ASD prevalence data
- Greek ASD prevalence data
- ASD prevalence data from the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia
- The autism ‘epidemic’: key methodological issues
- Changes in diagnostic systems: changing definition
- Factors associated with ASD (degree of kinship, biological sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic/sociodemographic factors, stressors and migration, age of diagnosis)