HSC5040 Introductory epidemiology
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
HSC5040 Introductory epidemiology is a level 5, 6-credit-point, postgraduate unit from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, offered in 2026 in Semester 1 at Suzhou (SEU). It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2026
- Semester 1
- Suzhou (SEU)
- Assessment
- No exam
- 4 tasks
This is the 2026 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before HSC5040
Prohibitions
You can't enrol if you have passed any of these.
After HSC5040
No unit lists HSC5040 as a prerequisite in the 2026 handbook.
Enrolment rules
Must be enrolled in a postgraduate course
Equivalent units
The same content under another code. Only one of them counts.
Overview
This unit is taken concurrently with HSC5051, as together they are prerequisites for clinical epidemiology elective units.
Upon completion of this unit you will be able to measure frequencies of disease i.e. incidence, prevalence, "population at risk"; and measure associations in epidemiological studies; different study designs i.e. observational studies, experimental study designs; bias associated with study designs, misclassification, confounding and effect modification. You will critically appraise different epidemiological studies, apply diagnostic and screening tests, and examine outbreak investigation.
Offerings in 2026
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| First semester | Suzhou (SEU) | On campus, block |
Assessment
- Development activitiesExercise35%
- MCQ (30 Minutes)Quiz / Test10%
- Critical appraisal (2,100 words)Written35%
- Infographic (1 page of graphics)Artefact20%
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Explain and contextualise the purposes of descriptive and analytical epidemiology;
- 2
Explain and contextualise the concepts of study questions, population, sampling, exposure assessment, bias and confounding;
- 3
Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of different epidemiological study designs;
- 4
Critically analyse epidemiological papers from the medical research and OHS literature;
- 5
Evaluate the adequacy of exposure assessment in epidemiological studies;
- 6
Interpret and communicate the results of epidemiological studies; and
- 7
Solve complex problems relating to the use of epidemiological concepts and study designs.
Workload and teaching
- Workshops20 hours
12 hours per week including two-hour weekly workshops for 10 weeks.
Learning resources
Required resources
See Moodle for details about required resources.
Contacts
- Unit Coordinators
- Dr Lin Zhang
- Dr Anna Wang
- Chief Examiners
- Professor Danijela Gasevic
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for HSC5040?
HSC5040 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is HSC5040 offered?
In 2026, HSC5040 runs in Semester 1 at Suzhou (SEU).
Does HSC5040 have an exam?
No. HSC5040 has 4 assessment tasks and no exam.