I had a little difficulty joining the test session in Bb Collaborate, so when I succeeded I made a little "home video" to share: https://youtu.be/WWRYu8GjWuE

Hopefully the process will be more efficient for you :-)

 

Dear Course Participant -

Welcome to EPID600 online - Epidemiology for Enlightenment. I have taught this course since 2002, and this will be my last time. I hope to contribute insights from nearly 40 years of teaching introductory epidemiology!

I have posted the comments from last fall's students in "Module 0" in Course Materials. If you have time, browsing through these will give you a flavor of the course and the variety of student experiences with it. You will read that the course is very stimulating but demands a lot of time. Because of the many different components, it takes some time to figure out how it all works. Nearly every component of the course was appreciated by at least some students and criticized by others. My hope is that each of you will find what works for you to benefit from and succeed in the course along with your other responsibilities.

Epidemiology has been a key contributor to public health, but we need it to do so much more. Even though few of you will go on to become epidemiologists, many of you will have opportunities to help make epidemiology more effective in the future. I look forward to learning with you over the semester.

Vic Schoenbach, http://go.unc.edu/vjs

P.S. Many years ago I developed a system of special webpages to display case study questions and answers, and for students to submit their answers. The submissions generated an email confirmation, sent the student's answers to the teaching assistant, and displayed the instructor answers. But last May UNC changed its web hosting arrangements, so I am having to rework the delivery and submission procedure for case studies. Please bear with me as I learn the Sakai Assignment tool and rework the site.

P.P.S. Past broadcast emails sent to students enrolled in the class can be read at the Messages tab, except for one that was sent to registered students in ConnectCarolina on 8/20/2017.

 

Johnson & Johnson Hit With Record Talc-Ovarian Cancer Verdict of $417 Million

By Myron Levin on August 21, 2017, FairWarning

A Los Angeles jury today ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay damages of $417 million to a 62-year-old woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on years of using the company’s baby powder for feminine hygiene.

https://www.fairwarning.org/2017/08/talc-ruling/

Does Baby Powder Cause Cancer? A Jury Says Yes. Scientists Aren't So Sure

Alison Kodjak, NPR, 8/22/2017 - listen for Joellen Schildkraut, a Duke professor who used to co-teach epidemiology with me.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/22/545314093/-417-million-awarded-in-suit-linking-johnson-johnson-baby-powder-to-cancer

'Smart' Pill Bottles Aren't Enough To Help The Medicine Go Down

Lauren Silverman, NPR, 8/22/2017

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/22/538153337/smart-pill-bottles-arent-enough-to-help-the-medicine-go-down

If you joined the class late or are confused about how to proceed, here are some suggestions:

1. Past email to the class can be found at the Messages tab (see left-hand panel)

2. The recording of Monday evening's live meeting is available at Blackboard Collaborate (in the left-hand panel) | Recordings. The first 15 minutes or so are empty, since the recording started before the meeting. Remember to click the "Play" button before you slide the progress indicator.

3. Each module, including Module 1 begins with a set of step-by-step instructions that lists every component of the module and tells you where to find it.

Feel free to email questions to me or either of the TAs. You'll soon have it all figured out :-)

Thank you for joining EPID600 online, Vic

Two articles in today’s Herald-Sun:

The water company [OWASA] canceled its meeting. The fluoride critics showed up anyway
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/counties/orange-county/article169291917.html
Claire Viadro, shown in the photo, is a Gillings alumna.

NC poised to test what critics call a ‘snowblower blowing garbage juice’
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/state/article166983162.html
ENVR's Courtney Woods is featured in this article.

Return of syphilis
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/health/syphilis-std-united-states.html?_r=0
Nearly 24,000 cases of early-stage syphilis, when the disease is most contagious, were reported in the United States in 2015, a 19 percent rise over the previous year. Obstacles to control include drug shortages, uneducated doctors, and gangs.

Career Empowerment for Women in Science

Aug. 28, 2017 | 3-4 p.m. ET | FREE

For women pursuing careers in the sciences, there are a number of unique challenges. Fortunately, there are also a number of strategies that women can employ to allow their talent, intelligence and scientific skill to shine through. This is the first of two webcasts addressing this topic.

Our discussion will be led by Dr. Shirley Malcom and Dr. Celeste Rohlfing, two women who have faced these challenges, firsthand. Their insights will prove invaluable – and inspirational – to any female scientist or entrepreneur interested in furthering their career.

https://careerdevelopment.aaas.org/career-empowerment/?utm_source=AAAS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Live-Training-Event&et_rid=49247541&et_cid=1511409

Networking for Scientists & Engineers

Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 | 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. ET | FREE

The importance of networking in the fields of science and engineering cannot be overstated. Opportunities – whether for career gain, your firm’s revenue or the advancement of research – rarely come to those who wait. Your proactive efforts to build relationships are the key to your success.

This webcast, led by Anthony Fasano (PE), addresses the importance of networking throughout your career and provides strategies for effective networking and relationship building. You’ll learn essential techniques for both live events and online. By applying the strategies presented in this session, you will greatly increase your personal reach, setting the stage for massive benefits.

https://careerdevelopment.aaas.org/networking-for-scientists-engineers/?utm_source=AAAS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Live-Training-Event&et_rid=49247541&et_cid=1511409

We have our second live meeting this evening at 8:00pm EDT. You can enter the session (click Blackboard Collaborate on the left) after 7:00pm. Even if you participated last week, it's always a good idea to try entering the session well in advance, since sometimes Bb Collaborate can be finicky. If you have difficulty, my video (see Announcements) may help.

In this evening's session we'll take questions, introduce the Gillings Academic Enrichment Program tutors, give you a few examples of quiz questions that we might ask for this module, explain the difference between incubation and latency periods for communicable diseases, talk about EPID600 group work, and walk through a recent outbreak investigation provided by Vanessa Miller (an EPID600 2014 TA who studied Field Epidemiology). We hope you will join us!

(The slides for the session are in Module II (direct link: https://sakai.unc.edu/x/V6zvgD). The session will be recorded, and the slides will be updated afterwards.)

I just received the following alert. I guess this is a good week to be learning about outbreak investigation!

ATTENTION: UNC Students, Faculty and Staff:

Over the past few days, a few dozen students have reported becoming ill with symptoms including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea during visits to Campus Health Services.  Campus Health Services is working very closely with the Orange County Health Department to identify the cause of these illnesses which, based on one confirmed case, is most likely Norovirus.

Following standard public health procedures, Campus Health Services is monitoring the situation in coordination with several key University units including Environment Health and Safety and Student Affairs. We are also providing information about gastroenteritis on the Campus Health Services website: https://campushealth.unc.edu/health-topics/medical-conditions/gastroenteritis-nausea-vomiting-diarrhea.

Students with questions should contact Campus Health Services at (919) 966-6573 to speak directly with a registered nurse.  

In the meantime, campus and local health officials encourage students, faculty and staff to be aware of the situation and to take the following steps to prevent illness: 

• Wash hands frequently with soap and warm running water for at least 20 seconds, especially after using the toilet and before eating or preparing food.
• Alcohol-based sanitizers may not always be effective.

If you are sick or are around others who are sick: 

• Do not go to school or work or and stay in your residence hall or at home if at all possible.  
• Wash and rinse fruits and vegetables carefully before eating them. 
• Thoroughly clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces immediately after an episode of illness. First spray the area with a bleach-based disinfectant or diluted household bleach; then clean with the disinfectant wearing disposable gloves. Diluted bleach should be mixed with a 1:10 ratio of water and mixed daily. 
• Cleanup waste should be placed in a plastic bag that should be tied and placed in the trash receptacle. 
• Immediately remove and wash clothing or linens in hot water and detergent. They may be contaminated after an episode of illness. 
• Flush or discard any vomit and/or stool in the toilet and make sure that the surrounding area is kept clean and disinfected. 
• If you are ill, prevent dehydration by frequently sipping a non-alcoholic beverage. 

The document with student group assignments now includes reasons for taking EPID600, preferred pronouns, and the introductions that you submitted with case study 01. I believe you will enjoy getting to know your classmates - you are manifestly an epidemiology-interested population :-)  (direct link)

I have posted the slides for this evening's live meeting in Course Materials | Module IV - Reading Epidemiologic Studies (direct link)

As part of the live meeting we'll talk about the module V case study article on HIV in Zimbabwe.

See you this evening at 8pm EDT!

The Academic Enrichment Program tutoring schedule has been updated. The current version can be found on the page at http://sph.unc.edu/students/student-resources/ (scroll down to Academic Support | Gillings School Resources | Academic Enrichment Program | "View more information").

See top of Module V - Measuring Disease

We traditionally have a mid-course evaluation of EPID600 TA's so they can obtain positive reinforcement of behaviors you have found to be helpful and also receive your suggestions while much of the course remains. The link to this semester's evaluation form is in Course Materials (or click here). That folder also has a Word document with the questions, so you can see what the survey covers. The survey also asks for comments and suggestions about the class as a whole. Note that this form does not track your identity, so your responses should be anonymous. However, please be aware that nothing on the Internet is completely anonymous.

Thank you for providing feedback about your TA and the class during the upcoming week. Please make a note in your calendar when you submit the TA evaluation, since at the end of the semester you will be asked to report the submission on the final case study so that you can receive a point on your course grade to thank you.

To recognize course participants for their contributions to their small groups, EPID600 awards 10% of the course grade based on peer evaluations by your fellow small group members. At the end of the course you will be asked to report how much each member of your group has contributed to your learning, e.g., through the discussion forums or offline working together on case studies [but not during quizzes or exams, of course]. In addition, we will have a mid-course peer evaluation process to familiarize everyone with the procedure and to give you the opportunity to thank your groups members for their contributions thus far and to offer suggestions/make requests. Peer evaluation ratings and comments are confidential. You can see an example "peer evaluation report" and access instructions and the rating form in the First Peer Evaluation folder in Course Materials. Although your submission this time is only advisory to your group members, you will receive a half-point on your course grade for providing ratings and another half-point for providing comments for all group members.

I've released the module VI quiz results. 

Question 3 on the quiz ("Must an effective screening program result in "lead time"? Give a one-sentence answer beginning with "Yes, since ..." or "No, since ...".") caused a number of students difficulty. If you did not fully understand it or lost points, check the quiz review from the live meeting, where Phyo went over the answer. Note that "lead time" is not the same as "lead time bias".

I have posted a folder with information about the Midterm Exam, including a copy of the instructions and an outline of topics that the exam covers. Similar to the weekly quiz, the exam will be available to take from Thursday afternoon at about 3pm to the end of Sunday. The 20-24 questions will be mostly multiple choice and calculation, so clearly not every topic in the outline will be covered on the exam. The time limit is 2 hours, with an overtime charge for going over that. You can find the folder in Module VIII | Course Materials or by clicking https://sakai.unc.edu/x/pMNElX

Apologies for the slight delay. I have now opened the midterm examination (in tests and quizzes). Today I found some suggestions from the Sakai team when I logged into Sakai, so I posted the link at the top of the Midterm Exam folder in Course Materials. The suggestions are to help prevent loss of your answers from a browser confusion episode. Good luck on the exam !

See the Cross-sectional Studies module in Course Materials - right at the top of the folder.

I sent out an email earlier announcing the availability of the midterm results and instructor answers in Tests & Quizzes. The scores have been sent to the Sakai Gradebook, so they are now included in the overall average. That average may be useful, but note that it will not include points from the end-of-semester peer evaluations nor points for the evaluations that you submit. I do not use Sakai to calculate course grades.

Many thanks for taking the time to submit peer and TA/course evaluations. You should have received a peer evaluation report from me over the weekend. I've now read over the comments submitted with the TA evaluations. As is usually the case, people experience the course differently, which is hardly surprising with students from different programs and stages in their training. There is a wide diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, preferences, and competing activities!

We are glad that so many of you are enjoying the course so far and hope that as we gain more experience with epidemiologic thinking, even more of you will enjoy it.

The course is a lot of work, though, and takes a lot of time, which certainly creates some strain for many. A 3-credit course is supposed to involve a minimum of 7+ hours/week, but that stipulation (which when I served on the Faculty Council I learned is a Federal requirement adopted by the faculty) does not indicate how that can be measured or established.

As you will see from the evaluation results, there is a broad distribution of the number of hours that students are spending on the course. The median of the distribution does fall in the 7+ hour interval, and since there is no commuting associated with the class it compares favorably with a 3-credit classroom course. But one quarter of you reported spending more than 11 hours, which if you have any other responsibilities must be a significant strain. Hopefully as your familiarity with the material and the procedures increases that will ease somewhat. But there is a lot of material to learn.

If you would like to review the results of the TA/course evaluation, you can see the tabulation and comments (for which the submitter gave permission for dissemination) in the TA evaluation folder.

I've posted the slides as the first item in the Course Materials | X - Cohort Studies

The slides are at the top of the XIV Data Analysis folder (go there).

If you can't make it, have a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!