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The course is intended for students of the 3rd year of General Medicine, takes place in the summer semester and consists of seven lectures and seven practical sessions.
Last update: Brennan Kearns Pavla, doc. MUDr., Ph.D. (12.02.2025)
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Participation in practical sessions. It is possible to miss one practical session for a serious reason. Last update: Brennan Kearns Pavla, doc. MUDr., Ph.D. (12.02.2025)
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Kenneth J. Rothman, Epidemiology: An Introduction, 2nd edition , Oxford University Press , 2012. The book can be obtained through this link: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cuni/detail.action?docID=5763681 Last update: Brennan Kearns Pavla, doc. MUDr., Ph.D. (12.02.2025)
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Exam: The course is completed with a written exam, which takes place during the examination period. You can register for the exam via SIS from April 1, 2026; registration opens at 18:00. Please bring a basic calculator (not a phone), writing utensils, and identification (ID card, ISIC, passport, etc.) to the exam. The exam assesses the achievement of intended learning outcomes and consists of 10 questions: 7 questions cover general epidemiology and evidence-based medicine, and 3 questions address selected chapters from the epidemiology of infectious diseases and social epidemiology. The questions are complex and usually assess multiple learning objectives at once. Each question has 4 answer options, with one to four correct answers. You receive 1 point for each correctly marked option, meaning that up to 4 points can be earned per question. Therefore, a maximum of 40 points can be obtained on the written exam.
Quizes: On Moodle, there are 6 voluntary quizzes available to encourage ongoing study. Each quiz is active during the odd-numbered week from Monday 8:00 AM to Thursday 8:00 PM. The correct answers to the quiz questions will be displayed on Friday. Each quiz consists of 5 randomly generated questions covering material from the previous weeks. You have 15 minutes to complete the quiz. Quiz 1 is active in the 3rd teaching week, Quiz 2 in the 5th week, Quiz 3 in the 7th week, Quiz 4 in the 9th week, Quiz 5 in the 11th week, and Quiz 6 in the 13th week. Each correct answer earns one point, meaning a total of 30 points can be achieved by completing all quizzes. These points can be added as a bonus to your first exam attempt as follows: 27–30 points from quizzes – 4 extra points added to the written exam 24–26 points from quizzes – 3 extra points added to the written exam 21–23 points from quizzes – 2 extra points added to the written exam 18–20 points from quizzes – 1 extra point added to the written exam Final exam grade: 36 points or more: 1 28–35 points: 2 20–27 points: 3 0–19 points: 4 (failed) In the case of a "failed" result, it is necessary to re-register for the written exam via SIS. In case of failure on the second attempt, a third attempt follows, which will take place as an oral exam. The oral exam will also test achievement of the specified intended learning outcomes. Last update: Brennan Kearns Pavla, doc. MUDr., Ph.D. (13.02.2026)
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Lectures 1) Foundations of Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine 25.2.2026, Pavla Brennan Kearns Intended learning outcomes: • Define the role of epidemiology. • Evaluate the credibility of the evidence of individual types of descriptive and analytical studies according to the hierarchy in medical research. • Contrast and explain the terms internal validity, external validity, and precision.
2) Association and causality 11.3.2026, Matěj Kučera Intended learning outcomes: • Explain the principle of randomization. • Interpret the results of “intention-to-treat” and “per protocol” analysis. • Contrast the concepts of allocation concealment and blinding. • Apply Bradford-Hill criteria to the results of an observational study.
3) Principles of epidemiology of infectious diseases 25.3.2026, Jiří Gregor Intended learning outcomes: • Explain the concepts of the epidemic cycle and the process of disease transmission in a population. • Define key terms and describe concepts in infectious disease epidemiology (e.g., attack rate, epidemic, pandemic, SIR model, reproductive number). • Explain infectious disease surveillance and provide specific examples. • List basic epidemiological measures and provide concrete examples of their practical application.
4) Epidemiologist in a healthcare facility 8.4.2026, Jiří Gregor Intended learning outcomes: • Explain the role of hygienists and epidemiologists in a healthcare facility. • Describe the differences in the epidemic cycle within a hospital setting (e.g., variations in susceptible individuals, differences in hospital microbial flora, modes of transmission). • Define healthcare-associated infections and list the most common pathogens, as well as surveillance methods and epidemiological measures. • Outline the role of a physician and the structure of consultations in travel medicine, providing examples of the most common infections addressed in this field.
5) Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases 22.4.2026, Jiří Gregor Intended learning outcomes: • Explain the terms emerging and re-emerging infections and provide specific examples. • Define risk factors for the occurrence of emerging and re-emerging infections. • Using an example, describe methods that can be used to prevent the occurrence and transmission of these infections.
6) Social epidemiology and public health 6.5.2026, Eliška Selinger Intended learning outcomes: • Define the social determinants of health using examples and describe the mechanisms through which they influence the health of individuals and society. • Explain the differences between the approaches of clinical medicine and public health with regard to social determinants. • Discuss how the social determinants of health can affect the quality of care and access to prevention, and what physicians can do to reduce their impact.
7) What is hot in infectious disease epidemiology 20.5.2026, Jiří Gregor Intended learning outcomes: • Describe trends in the incidence of selected infections in the Czech Republic and globally. • Assess trends in the incidence of infections for which long-term vaccination programs are in place in the Czech Republic and worldwide. • Describe the characteristics of selected infections and outline possible preventive and control measures.
Practical sessions: 1) Parameters of disease occurrence and death 3.3.2026 Intended learning outcomes: • Calculate a suitable indicator of the occurrence of a disease (chance, prevalence, risk, incidence rate, attack rate) and death (mortality, case fatality rate). • Reflect on the appropriateness of using cumulative incidence and incidence rate on the example of specific diseases. • Hypothesize a mechanism in the change of incidence / prevalence / mortality / case fatality rate.
2) Association parameters 17.3.2026 Intended learning outcomes: • Calculate an appropriate relative (risk ratio, incidence rate ratio, odds ratio) or absolute (risk difference, incidence rate difference, attributable risk, population attributable risk) indicator for the association between a risk/protective factor and a disease. • Interpret the resulting association indicator in terms of its value and statistical significance.
3) Observational analytical studies 31.3.2026 Intended learning outcomes: • Recognize the type of study and assess the strength of its evidence within the hierarchy. • Characterize main advantages and disadvantages of analytical studies. • Propose an appropriate analytical study design for a specific research question. • Calculate and interpret an appropriate indicator of association (relative risk, odds ratio).
4) Bias 14.4.2026 Intended learning outcomes: • Determine individual types of bias (confounding, selection bias, information bias) and their effect on the outcome of the study. • Contrast between a confounding factor, a mediator, and an effect modifier. • Apply various methods of eliminating confounding factors.
5) Journal Club 28.4.2026 Intended learning outcomes: • Evaluate the overall quality, validity and precision of an observational study. • Interpret study results, including graphical displays (tables, graphs). • Recognize bias, its type and the direction, in which it distorts the results.
6) Evidence-based medicine I 12.5.2026 Intended learning outcomes: • Formulate research and clinical questions using the PICO system. • Assess the overall quality, validity and precision of a randomized controlled trial. • Interpret result of a randomized controlled trial in terms of clinical and statistical significance. • Decide whether it is possible to apply result of a randomized controlled trial to a specific patient.
7) Evidence-based medicine II 26.5.2026 Intended learning outcomes: • Assign a level of evidence (AD) for a study. • Evaluate validity of a systematic review (specificity of the question, search and selection strategy of studies, evaluation of the risk of bias of primary studies). • Interpret a Forrest plot (value, precision, heterogeneity). • Assess the risk of publication bias in a systematic review / meta-analysis. Last update: Brennan Kearns Pavla, doc. MUDr., Ph.D. (13.02.2026)
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