School: Medical and Health Sciences

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Occupational Epidemiology
  • Unit Code

    OHS6136
  • Year

    2025
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    1
  • Credit Points

    20
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Prof Jacques OOSTHUIZEN

Description

This unit examines epidemiology from the perspective of occupational health and safety, including appropriate study design and quantitative data analysis techniques as they relate to the work environment. Epidemiological evidence as a tool for decision making regarding the management of occupational diseases, accidents and injuries is discussed with a focus on case studies and applied examples.

Non Standard Timetable Requirements

This unit is delivered online and as a consequence students wishing to enrol will need to have internet access.

Equivalent Rule

Unit was previously coded OHS5136

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Apply principles of ethical conduct when collecting data about or from human subjects in workplaces.
  2. Characterise types of epidemiology studies undertaken on cohorts of workers.
  3. Critically review and synthesis the outcomes from published research reports relating to occupational health.
  4. Design simple epidemiological studies that can be applied to the investigation of work related health and safety issues.
  5. Evaluate epidemiological data and predict potential occupational health risks.
  6. Summarise the scope of occupational epidemiology.

Unit Content

  1. Collection of field data.
  2. Development and implementation of intervention programs.
  3. Disease causation models.
  4. Epidemiological research design, including cross-sectional, case-control, cohort and intervention study designs.
  5. Evaluation and presentation of epidemiological data.
  6. Human research ethics.
  7. Measuring health - mortality, sickness and disease and disability risk factors.
  8. Quantitative analysis of data, including the calculation of incidence rates, prevalence, relative and attributable risk.
  9. Sources of error in epidemiological studies including bias, confounding and effect modification.
  10. Statistical analysis related to the assessment of health risk.

Learning Experience

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Additional Learning Experience Information

On-line teaching including tutorials and readings.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
Case StudyEpidemiological calculations25%
ReviewReview of epidemiological studies related to occupational diseases35%
ExaminationEnd of semester exam40%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

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