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My Intellectual Journey

Kayla Henry

University of North Florida

HSC3500: Epidemiology

Professor Katryne Lukens Bull

December 7, 2020
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As a public health student, I am required to take epidemiology. However, this semester

called for remote learning and experience. Although this course basically developed into a distance

learning course, it still affected the way I comprehended the course material. Specific classes are

taken in-person only due to the type of work given, the importance it holds to the degree and how

it affects the student entering that field of work. I would consider epidemiology to reside as one of

those courses. Online courses have both positive and negative aspects but can cause students to

combat various experiences. My Intellectual Journey will focus on the introduction of

epidemiology in terms of what I already knew in contrast to what I learned, in addition comparing

epidemiology to previous courses I have taken, the major modules or course material that affected

my process of learning and a reflection of the semester overall.

Epidemiology is a new area of subject. Before entering the class, I had a general idea of

epidemiology. It is the study of diseases and the health outcome over a population. I was unaware

of the statistical factor that plays a major role in the subject. However, after a few weeks into the

course I realized that epidemiology plays a major role in the statistics of public health and how

they are assessed. As a major in public health, I learn about health statistics on a daily basis whether

it be from a course on healthy eating or human diseases. I can learn about the rate of weight gain

for children 18 and under or adults over the age of 50. I can also learn about the statistics for a

certain disease and its prevalence over the course of the past four years. I have taken a variety of

public health courses that are relevant to epidemiology. A prerequisite course that shows relevance

is microbiology. Microbiology not only teaches students about microorganisms and the diseases

that go along with them but in times like these where we are living in a pandemic epidemiology is

a major topic discussed. In taking this course over the summer, my professor held multiple

discussions to show the mortality rate of COVID-19 and even its prevalence throughout the
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summer in terms of Florida and all across the world. In addition to Microbiology, I have also taken

Statistics, where students are taught the general basics of statistical information and how to read

and transcribe statistics correctly which is an important tool for Epidemiology. In reference to the

major public health courses, I have taken Human Diseases which I feel is a combination of Human

Anatomy and Physiology and Epidemiology. It is also a crucial topic for a time such as now and

can be very resourceful. I have taken Sex Education where various epidemiological terms are used

but in reference to sexually transmitted diseases or reproductive health issues. Students can learn

about the mortality rate of newborns due to abortions or stillbirths. They can also gain insight on

the morbidity rate of certain sexually transmitted diseases and which population is most affected.

Other classes such as Mental Health and Illness, Dimensions of health for older adults and Physical

activity and public health students have the opportunity to gain knowledge on the statistics

regarding these various subjects.

In taking this course I value the discussions held in our group. Throughout the semester I

what's giving opportunity to not only learn about facts regarding Epidemiology but other health

related topics as well. I enjoyed the various Ted talks and also health topics such as social

determinants of health and the prevalence of disease between Duval County and the state of

Florida. Within these discussions students talked about what was learned , the relevant it holds to

Epidemiology and how it also affects our lives personally. With that being said one of my favorite

discussions from this course is the Ted Talk, The epidemic of chronic disease and epigenetics by

Ken Thornburg, the chair of cardiovascular research and a professor of medicine at Oregon Health

and Science University. He discussed the importance of babies growing and developing in a

healthy environment even before they are born. In addition how that process is determined with

the grandmother. This can show whether or not a child is at risk of heart disease. This lecture
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sparked curiosity in birth and babies and also was a great reminder of why I would like to enter

the health field as a profession. Discussions such as these affect the world greatly by causing

people to talk to think and create and eventually put those ideas into action in order to change the

world. I admired his thesis and the evidence shown to support it both facts and statistics.

Chapter 10, Infectious Disease and Outbreak Investigations, was one of my favorite

chapters from this course and semester. I really enjoyed exercise 5 where students held the

opportunity to play the role of an outbreak investigator and figure out what caused people to get

sick at a picnic. It caused students to apply skills and concepts learned and develop to complete

the task. I enjoy deciphering the problem and using all factors giving to assess the situation. I was

able to figure out the causing agent or solve the problem. In completing this exercise I feel as

though students were also given insight on the work of epidemiologist and how they would go

about assessing a situation such as the one given. This can also show if becoming an epidemiologist

or entering the public health field is something that interests you merely from tackling a task such

as this. It is a great example of what a physician, nurse, or health care provider would do and a

skill that they will need to attain. It also allows students to develop skills not only that pertains to

solving a problem or identifying what causes disease or illness but also being self-assured that

based on the data given you are more than sure that this is the reason. If this exercise was

approached the proper way students definitely learned a bunch. Chapter 10 is also relevant to the

world crisis we are currently enduring. In learning this information students can take a deeper

examination are COVID-19 in terms of how people can get affected, the effects it can have on the

host and where this disease derived from. This also shows why epidemiology is an important

course to take at a time like this.

Another valuable part of this course was the presentations towards the end. The group

presentations were very helpful. Not only were students able to learn about the topic selected , they

were also able to develop skills on working with others, researching the topic, presenting in front

of an audience, and putting a presentation together. In doing this presentation students also got the

chance to experience working with others remotely or in different areas of the world. For instance,

certain factors such as time differences can be an issue or if group members are experiencing

technical difficulties and are unable to contribute. It also allows students to use different forms of

technology such as Zoom to record their presentation or other search engines in order to find

information on the topic. As this epidemic continues students are more likely to experience remote

presentations using apps such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, therefore this presentation really

prepared students for either other presentations in different classes, presentations for career

purposes, or even holding a meeting with of one your business personnel over the phone or

computer.

Epidemiology is a combination of Math and English. The Math and English discussed are

specific to Epidemiology or associated with epidemiological topics. This is a great factor of

Epidemiology because it not only allowed students to practice the basic concepts of writing and

math, but to develop skills in this subject specifically such as using proper health terminology and

analyzing data using statistics. In entering the health field it is important for a student to know

when to apply these certain strategies. Developing an understanding of both math and reading

concepts in this subject was a necessity in order to fully grasp epidemiology as a whole. It

demonstrates how this course also uses concepts from other public health related courses such as

Statistics or Human Diseases in order to create the language of Epidemiology. Due to the

comparison of information from other courses, the readings were not only very insightful but also
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great reviews of health in general. A math concept that appeared challenging was introduced in

Chapter 7, Types of Study Designs, where students had to practice identifying the measure of

association, describing relationship between exposures and outcomes, determining the type of

study and more. In calculating the attributable risk, I needed to ensure I used the proper integers

but also round to the correct decimal, which I struggled with throughout the semester but gradually

improved.

As the semester commences, I have reflected on my growth within this class. I will

definitely leave the class with more knowledge of Epidemiology than I came in with. Not only

from the math and reading but from the major skills and strategies I developed after encountering

various situations. I would have preferred to take this course in person as I struggle with stress,

procrastination, and other factors that contribute to losing focus on a course that's online. The

readings really refined the health topics and gave students insight on what could potentially be

discussed in the real world. Although I am not a fan of math, I definitely developed major math

skills that can be used in my health profession and be the root to solving a major health issue.

Using the skills and concepts I learned from this course I so I can project my knowledge to another

person. In terms of COVID-19, I can inform people on the public health policy is related with this

disease,, the social determinants of health affected by it, and how data is currently being collected

on this pandemic as a whole. Also depending on the trends now, how the world can be affected in

years to come.
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References

The epidemic of chronic disease and ... - YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2020,
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReCvreRPdeY