Do a lot of people in your neighborhood all seem to have the same sickness? Are people concerned about high rates of cancer? Your community may want to explore the possibility of a disease cluster, which happens when there is a higher number of cases of disease than expected.
When communities hear about cases of disease in their neighborhood, they are rightfully concerned. However, the results of investigations by the health department often find no evidence of a cluster.
This course will help you understand what a disease cluster is and how it is studied. The goal is to empower community (or citizen) scientists, and to help build better relationships between communities and health officials.
Welcome! We're excited to lay out the rationale behind this course and begin to talk about disease and it's study.
What's included
3 videos
Show info about module content
3 videos•Total 43 minutes
Introduction to Disease Clusters•19 minutes
What is Disease and What is a Disease Cluster?•14 minutes
Case Study: Cholera in London•11 minutes
How is Disease Studied
Module 2•1 hour to complete
Module details
Now we dive into the study of disease, looking at how we can break things down by place and over time. . . with a special focus on unusual disease events. The five question quiz asks about what we've covered up to that point.
What's included
4 videos1 assignment
Show info about module content
4 videos•Total 50 minutes
How is Disease Studied? Investigating Clusters•20 minutes
Case Study 2: Breast Cancer in Cape Cod•10 minutes
Unusual or “Sentinel” Events: Another Strategy for Health Detective•10 minutes
Case Study 3: The Spanish Toxic Oil Event•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
1•30 minutes
Approaches to Possible Clusters
Module 3•2 hours to complete
Module details
How do people working in health departments handle disease cluster investigations? Who else is involved? Module 3 starts off with some videos and a discussion. We look forward to engaging with you! At the end of the module, a quiz asks about material covered since your last quiz.
Who Does What during a Disease Cluster Investigation?•8 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
Directions for Discussion Forum•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 5 minutes
2•5 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
Module Two Discussion Forum•10 minutes
5 plugins•Total 75 minutes
2.1 What is Cancer Cluster•15 minutes
2.2 What is a Cancer Cluster?•15 minutes
2.3 Advice for Communities - From Professionals•15 minutes
2.4 Advice for Other Communities from the Frederick Community•15 minutes
2.5 Cancer Registry•15 minutes
Why Are These Investigations Often Unsuccessful? (Suzanne Condon)
Module 4•1 hour to complete
Module details
As we've mentioned, the tools available to public health often don't lead to the answers for which a community hoped. This module covers some of the reasons for that. Your final quiz asks about material presented in Module 4.
What's included
4 videos1 assignment
Show info about module content
4 videos•Total 39 minutes
What Is Cancer?•7 minutes
Case Study: Childhood Leukemia in Woburn, MA•12 minutes
Case Study: Sarcoma in Ashland, MA•10 minutes
Tracking Disease•11 minutes
1 assignment•Total 5 minutes
3•5 minutes
What can community members do?
Module 5•2 hours to complete
Module details
Around the world, many communities grapple with disease clusters every day. Hear from an organization in the US working with those communities to help answer their questions. Your final assignment asks to you bring together everything you've learned to develop a plan for how you will (or would) handle a disease cluster investigation. We hope to see lots of innovative ideas!
What's included
2 videos1 reading1 peer review
Show info about module content
2 videos•Total 39 minutes
Losing Communities to Toxic Pollution and Disasters (Michele Roberts)•16 minutes
What Can Citizen Scientists Do?•23 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
Directions for Final Project•10 minutes
1 peer review•Total 60 minutes
Plan a Disease Cluster Investigation•60 minutes
Instructors
Instructor ratings
Instructor ratings
We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.
The mission of The Johns Hopkins University is to educate its students and cultivate their capacity for life-long learning, to foster independent and original research, and to bring the benefits of discovery to the world.
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