I really enjoyed the course, the last week on GIS systems and the interactive lesson on how to use QGIS was particularly helpful, as my MPH program did not utilize any interactive GIS tools. However, I found some of the quiz questions to be rather subjective as opposed to clear-cut yes or no answers. Also, it may help to update some of the information reliant on websites, as some of the websites linked have changed a bit and it made following along tricky at times. Nice class, thank you!

Very easy to understand course. Quiz questions challenging so you must pay attention, can't just buzz through the videos without absorbing material. Only area of criticism was instructions to access some of the online features when engaging in the QGIS project were not current. Some of the features of the website and even the QGIS software were a little different from what was depicted in instructions, but minor stumbling block. Overall very good course.

I loved everything except for the QGIS exercise. The barrier to completion of this exercise was insurmountable for me, as the file for practice required a newer computer than I own! I was able to practice a bit with other online QGIS tutorials and as was true for the overall course, I got a better idea regarding where I need to focus future studies.

This course was a good primer for those who have little or no background in epidemiology and public health. In particular, the instructor set the practice of public health in the context of its longstanding history and the tools that were developed by researchers and government officials to collect population and health data, in order to respond to health issues and threats in a way that traditional, individualized clinical practice was. However, the instructor does not necessarily make the learning objectives clear in each week, and often tests on material that was only vaguely mentioned in the lecture videos or was poorly defined. The last week of the course, on mapping health data with GIS tools, is promising, as it introduces the student to powerful data tools and comprehensive health and geographic data available to the public. However, it falls short in that this segment provides only a cursory treatment of these tools, walking through an exercise that does not reflect the practical usage of such aids and therefore fails to provide the opportunity for students to attain rudimentary skills.

Week 4 was an absolute disaster. The instructor has outdated instructions and incomplete instructions for how to use the QGIS software. In addition, despite many complaints about Week 4 in the discussion there has been no change or clarification to the course. The level of complexity introduced during week 4 does not match the type of short introductory course this is either. The QGIS software is very complex and powerful. Having us do a guided tutorial would have worked if the instructions matched up - they don't - so it led to difficulties figuring out the software on our own.

The content for first 3 weeks is very good. But for GIS example in Week 4 the file structure downloaded from Census.gov is not even remotely similar to be able use it and produce the map. Let me with a feeling of being incomplete. There is no one to reach out to. The discussion forums are at least 2 years old.

Baseline: did I learn something useful and new? absolutely. But was it upto the standards of what is expected of John Hopkins? No. Mildly disappointed.

The content was extremely basic. The videos were not engaging, as the lecturer read the slides verbatim with uninteresting intonation. I did learn the basics of using open source GIS mapping software in the last week, but that was the only highlight.

There are problems with the GIS tutorial. Several students have asked questions in the forum which have never been answered, or even acknowledged by Coursera or an instructor.

Issues with QGIS lesson, it would be helpful if an instructor gave feedback in the discussion forum

Useful information, but week 4 was very difficult due to outdated information.

Mapping activity wasn't good. Very confusing.

Factfinder has been decommissioned.

The course does not have a tutorial on how to use QGIS which is a software filled with icons and no intuitive means to utilize it. Please re-do this entire section with a step by step tutorial on how to import shapefiles and how to use the QGIS features. Otherwise the content isn't at all helpful.

The information was okay, but the entire 4th week had to do with laying out maps and there was no help with the program / it was quite impossible to complete. There was no way to get help in the forums.

week 4 was not a pleasant experience. the instruction to download ad use gis was not clear. I felt very frustrated in this week. I hope you change it to more detailed ad well explained method.

Lack of facilitator support. It was my first time to practice on the GIS. I followed the instructions, but I could not get it right. Questions were raised in the forum but nobody responded.

I just tried this course for 7-days free trial. I did not find this course interesting. However Coursera automatically renewed my subscription and charged me $65. I tried to contact Coursera customer services to dispute the charge. There are no customer service phone number or customer service email. I contacted my credit card company. My credit company gave me a number 1-800-952-5210 to contact Coursera. This number is not working. I don't know whether there are other students have been automatically renewed their subscriptions and charged without their knowing. And there is now way to dispute the charge.

I studied this course as part of the specialization "Epidemiology in Public Health Practice", which accumulates 5 courses like this one.

After final validation and many hours of study, the final certificate for the specialization states that I worked an estimated "4 weeks of study, 2-3 hours/week", which is the same amount of time stated for a single course, such as "Essential Epidemiologic Tools for Public Health Practice".

This is frustrating and people may not want to add this specialization to their Curriculum Vitae. Amount of time spent is not real.

I thoroughly enjoyed the course, felt that it did a great job explaining why these tools and skills are essential for all in the field of Public Health. The videos while being simplistic required one to stay engaged with it as the quiz questions oftentimes were not as easy as you initially thought they were. I really enjoyed the last module as QGIS was a software I'd never heard of before and I'm glad I've been able to tinker around with it. Though I do think the section utilizing this software needs to be updated as it was a bit challenging to follow with updates in the software and updates in the links to download the information needed to make the map for the software. Overall though, great class.

Epidemiology is a quantitative discipline that relies on a working knowledge of probability, statistics, and sound research methods. It is also a method of causal reasoning based on developing and testing hypotheses grounded in such scientific fields as biology, behavioural sciences, physics, and ergonomics to explain health-related behaviours, states, and events. The basic tools used in epidemiology is covered in a lucid and swift manner which would be handy integral component for those in pursuit public health participation in future. Especially in this COVID era a handy tool for all physicians and research personnel involved in this field too.

The course is well-organized and easy to navigate. Each module is divided into smaller units, making it easy to complete the course at your own pace. The instructors are knowledgeable and engaging, and the course materials are up-to-date and relevant.

Overall, I highly recommend "Essential Epidemiologic Tools for Public Health Practice" to anyone interested in public health and epidemiology. The course is informative, and engaging, and provides valuable knowledge and skills that can be applied in a variety of public health settings.

Essential epidemiologic tools are fundamental for public health practice, enabling the identification of health issues, understanding their determinants, and guiding effective interventions. Continuous advancements in technology and methodologies enhance these tools, making epidemiology an ever-evolving field crucial for improving population health. Public health practitioners must remain adept in utilizing these tools to address current and emerging health challenges effectively.

Just like the other comments, I wish there is a special topic for QGIS only. The tutorial is narrated with some screenshots. It will be way better to have interactive tutorials or if the resources has links to an uploaded videos, say in YouTube . More examples please. I enrolled here just for the QGIS tutorial and all the buildups just to have that "study on your own as a student" feeling. But I would still give it 5 stars. Highly informative and very basic approach.

The course was extremely interesting with practical examples, well structured and easy to follow, but students must consider it's entirely based on the US public health system (it would have been interesting to see some comparison or mention of other health care systems). The links to obtain data for the last session of the course no longer existed, so it wasn't possible to download the required data and complete the exercise with GIS.

This course is superb! It's the most enjoyable yet informative course to me. The lectures are clear and well-organized. The instructions are straightforward and I think almost everyone can catch up the pace quite comfortably. After all, I think this course is not only for public health professionals but also for everyone who are involved in public health somehow. Thanks so much to Course Instructor for creating such wonderful course.