The use of epidemiological tools in conflict-affected populations: open-access educational resources for policy-makers

Table of Contents

1. Welcome
   1. Organization of topics
   2. Navigation and uses of the website
   3. Outline
2. Introduction: Epidemiology in crises
3. Ethical issues in data collection
4. Need for epidemiologic competence
5. Surveys - Introduction
6. Surveys - Description of sampling methods
7. Surveys - Sampling error, bias, accuracy, precision, & sample size
8. Surveys - Resources required for surveys
9. Surveys - Critiquing survey reports
10. Surveillance - When to do surveillance
11. Surveillance - Methods
12. Surveillance - Common problems
13. Programme data
14. Rapid assessment
15. Mortality - Indicators and their measurement
16. Mortality - Data sources
17. Mortality - Interpretation and action
18. Nutrition - Introduction and background
19. Nutrition - Indicators and their measurement
20. Nutrition - Data sources
21. Nutrition - Interpretation and action
22. Health services
23. Vaccination programmes
24. Water supply, sanitation, and shelter
25. Violence
26. Presentation of results
27. Formulating conclusions and recommendations
28. Dissemination and action

Organization of topics

(go to Outline)

The material has been divided into a few major categories:

• Welcome
• Introduction
• Epidemiologic methods of data collection
• Outcomes and indicators
• Preparation and dissemination of results

Each major category is then subdivided into major subjects. For example, the major category "Epidemiologic methods" is divided into the following major subjects:

• Surveys
• Surveillance
• Program data
• Rapid Assessment

Each of these major subjects is then further divided into specific topics. For example, the major subject of "Surveys" is divided into the following specific topics:

• What is a survey and when and why they are done
• Description of sampling methods
• Sampling error, bias, accuracy, precision, and sample size
• Resources required
• Critiquing survey reports

Each specific topic is further divided into subtopics. For example, the specific topic of "Description of sampling methods" is divided into the following subtopics:

• Sampling unit
• What is sampling
• Why do sampling
• Goal of sampling
• Simple random sampling
• Systematic random sampling
• Choosing a sampling method
• Cluster sampling
• Sampling - Additional resources

This last level of organization of subtopic is considered the least divisible unit. A subtopic occupies a single web page. Many of the subtopics discussed in this website require some progressive explanation of somewhat difficult concepts. The explanation will probably make the most sense if the entire webpage is reviewed in detail.

In addition, many of the larger specific topics would be best understood by reviewing all the subtopics within that specific topic, in the order in which they are presented. For such specific topics, users would do well to review all the material in all subtopics in the correct order if they wish to best follow the explanation.