In 2006 it was reported in the media that there was, in the UK, a 60% rise in Chlamydia infection. Syphilis and gonorrhoea were on the increase, while HIV infection was not diminishing. Heart disease killed more people than cancer, and more women were surviving breast cancer. Where does this type of information, which is the stuff of public health, actually come from? How is it generated and what purpose does it serve? More importantly, is it credible?
This course looks at some key types of data used in epidemiology, such as statistics on death and ill health, and introduces some techniques used in analysing data.
This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course K311 Promoting public health.