2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ODFL1801 Causes of Human Disease

10 creditsClass Size: 120

Module manager: Dr Mike Routledge
Email: medmnr@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan), Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2017/18

Pre-requisite qualifications

An interest in understanding human health and disease,
English language reading, listening and writing skills

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

Discover the causes of common, and some not so common, diseases. Learn about how scientists gather evidence about the risk factors that contribute to our chances of getting diseases such as cancer and heart disease, and the contribution that socioeconomic factors play in this risk. Understand the difference between classes of microorganisms that cause various infectious diseases and how these are spread. If you are interested in health and disease, and want to understand more of the science behind health related stories in the media, such as those about antibiotic resistance, the role of diet in cancer risk, or the use of drugs such as statins to reduce heart attacks this module will give you a broad understanding of the science underpinning such issues. You will learn about these topics through a variety of on-line learning approaches, which will include input from clinicians working in Leeds to give a medical perspective on some of the topics.Students enrolled on the module will need to create a FutureLearn account in order to access this material.

Objectives

The objectives of this module are to provide a basic understanding of the causes of different types of human disease, together with information about how evidence for this is gathered, for students with limited science background.

Learning outcomes
At the end of this module students should be able to:
Explain how evidence is gathered through epidemiology to understand causes of human disease at the population level
Summarise key features and differences of global patterns of disease with a focus on social aspects of health and health inequalities
Differentiate between bacteria, viruses and parasites as causes of infectious disease and describe different modes of transmission of infectious agents
Explain the basic components of how the immune system fights invading pathogens and what antibiotics
Explain what genes are and the role they can play in human disease
Outline the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cancer
Explain aspects of the role of nutrition in health and disease
Describe, using named examples, how environmental exposures can damage health
Reflect on the content of disease related stories in the media and discuss the validity of how these are presented to the public

Syllabus

The course will consist of 10 weeks of on-line learning, broken down into 5 x 2-week long courses:
Topic 1: Population Health
A description of how we understand causes of disease through epidemiology with an appreciation of how social determinants influence health and how global health inequalities exist.
Topic 2: Infectious Disease
An overview of how pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, viruses and parasites) cause disease, how infectious disease is transmitted and how the immune system fights such infections.
Topic 3: Genetic disease and cancer
An introduction to how some diseases are inherited through our genes. An introduction to what cancer is and an overview of anticancer drug therapy.
Topic 4: Cardiovascular disease
An introduction to different types of cardiovascular disease, including risk factors for heart attacks and stroke, and the common link between cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Topic 5: Lifestyle & Environment
Here we will look at how lifestyle choices and environmental exposures impact on risk of diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. There will be consideration of how nutrition influences disease risk and how environmental exposures such as air pollution are associated with various diseases.
There will be additional reading and tutorials to support the 5 courses.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
On-line Learning	5	1.00	5.00
Class tests, exams and assessment	5	1.00	5.00
Independent online learning hours			40.00
Private study hours			50.00
Total Contact hours			10.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			100.00

Private study

Independent online learning:
The module has a series of high quality digital assets presented as courses on the FutureLearn platform. Each course runs for 2 weeks and has a synchronous question and answer session and in class test (listed in table above). Engagement with the digital assets; videos, podcasts and activities will take 4 hours a week.
Private study:
Additional resources are allocated to the 5 topics/courses. Students will be expected to research the topics and prepare for the assessments. A total of 50 hours has been allocated to student engagement with these resources and preparation for the 4 pieces of coursework; two formative and 2 summative.
On-line tests will be used as assessment for learning throughout the module.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

- MCQs at the end of each topic will be used to monitor student progress and understanding. Five hours has been allocated to this activity.
- Student progress will also be monitored in the on-line learning formal classes and through contribution to discussion boards.
- Self assessment, against a model answer, and peer assessment will provide formative feedback before the final assessment is submitted.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1200 word briefing report (4 sections of 300 words)	85.00
Essay	Self-assessed assignment	0.00
Essay	Peer-assessed assignment	0.00
In-course MCQ	20 x MCQ at the end of each topic	0.00
Reflective log	Reflection on formative assessment process (300 words)	15.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Students will have two opportunities to practice report writing through formative self and peer-assessed written assignments. The reflective log will be based on their experience of the self and peer assessment processes

Reading list

There is no reading list for this module

Last updated: 04/08/2017

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