Course: The Burden of Disease

General

General
- Course Registration Questionnaire
- Pre-Test Quiz
The Burden of Disease Homepage
Introduction

Learn about the major disease categories facing populations in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. You will explore the burden of disease within a population which includes the epidemiology of the disease, the relevant social and cultural determinants of health, and the evidence base which allows for the discussion and study of treatment, prevention, and control measures that will reduce the burden of disease.

The course is designed to help you:

Assess the global burden and patterns of diseases in different countries and how they are changing over time.

Identify some of the challenges in the prevention and control of major communicable and non-communicable diseases in resource-limited settings.

This course is an Open Access Course that has been adopted from Peoples-uni. It was further developed by NextGenU.org (NGU) and sponsored in part by the Annenberg Physician Training Program (APTP).
There are six (6) modules to complete, which include:

Module 1: Global Burden of Disease
Module 2: Communicable Diseases
Module 3: Non-Communicable Diseases
Module 4: Neglected Tropical Diseases
Module 5: Injury
Module 6: Mental Illness

Approximate time for completion of this course is 4 hours and 40 minutes at an average reading rate of 144 words/minute.

Engaging with this course

To register for this course, complete the registration form. Begin the course with Module 1. For each lesson, read the description.

Each lesson comprises introductory remarks. You can click on the collections of resources in each module.

There is a final quiz to assess your understanding of some important concepts. Click on the hyperlinks to take you to these items in each topic.

Requirements to obtain the certificate

You may browse this course for free to learn for your personal enrichment. There are no requirements.

To obtain a certificate, a learner must successfully complete:

All reading requirements

The final exam with a minimum of 70% and a maximum of 3 attempts and

The self and course evaluation forms

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*This course is sponsored in part by the Annenberg Physician Training Program: Abstinence-based Recovery from Addictive Disease. Click here to see curricular threading related to mental health disorders.
Module 1: Global Burden of Disease

After completing this section, you should be able to access resources to allow you to explore the burden of disease in developing countries.

1 Page
- Resources Lesson 1: Global Burden and Patterns of Diseases Page
Module 2: Communicable Diseases

After completing this section, you should be able to appreciate some of the major features of communicable diseases in developing countries and some of the methods for prevention and control.

1 Page
- Resources Lesson 1: Communicable Diseases Page
Module 3: Non-Communicable Diseases

After completing this section, you should be able to appreciate some of the major features of non-communicable diseases in developing countries and some of the methods for prevention and control.

1 Page
- Resources Lesson 1: Non-Communicable Diseases Page
Module 4: Neglected Tropical Diseases

After completing this section, you should be able to appreciate the existence of a group of diseases categorised as Neglected Tropical Diseases, and the extent of the burden on the population.

1 Page
- Resources Lesson 1: Neglected Tropical Diseases Page
Module 5: Injury

After completing this section, you should be able to appreciate the burden and causes of injury in developing countries and some of the methods for prevention and control.

1 Page
- Resources Lesson 1: Injury Page
Module 6: Mental Illness

After completing this section, you should be able to appreciate the threats to mental health and the burden of disease in developing countries.

1 Page, 1 URL, 1 Forum
- Resources Lesson 1: Mental illness Page
- Estimating the Global Burden of Mental disorders URL
  Watch from 7:38 to the end of the video. (48 minutes)
- Module 6: Discussion Forum [230 minutes]
  In this activity, you will analyze the burden of disease attributable to alcohol and drug use and how it can potentially threaten mental health.
  Step 1. Analyze [30 minutes]
  Review and carefully analyze the “Results” section of the article:
  The global burden of disease attributable to alcohol and drug use in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016
  Step 2. Respond [180 minutes]
  Write a 300-600 word critical analysis of the article’s section by addressing the following key questions:
  Is there a geographical difference in the burden of diseases attributable to alcohol and drug use? Justify your answer using key indicators of the burden of disease, such as DALYs.
  What are the two main disease burdens attributable to alcohol and drugs?
  What two disease burdens are least attributable to alcohol and drugs?
  What is the association between the burden of diseases attributable to alcohol or drugs and SDI (Socio-demographic Index)? Is there a geographical difference in this association? Justify.
  What are other barriers and facilitators that might contribute to this burden?
  How can the burden of diseases attributable to alcohol and drug use potentially threaten mental health or be associated with co-occurring mental health disorders?
  Step 3. Share [ 10 minutes]
  To share your work, click on the “Add a new discussion topic” button under this post and paste your work into the “Message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).
  Step 4: Interact [10 minutes]
  To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts made by your peers in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. Your response should respond to each of the three framework elements indicated in the table. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to forum.”
Final Exam

Click here to start Final Examination
- Final Exam Quiz
  Restricted Not available unless:
  The activity Course Registration is marked complete
  The activity Pre-Test is marked complete
Course and Self Evaluation & Certificate

In this section, you can provide feedback about this course to help us make NextGenU.org better. Once evaluations are completed, you will be able to download your certificate of completion.

Click here give your feedback
- Course Evaluations Questionnaire
  Restricted Not available unless: The activity Final Exam is marked complete
- Self Evaluation Questionnaire
  Restricted Not available unless: The activity Final Exam is marked complete
Finally: Reflect, Feedback, and Gain a Certificate

Not available

At the end of the course, please reflect on the overall lessons you have learned that may be of use.

If you have explored the resources in each section and completed the quiz, you are eligible to gain a certificate. Click on the Certificate logo below.