Epidemiological Tools

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Epidemiological Tools

There are a variety of tools that an epidemiologist might have at his or her disposal. The most common tools that are used in the field are SAS, SPSS, EpiInfo, R, and many others. These require significant time and diligence to become proficient at each of these statistical tools. However, almost every office has Microsoft Excel, Numbers (the Mac equivalent), or Google’s Excel-like product.

Often times, epidemiological calculations can seem/appear intimidating. However, if you let the excel document do the work for you then you do not have to worry about making errors in simple math. Please download the attached Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. You will be doing the following:

Calculating:

  • Crude Mortality Rate
  • Age-Specific Mortality Rate
  • Age-Adjustment (using the direct method)
  • Prevalence 
  • Incidence Density

Graphing:

  • Incidence and Prevalence

You will need to go to the Census Bureau, then click on Advanced Search then click on Geography. In the area marked state, county, or place, type your community or a community near you and select enter. You are going to want information from a table that contains Age and Sex in the title. 

Please see attached file