Arab Board Community Medicine Part 1 study plan
Arab Board Community Medicine Part 1 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Define and distinguish incidence, prevalence, and attack rate, and compute each from a 2x2 table
Calculate and interpret sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and likelihood ratios
Construct and interpret a confidence interval for a mean and a proportion
Distinguish study designs (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, RCT) by measure of association and bias profile
Your checkpoint
A one-page formula and interpretation sheet covering measures of frequency, validity, and study-design-to-measure mapping, self-tested with 20 mixed calculation items scored at 80% or higher
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Compute crude and adjusted rates and explain standardization
Select and justify the appropriate statistical test for a given comparison of means or proportions
Interpret p-values, confidence intervals, and type I and type II error in applied scenarios
Calculate sample size for a proportion and for a two-group mean comparison
Interpret an odds ratio and a relative risk with confidence intervals for confounding and effect modification
Your checkpoint
A worked portfolio of 25 epidemiology and biostatistics problems with full calculations, correct test selection, and one-paragraph interpretations, reviewed against a self-made answer key
Public Health and Preventive Medicine & Communicable Disease Control
Outline the levels of prevention and assign a specific intervention to each level for three diseases
Describe the steps of outbreak investigation in sequence and justify each step
Apply the criteria for causal inference to a described exposure-outcome association
Explain herd immunity thresholds and their implications for immunization program design
Summarize notification and surveillance system types and their strengths and limitations
Your checkpoint
A written outbreak investigation report for a hypothetical cluster, 800 to 1000 words, including case definition, line-list description, hypothesis generation, control measures, and a causal-inference appraisal
Health Services Administration and Management & Health Informatics and Research Methods
Compare leadership, management, and governance concepts and apply them to a health facility scenario
Describe planning cycle stages and draft objectives that meet SMART criteria
Explain budgeting types and cost-analysis methods (cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit, cost-utility)
Identify components of a research protocol and select an appropriate sampling method for a stated aim
Explain informed consent, confidentiality, and ethics-committee review requirements
Your checkpoint
A two-page mini research proposal with background, SMART objectives, sampling plan, budget outline, and ethics section, plus a 10-item self-quiz on management and research-methods terms scored at 80% or higher
Environmental and Occupational Health
Describe water-supply, sanitation, and waste-management principles and their associated health risks
Explain air-pollutant sources, health effects, and standard control measures
Identify occupational hazards by type (physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, psychosocial) in a described workplace
Apply the hierarchy of controls to a named occupational exposure
Interpret key environmental and occupational exposure limits and their limitations
Your checkpoint
A hazard-and-control matrix for one workplace scenario listing at least eight hazards with exposure route, health effect, and control measure ranked by the hierarchy of controls
Maternal and Child Health & Nutrition and Food Safety
Summarize antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal care components and their evidence base
Interpret core maternal and child health indicators and explain their calculation
Describe growth monitoring and the assessment of undernutrition in children
Explain foodborne illness causes and prevention principles including HACCP
Identify nutrient-deficiency disorders and their population-level prevention strategies
Your checkpoint
A maternal and child health plus nutrition indicator table of 12 indicators with definitions, numerators, denominators, and one interpretation note each, plus a 500-word brief on a chosen food-safety hazard and its control
Non-Communicable Diseases and Health Promotion
Rank major non-communicable diseases by modifiable risk factor and describe the population-level prevention approach for each
Design a health-promotion intervention using a named behavior-change model
Distinguish primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention for a selected non-communicable disease
Explain screening-program criteria and evaluate a proposed screening program against them
Your checkpoint
A one-page health-promotion intervention plan for a chosen non-communicable disease with target population, behavior-change model, activities, and evaluation indicators, plus a screening-criteria appraisal table
Epidemiology and Biostatistics & Public Health and Preventive Medicine & Health Services Administration and Management & Environmental and Occupational Health & Maternal and Child Health & Communicable Disease Control & Non-Communicable Diseases and Health Promotion & Nutrition and Food Safety & Health Informatics and Research Methods
Complete two full-length timed mock examinations under exam conditions
Review every incorrect item and classify the error as knowledge gap, misread, or calculation slip
Re-derive the ten highest-yield formulas from memory without notes
Consolidate weak areas into a single prioritized revision list and close the top five
Your checkpoint
A scored mock-exam log for two sittings with error classification per item and a ranked top-five weak-area remediation list, with each of the five closed by a verified re-test
Milestones
Week 2: Score 80% or higher on a self-administered 30-item epidemiology and biostatistics set, with all calculation items showing correct working
Week 4: Complete the mini research proposal and pass the management and research-methods self-quiz at 80% or higher
Week 6: Finish the indicator table and food-safety brief, and correctly answer at least 8 of 10 rapid-recall items spanning public health, communicable disease, environmental and occupational health, maternal and child health, and nutrition
Week 8: Achieve 65% or higher on both timed mock examinations with a documented error-classification log and all top-five weak areas re-tested and closed