In academic studies, most students pursue vocational training programs that benefit their future. However, the students engaged in public health training get exposure to various statistical formulas and epidemiologic. Initially, these formulas are calculated with the help of a calculator and then later by numerous software. Some commercial programs like SPSS, SAS, and Stata are the most commonly used in epidemiology, which is powerful and peculiar. Moreover, these programs can be used in low to moderate situations as they require hardware.

OpenEpi is open-source software applicable in biostatistics, public health, epidemiology, medicine, etc. Its specific design improves public health services by providing several statistical tools for summarizing the data. Additionally, this popular program works in HTML and  JavaScript to ensure that it can run on browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari, Opera, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Besides, the developers of OpenEpi have vast experience testing Epi Info, a program used for analysis and data entry. Firstly, it performs analysis in DOS and Epi Info to deliver many tools that are not available. Epi Info and OpenEpi are both developed to provide solutions to low and moderate-resource regions of the world.

Calculations performed by OpenEpi

OpenEpi plays a crucial role for the students in summarizing the statistical data. In addition, it reads the frequency of a factor affecting the growing population. However, for some complex calculations, this software acts as a miracle.  

• Test for the trend in the count data

• Rate ratio computations with several statistical tests.

• Power calculations for proportions

• Some confidence intervals for rates, proportions, means, and median

• The sample size for matchless case controls, cross-sectional surveys, controlled trials, and cohorts.

• Screen test survey with ROC (receiver operating characteristics) curves

• T-test and one-way ANOVA

• Graded tables for rate data and count

• Interaction tests for the odds ratio and risk ratio

• Random number generator

Additional activities like chi-square evaluation, rows and columns calculations, and the relation between two or more variables are accessible using the sophisticated application. So students get exposure to a broader perspective in a limited time. 

Importance of OpenEpi for students

In analyzing the data, OpenEpi has been a prominent tool for teaching epidemiology to students at various academies such as Emory University, Columbia University, University of Michigan, University of Washington, etc. The most striking feature of this program is that it is easy to use and does not contain any complex coding or programming experience. Furthermore, students can run this software on any browser and analyze the results.

Enhancing OpenEpi for future use

OpenEpi has always been a valuable associate of Epi Info and various other programs for performing some calculations. Many researchers and investigators have found OpenEpi enchanting in the following ways:

• Addition of new programs to execute multiple statistical calculations

• Improving the current programs

• Translating the program into additional languages

• Increasing the knowledge of OpenEpi

• Ability to read, cut and paste the data

Bill and Melinda Gates initiated the development of this unique program. Later, the program had more than 5,00,000 hits since the first half of 2008. According to a recent Google survey, around 5,000 websites have mentioned this program for their welfare.

The latest version came into existence in 2013. Interestingly, it is mobile-friendly with a language diversity of French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and English. Also, complete translation and new module generation are possible using the brand-new toolkit introduction of this multivariate calculator. Students under training in technical programs, especially public health, need proper guidance through the essentials of OpenEpi. Therefore, getting familiar with the program will help students to achieve remarkable results. Extra notes and relevant data are readily available on the EssayCorp website study materials.