Epi Info

About Epi Info 3.5.4

Epi Info is a free, public domain software package developed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. Epi Info allows users to develop and translate a questionnaire, customize the data entry process, and enter and store data. It also allows users to check the survey data for inconsistencies to minimize errors, perform a range of statistical analyses, and easily generate output files from the analysis.  

The software can be downloaded for installation here. Instructions for use are in the PAT Implementation Manual.

IMPORTANT: The Epi Info website offers a download for Epi Info 7 which is not compatible with PAT data entry templates. PAT data should be analyzed with Epi Info 3.5.4. Older versions of Epi (3.x.x) will also work but we recommend using version 3.5.4.

Each PAT comes with a pre-designed data entry template as well as a built-in program for running the poverty calculation. Users need only open the program, open the data entry template*, enter and clean data, and run the analysis program to calculate poverty levels.

Why Epi Info?

• An easy-to-use interface
• Simple point and click procedures
• Easy to adapt the questionnaire into the local language
• Customized data entry with controls to limit errors
• Ability to compare data and check for outlying (odd) values
• Free and easy to download

System Requirements

• Pentium 300 megahertz processor or faster
• 128 MB of RAM
• At least 260 megabytes of free hard disk space to install; 130 megabytes after installation
• Windows XP, Vista or 7
• Mouse and keyboard
• SVGA monitor

Using Epi Info

Section 9 of the Free Online PAT Training course offers interactive, step-by-step guidance on using Epi Info. You may also use the resources below.

Download the Epi Info 3.5.4 installation file (February 2013, .exe, 62MB)

Download the PAT Implementation Manual - See Chapter Six for step-by-step instructions on entering and analyzing data in Epi Ingo.

Download the practice files that accompany the manual

Read the instruction manual before opening any of the files in the zip folder below, which can only be read after installing Epi Info successfully on your computer

Practice Files (June 2011, .zip, 924KB)

The Switch to CSPro

Data entry templates for the most recent PATs are being created in the survey software CSPro instead of Epi Info. Many older PATs have been converted to CSPro as well. CSPro (which was not available when the PAT project began) has features which make it more ammenable to advanced data analysis than Epi Info. Feedback from PAT users has led us to prioritizing expanding the analytic functions of PATs.

Learn more about CSPro.

* It is important to note that PAT data entry templates must be opened from within the Epi Info software, rather than double-clicking the template file itself. This is because the file type used by the template - .mdb - is recognized by Microsoft Access. Access will try to open the file but will fail to do so and as a result, can cause your computer to run slowly or freeze for a short time.