Methods of Public Health Research [ESP11]

Detailed information about this course:

Description

Faculty: Prof. Lex Burdorf, Ir. PhD

This course provides an introduction to essential study designs and analytic methods available to public health researchers to describe the influence of important determinants on public health and to evaluate effects of primary preventive intervention on public health. This course focuses on population health rather than individual health and explains why different designs and methods are required, such as ecological studies and multilevel analysis. The course targets three key issues: (1) summary measures of population health, such as life expectancy, (2) measures of association and relative importance of specific causes for population health, such as population attributable fraction, and (3) evaluation of population interventions through study designs based on natural experiments instead of RCT. Each morning will start with a lecture on new methods. Subsequently, an individual-based exercise is offered to practice the new methods. At the end of the morning, the importance of the method is illustrated in a hot topic in research.

Objectives

• Understand key research designs and analytic methods in Public Health research.
• Understand background, causes, and consequences of key topics in population health.

Participant profile

Physicians, epidemiologists, public health professionals, PhD students.

Assessment

Attendance