HNE-38802 Concepts and Methods in Epidemiology

Course

Credits 2.00

Language of instruction:

Dutch and/or English

Assumed knowledge on:

HNE-24806 Epidemiology and Public Health

Continuation courses:

Thesis Epidemiology and Public Health

Contents:

In this capita selecta, concepts and methods in epidemiology will be thoroughly discussed in a group of 25 people (maximum) that gathers every 2 weeks. The working group comprises MSc students (specialization C Nutritional and Public Health Epidemiology), PhD-students and scientific staff of the Epidemiology group. The discussion will be based on a standard textbook of epidemiology, such as Epidemiology: an introduction from K. Rothman. The aim of the course is to gain a deeper understanding of epidemiologic principles. Topics that are covered comprise: epidemiologic thinking, judging causality, epidemiologic study designs, biases and errors, confounding, interaction and basic analytic techniques that are commonly used in epidemiology. Both text and exercises in the book are studied and discussed. Complex issues are further elucidated by the more experienced PhD students and scientific staff.

Learning outcomes:

After the course, the student:
- is familiar with the epidemiologic way of thinking;
- is able to critically evaluate his/her own epidemiologic study, and that of others;
- is able to apply epidemiologic principles in scientific research;
- is able to distinguish between different types of epidemiologic studies and point out pitfalls and strengths of the different study designs;
- is able to identify simple statistical techniques for different types of epidemiologic data.

Activities:

- a series of 18 lunch meetings of 1 hour duration, once per 2 weeks;
- self-study by reading the book and preparation of the exercises at the end of each chapter (2-4 hours per session, depending on the level of the student).

Examination:

There is no written examination. Students are obliged to attend and actively participate in at least 12 sessions.

Literature:

Kenneth J. Rothman. Epidemiology: an introduction. Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 13: 9780195135541.