HNE-38802 Concepts and Methods in Epidemiology

Course

Credits 2.00

Teaching methodContact hours
Group work18
Independent study0
Course coordinator(s)prof. dr. JM Geleijnse
E Mertens
Kamalita Pertiwi
Lecturer(s)dr. ir. A Kuijsten
dr. ir. MC Busstra
dr. FJB van Duijnhoven
prof. dr. ir. EJM Feskens
prof. dr. ir. P van 't Veer
prof. dr. ir. E Kampman
prof. dr. JM Geleijnse
Examiner(s)prof. dr. JM Geleijnse

Language of instruction:

Dutch and/or English

Assumed knowledge on:

HNE-24806 Introduction Epidemiology and Public Health; HNE-31006 Study Design and Interpretation in Epidemiology and Public Health.

Continuation courses:

MSc Thesis Nutrition and Health over the Lifecourse or MSc Thesis Nutrition and Disease.

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 (specialisation A Nutritional Epidemiology and Public Health), PhD-students and scientific staff of the Epidemiology group. The discussion will be based on a standard textbook of epidemiology. 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. Complex issues are further elucidated by the more experienced PhD students and scientific staff.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- understand the epidemiologic way of thinking;
- critically evaluate his/her own epidemiologic study, and that of others;
- apply epidemiologic principles in scientific research;
- distinguish between different types of epidemiologic studies and point out pitfalls and strengths of the different study designs;
- identify simple statistical techniques for different types of epidemiologic data.

Activities:

- a series of 16 lunch meetings of 1 hour duration, once per 2 weeks;
- self-study by reading epidemiological textbooks and articles;
- presentation about own thesis/research in relation to the topic of the meeting and/or a relevant news article and scientific article.

Examination:

There is no written examination. Students are obliged to attend and actively participate in at least 10 sessions.
In addition, they should present their own research and/or a relevant scientific paper in relation to the topic of the meeting in at least 1 session.
Students receive pass or fail (voldoende testimonium).

Literature:

Webb Penny; Bain, Chris. (2010). Essential Epidemiology: An Introduction for Students and Health Professionals. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press. 465 p. ISBN: 978-0521177313.

ProgrammePhaseSpecializationPeriod
Restricted Optional for: MNHNutrition and HealthMScA: Epidemiology and Public Health1WD+2WD+3WD, 4WD+5WD+6WD