Principles of Epidemiology

This course provides an introduction to the skills needed by public health professionals and clinicians to critically interpret the epidemiologic literature. It will provide participants with the basic principles and practical experience needed to develop these skills. This will be accomplished by covering the basic principles and methods of the design, conduct and interpretation of epidemiologic studies, including descriptive studies, observational analytic studies (case-control and cohort), and randomized clinical trials. In addition, the course will address the calculation and interpretation of measures of disease frequency and association; the assessment of association versus causation in the interpretation of study results; and an introduction to issues related to the evaluation of chance, bias, confounding, and effect modification. Lectures will be complemented by seminars devoted to case studies, exercises, or critiques of relevant examples of epidemiologic studies.

Course leader

Elizabeth Mostofsky (Harvard School of Public Health)

Target group

Physicians, clinicians and public health professionals from public and private institutions who are looking for systematic training in the principles of epidemiology and biostatistics, or epidemiology applied to health care planning and evaluation. They will acquire familiarity with epidemiological and biostatistical principles and techniques and with the computational tools needed to solve practical problems.

Students in biostatistics and epidemiology, and researchers both from public and private institutions who wish to increase their familiarity with quantitative methods or to deepen their knowledge of a specific area of interest, so they can more effectively address problems in health research. They will gain knowledge in modern, advanced methods useful for health professionals engaged in clinical practice, research and teaching.

Course aim

This course provides an introduction to the skills needed by public health professionals and clinicians to critically interpret the epidemiologic literature.

Credits info

It is possible to gain credits for the Summer School’s courses, but the decision is always made by the student’s own institution.

Fee info

EUR 1450: For University students: Registration before March 24th, 2019 €1,250. After March 24th, 2019 €1,450.
EUR 1650: General: Registration before March 24th, 2019 €1,450. After March 24th, 2019 €1,650.