Teacher:

Prof. Oscar H. Franco, UMC Utrecht, The Netherlands

Assistant Prof. Vicente Artola, UMC Utrecht, The Netherlands

Research questions in clinical epidemiology originate from direct clinical practice. Healthcare professionals in contact with patients often encounter questions that involve what caused the disease? (Etiology), why did I get it? (Risk factors), could I have done something to avoid it? (Prevention), what types of disease do I have? (Diagnosis), what would happen to me now that I have this disease? (Prognosis) and/or what can I do about it? (Therapy).

To answer these questions, several study designs are available, ranging from cohort and case-control studies to randomized controlled clinical trials. We will analyze critically which research designs are appropriate to answer the aforementioned epidemiological questions. Results from clinical epidemiological research are used in patient management decisions.

In this course, the principles and practice of clinical epidemiology will be considered, using practical examples from the literature and from ongoing studies. We will evaluate basic concepts as well as in-depth examples of how we can derive questions formulated in the practice into research studies and programs.

Topics include principles of applied clinical research; etiological research; risk factors of disease; prediction, prognosis, prevention studies, case-control studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses.