FHE4100 – Clinical Epidemiology and Scientific Evidence in Health and Health Care
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
Clinical epidemiology is a sub-discipline of epidemiology focused on understanding the patterns, causes, and effects of interventions, health and disease conditions in clinical care settings. It involves the application of epidemiological principles and methods to the practice of healthcare, aiming to provide a scientific basis for the decision-making process. Clinical epidemiology is used to evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of medical interventions, diagnostic tests, or screening programs. It plays a crucial role in the development of guidelines and recommendations for preventive measures and care of patients, grounded in evidence-based medicine. The field seeks to produce high-quality evidence for care and prevention practice through studies such as randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, among others.
Learning outcome
Knowledge
When completing the course the student should be able to
- Explain basic terminology and principles of clinical epidemiology
- Differentiate between the different aspects of clinical epidemiology (diagnoses, etiology, prognoses, therapy)
- Explain prerequisites for implementing screening programs, interpretation of screening results, and knowing their weaknesses and strengths
- Explain all aspects of clinical testing and use of diagnoses codes – including sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values
- Explain different study designs and how to analyze data from these
- Explain approaches to meta-analysis of different study designs
- Explain the principles of the PRISMA standard
- Explain the strengths and weaknesses of randomized controlled trials
- Describe different randomization methods and their strengths and limitations
- Explain the three pillars of evidence based medicine
- Describe a systematic review and a meta-analysis
- Explain the concepts blinded and double blinded randomized controlled trial
Skills
When completing the course the student should be able to
- Apply basic terminology and principles of clinical epidemiology
- Conduct a systematic review and a meta-analysis
- Critically evaluate a published randomized controlled study
- Develop an analysis plan for a randomized controlled trial
- Design a simple randomized trial including power estimation
- Assess the quality and relevance of studies included in a systematic review (using GRADE or similar)
- Conduct a systematic review
General competence
When completing the course the student should be able to
- Compare the strengths and weaknesses of different study designs and how they contribute in evidence based medicine
- Critical evaluation and comparison of experimental and observational studies
- Apply a proper study design for a research question
- Critically evaluate the evidence behind medical and public health practices
Admission
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
This course is only available for master students at Folkehelsevitenskap og epidemiologi (FHE), and International Community Health (ICH). Students at FHE and ICH must apply for this course in Studentweb.
- Students at Folkehelsevitenskap og epidemiologi have priority.
- There are 10 available seats for students at International Community Health. If there are more than 10 applicants from International Community Health, the principle of the first come, first served applies.
Prerequisites
Recommended previous knowledge
- INTHE4020 – Introduction to Quantitative Methods; or equivalent
- INTHE4021 – Introduction to Epidemiology; or equivalent
Teaching
- The course will be given during 2. semester with intermittent teaching, self-study and peer-based learning.
- Several assignments will be given for self- and peer study in the days with no teaching.
Examination
Written assignment in group.
Grading
The Board at the University of Oslo has decided to introduce detailed guidelines for all examinations, which take place at the University. The description of the grading should be clear and transparent. This is done to ensure alignment between learning outcomes, assignments, and grading. The Faculty of Medicine has developed a web page with information regarding exams and the grading procedures.
Submit assignments in Inspera
You submit your assignment in the digital examination system Inspera. Read about how to submit your assignment.
Use of sources and citation
You should familiarize yourself with the rules that apply to the use of sources and citations. If you violate the rules, you may be suspected of cheating/attempted cheating.
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English.You may submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system.
Explanations and appeals
Resit an examination
Withdrawal from an examination
It is possible to take the exam up to 3 times. If you withdraw from the exam after the deadline or during the exam, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
Special examination arrangements
Application form, deadline and requirements for special examination arrangements.
Evaluation
The course is subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students to participate in a more comprehensive evaluation.