Public Health

Goal

This basic module introduces public health decision-makers to new evidence on health interventions and assist them in using this evidence for programme planning.

Therefore the course aims

• to argue factually the use of randomized controlled trials or alternative study designs for the evaluation of new public health interventions
  
• to review critically the significance for public health of efficacy measures arising from randomized controlled trials
  
• to plan the assessment of programme effectiveness with non-randomized designs
  
• to discuss critically the ethical implications of intervention studies
  
  Finally, the course intends also to adress the following issues:
  
• Ethical arguments
  
• Study design
  
• Propose and discuss critically alternative options
  
  
  

Contents

This course is divided into three main components:

• An introduction to the concept of health interventions and their evaluation, including the «development pipeline» for new interventions - from first ideas to evaluation of programme impact. The course also reviews the basics of randomized controlled trials, the concepts of «efficacy» and «effectiveness», and discusses the ethics of intervention studies.
  
• A case study on the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets for malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa: from the very first studies in the field to policy formulation at national and international level, and finally large-scale implementation and its evaluation.
  
• A case study from Switzerland on a school-based physical activity promotion programme will be used as a basis for group work to discuss different approaches to assess effectiveness. The Kinder- und Jugend-Sportstudie (KISS) will be presented as an example of a randomized controlled intervention trial in the Swiss context.
  

Methods

• Introductory lectures (general principles, specific examples)
  
• Short exercises on case studies
  
• Group work
  

Exam

Group work and presentation

Preparation and postprocessing

6 hours preparation, no postprocessing

ECTS Credits

0.75 ECTS in field 1

Target audience

• Basic course in the new curriculum (compulsory) and in the former curriculum (optional)
  
• Other health professionals with basic knowledge of epidemiology

Requirements

required are:

• «Bevölkerungsbezogene Daten und epidemiologische Studien verstehen» (B101.20)
  
• «Konzepte, Methoden und Anwendungen der deskriptiven und analytischen Epidemiologie» (B102.30)
  
• «Einführung in systematische Reviews und Meta-Analysen» (B105.20)
  
  

Organisation

Institut für Sozial- und Präventivmedizin der Universität Basel

Coordination of course

Prof. Dr. med. Charlotte Braun-Fahrländer, Schweizerisches Tropen- und Public Health-Institut, Basel
Prof. Dr. phil. Christian Lengeler, Schweizerisches Tropen- und Public Health-Institut, Basel

Lecturers and tutors

Prof. Dr. med. Charlotte Braun-Fahrländer; Prof. Dr. phil. Christian Lengeler; PD Dr. med. Susi Kriemler

Dates

4 - 5 November 2010

Location

Basel

Fees

Fr. 560.-

Registration deadline

4 September 2010