Advanced Diagnostic Research

Course goals

ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL BE PLACED ON THE WAITING LIST UNTIL TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE START OF THE COURSE

GRADUATE STUDENTS:
Please be aware that you can only select a course option that shows the academic year and is offered Face-to-Face (F2F)

POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS:
Please be aware that you can only select a course option that shows the academic year and is offered Face-to-Face (F2F)  or online (depending on your registration)

(FYI: the other options are options for Continuing Education (onderwijs voor professionals))


At the end of this course, the student
- has insight in the principles and design of both individual and meta-analytical diagnostic studies
- has insight in the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches in both individual and meta-analytical diagnostic studies
- has insight in the validity aspects of both individual and meta-analytical diagnostic studies
- has insight in the methods for data collection in the different study designs of individual diagnostic studies
- has insight in the differences between different design and analytical approaches in both individual and meta-analytical diagnostic studies
- has insight in the different measures of diagnostic value or accuracy that can be calculated from both individual and meta-analytical diagnostic studies
- has insight in modern design and analytical approaches instead of the classical approach in both individual and meta-analytical diagnostic studies
- is able to choose an appropriate study design and analytical approach to be used in a specific situation or to answer a specific study question in both individual and meta-analytical diagnostic studies

Content

Contact details: Educational Office Epidemiology
E-mail: msc-epidemiology@umcutrecht.nl

Course coordinator:
Dr. K. (Kevin) Jenniskens, UMC Utrecht, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Registration:
Face-to-Face: You can register for this course via Osiris Student. More information about the registration procedure can be found here on the Students' site. NOTE Students of the MSc Epidemiology (Post Graduate) that register in time (i.e. at least two weeks before the start of a course) will always be admitted to the course unless it is completely full. Other students will receive information about their application two weeks before the start of the course.
Online: Online courses are only available for Epidemiology Postgraduate students and can register via Osiris Student. More information about the registration procedure can be found here on the Students' site.

Course description:
Diagnostic research in the past focused particularly on estimating the sensitivity and specificity of individual diagnostic tests. This course will demonstrate that this so called ‘test research’ is not necessarily the same as diagnostic research. Furthermore, we will widen the horizon by proposing modern methods of diagnostic research and data analysis in which a patient’s test result can and should be considered in the context of other patient characteristics or test results. These methods enable 1. direct estimation of individual probabilities of disease presence based on all diagnostic information and 2. evaluation of the extent to which a particular diagnostic test has true added value in the clinical context. Also, conventional and advanced methods for systematic reviews of diagnostic tests will be presented.

Literature/study material used:
-
  
Mandatory for students in own Master’s programme:
Might be for a specialization of Epidemiology & Epidemiology Postgraduate
 
Optional for students in other GSLS Master’s programme:
Yes, Face-2-Face courses only.
 
Prerequisite knowledge:
Obligatory:
Introduction to Epidemiology
Introduction to Statistics
Study Design in Etiologic Research

Preferred:
Classical Methods in Data Analysis
Modern Methods in Data Analysis
Clinical Epidemiology