Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis of Prognosis Studies

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 the course, the student will be able to:

Explain the rationale for performing a systematic review of prognostic studies
List the key steps of a systematic review of prognostic studies
Formulate a focused review question addressing a prognostic problem
Critically appraise the evidence from primary prognostic studies using the CHARMS instrument
Formulate the difficulties of meta-analysis of prognostic research
Understand, interpret and undertake systematic review and meta-analysis of prognostic studies

Content

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

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 coordinator:
Dr. J.A.A.G. (Anneke) Damen, UMC Utrecht, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Course description:
The number of primary studies evaluating prognostic factors and models is rising. Critically summarizing and analyzing the evidence form prognostic studies in a systematic review and meta analysis, respectively,  is beneficial for health care professionals seeking the best evidence. Reviews of prognostic studies are more challenging because of more variation in questions & designs, specific sources of bias & variation, and more complex statistical models, as compared to e.g. randomized therapeutic intervention trials . Several advances regarding the design, critical appraisal and statistical analysis in systematic reviews of prognostic studies, have recently been made. In this course we discuss and practice how to define your review questions, how to critically assess the methodological quality of primary prognostic studies, and which statistical methods to use for meta-analyses of the results of primary prognostic studies. The course consists of plenary presentations, small-group discussions, and computer exercises.

Literature/study material used:
-
  
Mandatory for students in own Master’s programme:
MIght be for a specialization programme of Epidemiology & Epidemiology Postgraduate
 
Optional for students in other GSLS Master’s programme:
Yes
 
Prerequisite knowledge:
Prognosis Research (preferred)
Systematic Reviews in Intervention Research