Clinical and Statistical Epidemiology
Code: 42147 ECTS Credits: 10| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Applied Clinical Research in Health Sciences | OT | 0 |
Contact
- Name:
- Xavier Bonfill Cosp
- Email:
- xavier.bonfill@uab.cat
Teachers
- Maria Montserrat Martin Baranera
- Maria Teresa Puig Reixach
- Laura Martinez Garcia
- Maria Jose Martinez Zapata
- Ivan Sola Arnau
- Javier Andrés Pérez Bracchiglione
- Marilina Santero Sosa
- María Jesús Quintana Ruiz
- Ignasi Bolibar Ribas
- Gerard Urrutia Cuchi
- (External) David Rigau Comas
- (External) Gemma Robleda Font
- (External) Judit Solà Roca
- (External) Laura Samsó Jofra
- (External) Marta Roqué Fíguls
- (External) Mercè Sitjà Rabert
- (External) Pablo Alonso Coello
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
Basic understanding of Statistics and scientific English is recommended.
Completing the previous module of research methodology is mandatory.
Objectives and Contextualisation
Epidemiology has put the focus on the study of epidemics, but clinical epidemiology focuses on the application of epidemiological approaches to better study and to solve clinical problems of patients by analyzing determinants and the effects of clinical decisions.
Competences
- Act respecting the Independent Ethics and legal aspects of the research and of the professional activities.
- Critically evaluate, identify and classify the sources of scientific information according to the type of evidence and the scientific relevance.
- Development of habilidades autoaprendizaje y su formación Motivación to continue to postgraduate level.
- Development scientific knowledge, creativity and Critical Thinking.
- Participate in the development of a protocol for basic, clinical or experimental research, based on scientific methodology.
- Prove that the methodologies covering estadísticas básicas utilizadas in the biomedical and clinical estudios y análisis use the tools of the modern computational technology.
- Working as part of a group along with other professionals, understand their views and cooperate constructively.
Learning Outcomes
- Act respecting the ethical and legal aspects of research and professional activities.
- Critically evaluate the technologies and scientific information sources to obtain, interpret and communicate clinical, scientific and health information.
- Describe in depth training on the different research designs depending on the assumptions.
- Develop a critical reading of the scientific literature structured according to the different designs.
- Develop scientific knowledge, critical thinking and creativity.
- Develop self-learning skills and motivation to continue their education at the graduate level.
- Establish and develop a protocol for clinical research in the field of epidemiology.
- Identify the basic statistical techniques to analyze data from different studies and be able to apply descriptive.
- Interpret the results of studies for application in both groups of patients and individual levels through the perspective of evidence-based medicine.
- Operation procedures for clinical and epidemiological documentation.
- Working as part of a group along with other professionals, understand their views and cooperate constructively.
Content
a) Therapeutic studies
Posing therapeutic questions. Comparing different designs to answer therapeutic questions: observational versus experimental studies. Quasi-experimental cross-over studies, before and after studies. Critical appraisal of therapeutic studies. Data analysis of experimental and quasi-experimental studies. Survival analysis.
b) Diagnostic studies
Posing diagnostic questions. Cross-sectional studies: characteristics. Technical attributes of a diagnostic test: sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, odds ratio, ROC curves. Differences with screening studies. Stages of diagnostic test assessment. Critical appraisal of diagnostic test studies. Data analysis of diagnostic test studies.
c) Prognostic and follow-up studies
Posing prognostic questions. Prognostic studies: characteristics. Follow-up studies: characteristics. Critical appraisal of prognostic and follow-up studies. Integrated use of different clinical databases. Data analysis of prognostic and follow-up studies: Poisson, Cox, among others.
d) Aetiological studies
Posing aetiological questions. Comparing the different designs to answer aetiological questions: retrospective versus prospective studies. Critical appraisal of aetiological studies. Data analysis of aetiological studies. Multivariate analysis.
e) Systematic reviews and clinical practice guides
General concepts for developing literature reviews. Systematic versus narrative reviews. Experimental versus observational study reviews. Evidence scales. Critical appraisal of systematic reviews. Clinical practice guidelines. Critical appraisal of clinical practice guides. Degrees of recommendation. Data synthesis. Meta-analysis.
f) Studies on quality of care and clinical safety
General concepts related to quality of care and specific methods to assess it. Effectiveness and outcome studies. Quality of life measurement. Cost and cost‑effectiveness studies. Qualitative studies.
Find the programme for course 2025-26 online:
https://cv.uab.cat/protected/index.jsp
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Classroom practice: Planning and resolution of case studies | 20 | 0.8 | 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 2 |
| Conceptual lessons supported by ICTs and group discussions | 25 | 1 | 3, 5, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 2 |
| Developing essays and monographs | 25 | 1 | 3, 5, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 2 |
| Laboratory practices | 5 | 0.2 | 1, 3, 6, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 2 |
| Mentoring - Supervision and support in conducting essays | 85 | 3.4 | 3, 5, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 2 |
| Public presentation of works - Individual presentations and round of assessments | 20 | 0.8 | 3, 5, 6, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 2 |
| SELF-STUDY | 70 | 2.8 | 3, 6, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 2 |
As described in the list
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comments about texts and studies | 30% | 0 | 0 | 1, 3, 5, 6, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 2 |
| Oral and written tests | 30-40% | 0 | 0 | 1, 3, 5, 6, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 2 |
| Submitting and assessing essays | 30-40% | 0 | 0 | 1, 3, 5, 6, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 2 |
The competences of this module will be assessed through: mandatory participation in 80% of the guided lessons, individual essays and exam.
Text and study feedback: 30%
Submission and evaluation of assignments: 30-40%
Oral and written tests: 30-40%
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is permitted as long as it is applied critically and not literally.
Bibliography
- Basic Epidemiology, Bonita, Beaglehole, 2005, WHO
- Hernández-Aguado I, Gil A, Delgado M, Bolúmar F (eds.). Manual de Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Madrid. Panamericana, 2005.
- Piédrola Gil G et al. Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública. 10ªed. Masson, 2001.
- Martínez Navarro F, Antó JM, Castellanos PL, Gili M, Marset P, Navarro V. (eds.). Salud Pública. Madrid: McGraw-Hill - Interamericana de España, 1998.
- Gordis L. Epidemiologia. 3ª ed. Madrid, Elsevier, 2005
- Nordness R. Epidemiología y Bioestadística. Madrid: Elsevier, 2006
- Fletcher RH, Fletcher SW, Wagner EH. Epidemiología clínica. Aspectos fundamentales. 2ª ed. Barcelona: Masson, 2003.
- Rothman K. Epidemiology-An introduction. Oxford: Oxford Univerity Press, 2002
- Fletcher RH, Fletcher SW, Wagner EH. Epidemiología clínica. 5ª ed. Barcelona: Masson-Williams & Wilkins, ISBN 9788445811870.
- Straus SE, Richardson WS, Glasziou P, Haynes BR. Medicina basada en la evidencia. Cómo practicar y enseñar la MBE. 3ª ed. Madrid: Elsevier, 2006.
- Testing Treatments interactive [Internet]. Disponible a: http://www.testingtreatments.org/
Software
Microsoft Teams
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (SEMm) Seminars (master) | 101 | Spanish | second semester | afternoon |
| (TEm) Theory (master) | 101 | Spanish | second semester | afternoon |