EpiTrain IV: Course introduction

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EpiTrain IV Course introduction

• Preben Aavitsland

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EpiTrain

• EpiTrain within the EpiNorth framework
• Fourth in a series of courses
• EpiTrain I 2004 Jurmala Case-control method
• EpiTrain II 2005 Tallinn Surveillance
• EpiTrain III 2006 Jurmala Epidemic intelligence
• EpiTrain IV 2006 Oslo PC for the epidemiologist
• Advanced epidemiology for senior epidemiologists
• English only
• Financed by
• European Commission
• Norwegian Barents Health Programme
• Participating institutes

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Teaching methods

• Demonstrations
• Key concepts and procedures
• Time for questions
• Individual, assisted work with a PC
• A lot of assistance in English ? ??-??????
• Using constructed datasets
• Group-work using a PC
• Five groups of 6-7
• Constructed datasets
• Facilitators will be available
• Two large assigments throughout the week
• Surveillance data
• Outbreak data
• Presentation on Saturday
• Written material and CD-ROM
• Schedule somewhat flexible!

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Faculty and administration

• Preben Aavitsland, MD
• Norwegian Institute of Public Health
• Anne Mazick, MD, Epiet
• State Serum Institute, Denmark
• Barbara Schimmer, MD, MSc
• Norwegian Institute of Public Health
• Agnes Hajdu, MD
• Norwegian Institute of Public Health
• Inga Velicko, MD
• Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control

• Jolita Mereckiene, MSc
• Health Protection Surveillance Centre, Ireland
• Jurgita Bagdonaite, MSc
• State Serum Institute, Denmark
• Andrei Tulisov, MD
• Norwegian Institute of Public Health
• Stein Andresen, DDS
• Norwegian Institute of Public Health
• Elena Torgersen, MSc
• Norwegian Institute of Public Health
• Anne Marie Moe
• Norwegian Institute of Public Health

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PC as a tool for the epidemiologist

• Collect and enter data
• Enter in database ? EpiData
• Describe data
• Tables, graphics, diagrams ? Excel
• Analyse data
• Tables ? EpiInfo (Episheet)
• Present data
• Text, tables, graphics, diagrams ? PowerPoint

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Main group work - introduction

• Five groups of six-seven people we have assigned
  you
• Each group elects
• Chair
• Secretary
• Presenter (may be one of the two above)
• All participate in discussion
• Hard, interesting and rewarding work
• May divide in sub-groups for certain tasks
• Light facilitation by Preben, Anne, Inga,
  Barbara, Jurgita, Jolita, Agnes and Andrei
• Questions and problems also in plenary

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Main group work A surveillance

• Analyse data sets from the Norwegian Surveillance
  System (MSIS)
• Excel pivot table functions and graphics
• Present important features of the disease in
  PowerPoint
• time trend, seasonal trend
• place characteristics (place of living and place
  of infection)
• person characteristics (age, sex, place of birth)

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Topics for group work A

• A Campylobacteriosis in Norway 1981 2005
• B Shigellosis in Norway 1981 2005
• C Hepatitis A in Norway 1981 2005
• D Malaria in Norway 1981 2005
• E Meningococcal disease in Norway 1981 2005

Real (but anonymised) data sets from Norway
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Main group work A surveillance

• Analyse data sets from the Norwegian Surveillance
  System (MSIS)
• Excel pivot table functions and graphics
• Present important features of the disease
• time trend, seasonal trend
• place characteristics (place of living and place
  of infection)
• person characteristics (age, sex, place of birth)

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Main group work B outbreak

• Analyse data from a case control study of an
  outbreak
• Filled questionnaires will be provided
• Create a data file in EpiData, enter and validate
  the data
• Export the data file to EpiInfo
• Describe the data in EpiInfo and draw an epicurve
  in Excel
• Analyse in EpiInfo (and Episheet) the association
  between food items and disease using odds ratios
  and confidence intervals.
• Present results of the investigation in PowerPoint

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Topic for group work B

• Outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul infection
• Two day handball tournament in Grukkedalen
• 600 participants
• 16 confirmed cases, all aged 13-16
• Case control study 12 cases and 36 controls
• All filled in questionnaires

Fictious data set from Norway
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Different background and experience

• Some are more used to PC work than others
• Which means
• You must ask questions
• We will start from the basic
• We will help each others
• Facilitators will assist you
• Objective Everyone will learn a lot!