ECTE 2012

31^st European Course in Tropical Epidemiology

27 August - 14 September 2012
a three week course

Course Introduction

The European Course in Tropical Epidemiology ECTE is 3-week intensive basic course on epidemiology and biostatistics. The course is intended for physicians, nurses, biologists, anthropologists, health program managers, health administrators and other professionals working in the health sector in tropical countries or with an interest in public health in tropical countries. Emphasis is on methodology and the practical application of epidemiological tools in developing countries. ECTE is a collaborative venture of various European centres of tropical medicine and public health and is held annually at a different venue.

The 2012 edition will be hosted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and the Barcelona Centre for International Health Research (CRESIB) in Barcelona, Spain.

Lecturers and facilitators for ECTE come from:

• Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)
  and the Barcelona Centre for International Health Research (CRESIB)
  Barcelona, Spain
• Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Berlin, Germany
• Department of Public Health, Prince Leopold Institute for Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.
• Nordic School of Public Health, Goteborg, Sweden.
• Institute of Public Health, Heidelberg University, Germany
• Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
• Centre for Tropical Diseases Sacro Cuore Don G. Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Verona, Italy
• Mario Negri Research Institute, Milano - S. Maria Imbaro, Italy
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

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Course Content

Learning objectives

Knowledge and understanding
On completion of the course, the student should:

• Have knowledge about core epidemiological and statistical terms, as well as insight in qualitative methods.
• Be able to describe epidemiological study designs such as cross-sectional, cohort, case-control and ecological studies, and randomised controlled trials.
• Have knowledge about screening, surveillance and outbreak investigations.
• Have understanding of the relation between epidemiology and social science and health economics

• Have basic epidemiological and statistical skills for planning, conducting and reporting field studies to assess health problems and service delivery
• Demonstrate an ability to use statistical software for data entry, data checking and analysis.

Programme outline

• General principles of Epidemiology
• Basic infectious disease epidemiology
• Qualitative approaches in epidemiology
• Types of epidemiological studies
• Risk factors, high risk groups & risk estimation
• Validity of diagnostic tests
• Screening
• Outbreak investigation and response
• Survey design and organisation
• Questionnaire design
• Sampling
• Data entry, checking & processing
• Computer based basic statistics

Readings

A course manual with handouts will be distributed at the beginning of the course.
For those interested in additional readings, the following textbooks are recommended:

• Essentials of medical statistics (2nd Edition) by B Kirkwood and J Sterne (Blackwell Scientific Publications)
• Concepts in Epidemiology by Bhopal R. (Oxford University Press)
• Epidemiology in Medicine by CH Hennekens and JE Buring (Little, Brown and Co).  

Participant profile and application

Prerequisites

ECTE is intended for physicians, nurses, biologists, anthropologists, health program managers, health administrators and other professionals working in the health sector in tropical countries or with an interest in public health in tropical countries. The course is appropriate for those without formal training in epidemiology or statistics; however, ECTE is intensive and applicants should have a strong command of English.

Admissions

Candidates who match the course prerequisites will be selected on a first come, first served basis.

Maximum number of participants: 32  

Course Fee:

2100 EURO

The course fee includes participation in the course, the course manual and handouts, refreshments during coffee breaks, a reception and the course dinner.
The fee does not include travel, accommodation and meals.
Payment information will be provided upon acceptance into the program.

Process

The number of participants is limited to 32.
Selection of candidates will be done on a first come first served basis and will be based on their profiles’ match with the course target audience. Applicants will be informed as soon as possible of the decision.

The application form can be downloaded and sent back as an e-mail attachment or by fax..

Application Deadline: 30 April 2012
Course fee Deadline: 1 June 2012

Travel Arrangements

Students must make their own travel arrangements for Barcelona. The Barcelona Centre Universitari may be useful for students seeking housing in the city:
http://en.bcu.cat

Visas