| Title: |
Data for Action |
| Keywords: |
Epidemiology
Quantitative methods
Measuring health status
Communication
Evidence based medicine
|
| Country: |
Belgium
|
| Institution: |
Belgium - Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine
|
| Date start: |
2026-03-02 |
| Date end: |
2026-04-20 |
| About duration and dates: |
Application deadline: 01/10/2025 Number of weeks: 3 weeks |
| Classification: |
advanced optional
|
| Mode of delivery: |
Face to face
|
Course location:
Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Nationalestraat 155, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium;
TropEd representative: Bruno Broucker (bbroucker@itg.be);
Website: www.itg.be |
|
| ECTS credit points: |
5 ECTS credits
|
SIT:
Contact hours: 90h
Self Study: 50h
Total SIT: 140 hours |
|
| Language: |
English
|
Description:
At the end of the course you will be able to:
• Identify strengths and limitations of a range of routine and secondary data sources and propose solutions to improve data collection, database building and data organization
• Work with incomplete data sets in the analysis and use an appropriate design and tools for the analysis of different types of routine/secondary data;
• Apply data security regulations, respecting ownership of data;
• Interpret and present the results of the analysis; and
• Identify tools and pathways to bring evidence and recommendations, based on the results of the analysis, towards health program managers for decision making and action. |
|
Assessment Procedures:
Assessment is based on a group assignment (group-report) combined with an individual oral assessment.
Group Assignment:
Analyze a given data set to address a health-related issue and write a group-report (maximum 5 A4 pages) containing a summary of the data analysis and recommendations for decision makers and implementors.
The individual oral assessment is an individual dialogue with a staff panel on the group-assignment/report. Each student has to defend the choices of methods, interpret results and explain the recommendations proposed in the group-assignment. Each student receives a different set of questions and the oral assessment takes for each student about 10 minutes.
Students will get a group mark for the group-report (40%) and an individual mark for the individual oral assessment (60%).
Assessment criteria for evaluation of the written group-assignment (group-report):
70% on content (20 % on Quality of results, using appropriate tools and methods; 10% on problem description, 10% on analysis plan, 10% on ethical considerations, 10% on interpretation and 10% on recommendations for policy makers), 30% on clarity and concise presentation (writing skills).
Assessment criteria for evaluation of individual oral assessment/discussion: 80% content (on insights into the methods used for data analysis, interpretation of results, and recommendations), 20% discussion skills
Resit Policy: In case of failing the assessment, the student will be allowed, to once re-do the oral individual assessment (within two months) based on not reaching the pass mark. Marking is on /20. 10/20 is the pass mark |
|
Content:
Within the short course “Data for Action”, the student will gain skills to use specific tools to analyze and appraise evidence from longitudinal routinely collected data, taking into account its imperfections and biases. On the basis of case studies on diseases such as dengue, tuberculosis or plague, the student will learn how to utilize (interrupted) time series analysis and risk mapping with open access software, and will explore entry points for dialogue with policy makers and options to disseminate findings effectively.
Students will use different tools and methods for data analysis, such as time series and interrupted time series analysis, (risk)mapping and basic cluster analysis (using QGIS), linking and integration of different surveillance datasets. Students will also zoom in on the particularities of the sources of information (can be DHIS2, DHS, or other databases) and how to address the existing requirements for ethics, integrity, and data protection. Before starting to analyze data, students will look into procedures of data quality evaluation, missing data imputations, and database set-up and organization.
Participants will also learn how to handle data that are at different levels of aggregation on the different levels of a health system (district, regional, provincial, national). Finally, they will get insights into science communication and how to get evidence into policy and practice (Getting Research Into Policy and Practice-GRIPP).
For the exercises and data analyses, different software, such as Excel, R-Studio, and QGIS, will be used. |
|
Methods:
Teaching consists of interactive lectures (41 hrs), hands-on exercise sessions (18 hrs), demonstrations of analysis tools and their use in different research environments (7 hrs), coached group work to prepare the group-assignment (18 hrs), and on the last day, 4 hrs individual oral assessments, and to close the 3-week course 2 hours are spent for the groups to present their group-report and to have a joint discussion on the different methods used in the assignments, closing with a feedback moment to hear the feedback of students on the course organisation.
There is a strong emphasis on case studies used in the demonstrations and exercises, based on real life data sets. Further reading is provided, but this is mainly optional and depending on the interest of the student.
R studio is used for the taught examples and for the exercises. For the students with limited experience in using R, scripts will be prepared and shared by the teachers. Prior to the course, a manual is distributed for self-learning.
Each case study follows the structure: (1) problem description and description of data sources; (2) tools and methods to analyze the problem, (3) proposition of actions to be taken based on the analysis.
During the learning process, the level of complexity is gradually increasing: first, the student will become familiar with tools and methods in demo-sessions in class. Second, they will apply these tools and methods in an exercise using ‘exercise‘ data. Finally, they will apply these tools and methods to real-world assignment data. By going through these different steps, students will be prepared to use the tools and methods taught within their own setting.
All teaching material is made available to the participants via an online platform. |
|
Prerequisites:
The course is for health professionals and researchers involved in infectious disease prevention, control and elimination from a programme, health system or any other perspective.
Academic degree
Applicants must hold at minimum, a 4 year university degree equivalent to 240 ECTS (referred to as a Master’s degree in the European Union) in medicine or health sciences.
Experience
Applicants need at least 2 years of practical experience in health system or program monitoring and /or surveillance at local, regional or (inter)national level.
Language proficiency
The minimum language requirements are proof of a TOEFL iBT (internet-based test) score of 79-93, an IELTS score of 6.5 or other qualifying evidence of an English CEFR level of B2-C1 meaning a higher tier B2 or C1. A higher tier B2 will generally mean a B2 on all components of language proficiency and would have to be evidenced (ITM Toefl Code = 7727).
Native English speakers are exempt from these language requirements. Applicants whose first language is not English are exempt if they have successfully completed a higher education programme of at least 60 ECTS credits taught in English or have a higher education diploma from a Flemish Community higher education institution.
Additional admission requirement:
Applicants should have passed the exam of the MPH core course “Research Methods in Public Health” or passed the online mandatory introductory course on R-studio. All students should prove that they have basic competencies in data analysis and research methods (acquired competencies to be documented in CV and motivation letter). |
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Attendance:
Min 12 students; Max 20 students (no limit on tropEd students) |
|
Selection:
Selection criteria
• Relevance of prior degrees, additional training and professional/research experience
• Professional motivation: interest in data analysis and working with routine data
• Potential professional, institutional or social impact of the course (fit with career perspective) by using the acquired skills |
|
Fees:
Non-EEA student : €1900
EEA-student and TropEd Msc students with a residence card in an EEA country: € 730 |
|
Scholarships:
Limited number of fellowships to applicants from developing countries are available, priority given to Belgian Development Cooperation (DGD) partner countries
(https://www.itg.be/en/study/scholarships-to-study-at-itm).
Academic acceptance in the course is conditional to, but no guarantee for such scholarships. More information can be found on the ITM website
(https://www.itg.be/en/study/courses/design-and-evaluation-of-health-programmes/2025-2026?tab=practical-information) |
|
|
tropEd accreditation:
Accredited in June GA in Heidelberg. This accreditation is valid until June 2030. |
|
| Email Address: |
bbroucker@itg.be |
| Date Of Record Creation: |
2025-07-09 10:20:39 (W3C-DTF) |
| Date Of Record Release: |
2025-07-09 10:40:28 (W3C-DTF) |
| Date Record Checked: |
2025-07-09 (W3C-DTF) |
| Date Last Modified: |
2025-07-09 10:40:28 (W3C-DTF) |
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