Biostatistics in Population Health

This course is offered in two modes: online and in person. Please select the correct class number for the relevant mode of delivery when enrolling. This course will examine principles of biostatistics, in the context of real-world public health issues. The aim of the course is to help those without a specialised background to read and interpret biostatistical content in the medical and public health literature. Topics, chosen by frequency of occurrence in the literature, will include: - Introduction to sampling distributions, hypothesis tests and estimation - Analysis of normal data, including t-tests and linear regression - Analysis of binary data, including 2x2 tables, Mantel-Haenszel methods and logistic regression - Analysis of count data, including comparing rates between two groups - Poisson regression Throughout the course, the emphasis will be on understanding the reasons why the techniques are appropriate, underlying assumptions, use of the statistical analysis package Stata and interpretation of results, rather than the mechanics of calculation. Each topic will draw upon one or two papers from the literature. Both online materials and drop-in help sessions in a computer lab will be used to facilitate learning and provide opportunities to explore specific topics in more detail.