Advanced Methods in Climate Change Epidemiology
Course 3
Date
15–17 January 2024
Faculty
Prof. Ana M. Vicedo-Cabrera
Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, Switzerland
Prof. Antonio Gasparrini
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
Venue
CH – 3823 Wengen | Hotel Edelweiss
Course description
Climate change is the defining public health challenge of the century. The assessment of its health impacts at different geographical and temporal scales, and the identification of the potential mechanisms and the main vulnerable populations are key priorities in today’s epidemiological research. During the last years, novel approaches in environmental epidemiology have emerged, boosted by the urgency to provide reliable scientific evidence to protect populations from climate change. These new techniques combine advanced statistical methods and epidemiological designs, new data sources and interdisciplinary methods to address increasingly complex research questions. This course aims to provide a comprehensive, hands-on, up-to-date overview of the latest developments in environmental epidemiology applied to climate change research. In particular, the course will cover the state-of-the-art study designs such as multi-location time series analyses and small-area assements, advanced methodologies such as distributed lag models and GIS data linkage, and applications such as health impact projection studies and health attribution analysis. The course will provide fully documented material on the statistical and epidemiological bases with small lectures, real-data demos, and the corresponding R code.
Course objectives
By the end of this course, participants will have acquired knowledge on:
- the latest developments in epidemiological methods in climate change research, including time series analysis, distributed-lag non-linear models and health impact assessments.
- their application in epidemiological assessments of climate-sensitive health outcomes, and in specific settings including projection of health impacts under climate change scenarios or attribution of health impacts to climate change.
Course audience
PhD students, early career, or advanced researchers in the areas of epidemiology, public health, or climate modelling. Basic knowledge of R and regression modelling is expected.
Course outline
The course runs over three days and consists of short lectures, computer demos, and practical sessions with real-data analysis.
Monday, 15 January 8:00 am – 12:00 pm | 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Tuesday, 16 January 8:00 am – 12:00 pm | 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Wednesday, 17 January 8:00 am – 12:00 pm | 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Credits
1.0 ECTS
Course materials
Students should bring their own portable computers with the latest version of R and RStudio.
Onsite University of Bern IT staff provides support upon e-mail () request.
Course book
We provide course materials: presentation slides, documents illustrating demos, and R script and data.
Course fee
PhD Bern: CHF 600
PhD other: CHF 800
Academic: CHF 1000
Industry: CHF 2000
Registration
Accomodation
Book your accommodation separately. Please see recommendations for special prices.