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Preconference Course: Introduction to Pharmacoepidemiology

This course will provide a succinct introduction to the basic principles, concepts, and study designs of pharmacoepidemiology. The course includes lectures on (1) cohort studies, (2) case-control studies, as well as (3) confounding and other sources of bias. You will learn to:

  1. Appreciate the basic features of the cohort design and its application in pharmacoepidemiology.
  2. Appreciate the basic features of the case-control design and its application in pharmacoepidemiology.
  3. Recognize the basic types of bias (confounding, selection bias, measurement bias) in pharmacoepidemiological studies and understand how these biases are introduced, as well as how they can be avoided by design or controlled during analysis.  

Course Outline

  1. Cohort studies: Almut Winterstein (University of Florida) will introduce the basic features of the cohort study design and how the design is implemented in pharmacoepidemiological studies.  
  2. Case-control studies: Chintan Dave (Rutgers University) will introduce the basic features of the case-control study design and how the design is implemented in pharmacoepidemiological studies. 
  3. Bias and confounding: Tobias Gerhard (Rutgers University) will introduce the three basic types of bias in pharmacoepidemiological studies (confounding, selection bias, and measurement bias), how these biases are introduced, and how they can be avoided by design or controlled during analysis.