Other courses offered

1. Basic Biostatistics Course

This course is primarily meant for senior residents of the hospital wing of the Institute.

Duration and frequency:

Two hour sessions on 8 consecutive days, conducted twice a year at Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, usually during 4-6 PM.

Objective:

To familiarize common statistical terminologies and design issues in biomedical and clinical research. By the end of the course, the participant should be able to critically review, interpret and understand journal articles that are based on quantitative analysis using statistics.

Course outline:
Descriptive statistics: Measurement scales, variables, summary statistics, diagrammatic presentation of data.
Design of studies: Case-Control, RCT, Cohort etc. Randomization, blinding, OR, RR, Evidence Pyramid.
Biases: Sampling and non-sampling errors, Confounding, Effect modification, misclassification, lost to follow-up.
Statistical Inference: Population and Sample, Estimates, Standard error, Tests of significance, Alpha and Beta errors.
Multivariate analysis: Linear regression and correlation, Logistic regression, Survival analysis.
Reliability and Validity: Sensitivity, Specificity, Predictive values, Kappa, ROC curve.
Data analysis: Data coding and entry considerations.
Additional topics of Interest/Examination/Evaluation.
2. Statistics

This is a part of the Research Methodology course for MPhil (Biomedical Technology) and PhD scholars from the departments of Biomedical Technology, and Hospital wings of the Institute.

Duration and frequency:

Six to eight hours, once in a year, conducted at Biomedical and Technology Wing of the Institute.

Objective:

This is a compulsory course for the MPhil/PhD scholars. Gives an overview of the purpose and principles of various common statistical methods that are used in biomedical research.

Course outline:

This is planned as an introduction to the principles of statistics as it applies to the understanding and interpretation of the biomedical literature. The emphasis of this course is on the application of statistical tests commonly employed in biomedical research and the interpretation of their results. Topics which will be covered include: probability, principles of inference, hypothesis testing, parametric and non-parametric tests, principles of epidemiology, statistical vs. clinical significance, and quasi-statistical methods (e.g., meta-analysis, decision analysis).

3. Short course on basic Statistics

This is a short course for students in Specialty Nursing Programmes namely Diploma in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Nursing, and Diploma in Neuro Nursing.

Duration and frequency:

Ten to 12 hours during a week, once in a year at Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies.

Objective:

To give a brief exposure to basic concepts of statistics that helps the students in their project work.

Course outline:

Organization and presentation of data. Measures of central tendency and dispersion - Correlation and regression - Fundamentals of hypotheses testing and Interpretation of statistical tests - Critical evaluation of research studies/articles - Statistical reporting - General rules for designing tables and graphs.