It seems quite extensive in terms of study design and stats.

But what about how to apply the results to decision making and policy?

Some issues that tend to arise again and again in journal clubs, and other discussions with students and house staff -

Generalizability, and how to asses it

Common sources of bias, how important are they, and how to interpret biased studies - e.g., in RCTs, questions about randomization methods, drop outs and loss to follow up, failure to fully blind, etc

Assessing outcome variables, e.g., surrogate vs patient-centered, need for comprehensive outcomes that capture harms as well as benefits, such as total mortality vs disease-specific, assessment of completeness of measurement of harms, etc

How to balance benefits and harms, including maybe some discussion of utilities, however difficult that may be

Conflicts of interest, and assessment of potentially manipulated research



On Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 4:13 PM, Shaneyfelt, Terry <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

I am starting a new advanced EBM elective for 3rd and 4th yr medical students. I wanted to get opinions on topics to cover. There will be 11  1.5 hr sessions. It is assumed students have understanding of basic EBM principles (all will have taken intro class)

 

These are the topics I have thought of for now.

·         Stats: interaction/subgroup analysis

·         Cohort study: propensity scores

·         Case control: matching/conditional logistic regression

·         RCT(1): survival analysis, patient specific NNT/NNH, composite endpoints

·         RCT(2): noninferiority

·         Systematic review: heterogeneity, publication bias

·         Diagnostic testing: LRs, diagnostic OR, ROC curves, clinical prediction rules

·         Screening: analyze conflicting recommendations from different societies

·         Maybe CEA

 

What other topics should I consider?

 

Do any of you offer an advanced EBM elective?



--
Roy M. Poses MD FACP
President
Foundation for Integrity and Responsibility in Medicine (FIRM)
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Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
Alpert Medical School, Brown University
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"He knew right then he was too far from home." - Bob Seger