Places are available on a selection of health related professional
development courses run by the University of Oxford, Continuing
Professional Development Centre.

Introduction to Evidence Based Health Care      10-14 October 2005
This course is for those working in health related fields with no prior
experience of Evidence Based Practice, as well as for those who wish to
take a more systematic approach to applying EBP principles.
Participants on the course learn EBP skills by applying them to a topic
that is of direct relevance to their work. The outcomes of the course are
therefore not only EBP skills, but also the acquisition of evidence that
can be used to inform health care practice.

Ethics in Health Care      22, 29 Sept. 6, 11, 13 Oct. 2005
With the advent of clinical governance, health professionals are being
increasingly called upon to examine the ethics that lie behind treatment
decisions.  The overall aim of this course is to provide practical skills
that can be immediately applied to the process of ethical health care
decision making.

Health Status Measurement     26, 30 Sept. 4, 6, 10 Oct. 2005
This course in patient-based evidence aims to develop informed users of a
range of different types of measures including health related quality of
life. It covers conceptual ideas, properties of measurement, cross-cultural
issues and economic aspects.  The aim of the course is to help students
become informed users of health-related quality of life measures, while
understanding the broader research and policy context in which such
measurement is placed.

Qualitative Research Methods       20, 21, 27, 28 Sept. 5 Oct. 2005
The course is structured to help students to design and carry out a
qualitative project. Students must identify a work-based issue that can be
investigated using a qualitative approach. Participants conduct fieldwork
to collect data, and practical assistance is given with data analysis and
writing up. Small group sessions are used to critically appraise the
quality of qualitative research.

Randomised Controlled Trials 19, 21, 23, 26, 28 Sept. 2005
The course aims to help participants with the practicalities of conducting
randomised trials.  This includes the processes for resourcing the trial,
recruiting and randomising participants, maintaining the trial's momentum,
and analysing and reporting it.  The course focuses on the practice, more
than the theory, of randomised trials. It tackles practical issues that are
often encountered in such research.  It will be of most benefit to someone
planning to do a trial in the near future; but should also be useful to
anyone who may do a trial or wants to find out more about how to interpret
trials done by others.

Systematic Reviews   22, 24, 27 Feb. 1, 3 March 2006    &    8, 10, 12, 15,
17 May 2006
This course will run twice in Spring 2005 and will take the participants
through the process of doing a systematic review, focusing on the
practicalities rather than the theory. It will consider the practical
aspects of: question formulation; study identification; appraisal of
quality; data extraction and  collection; statistical synthesis; reporting.

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Course venue: Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford,
Wellington Square, Oxford.

For further information, or to book a place, please visit our web site at
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/health Or contact us Tel. 01865 286941,
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