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Causal inference in epidemiology: recent methodological developments 8-12 November 2010 London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine ____________________________________________________________________________ COURSE ORGANISERS Bianca De Stavola, Simon Cousens, Mike Kenward and Rhian Daniel Guest lecturer: Stijn Vansteelandt (Ghent University, Belgium) THE COURSE Most courses on statistical modelling in epidemiology concentrate on the use of regression models to estimate causal effects while adjusting for measured confounders. These address uncertainty due to sampling error but not, in general, other sources of error and uncertainty which may arise from missing data, measurement error, uncontrolled confounding, and/or selection bias. Recent methodological advances make it feasible to incorporate at least some of these sources of error into statistical models so that quantitative assessments can be made of their impact on estimates of causal effect and the uncertainty around those estimates. The proposed course will discuss the current state of the art with respect to these issues, while retaining a practical focus. Participants will acquire awareness of the common threads across these new methods and competence in applying them in simple settings. WHO SHOULD APPLY? Participants will be expected to be numerate epidemiologists, or applied statisticians with an interest in epidemiology and clinical trials. COURSE CONTENT The topics covered will be: *Causal diagrams and the backdoor criterion for the identification of confounders *Missing data and measurement error mechanisms as components of causal diagrams *Methods to deal with the bias introduced by unmeasured confounders, measurement error and missing data. These will include: regression calibration, propensity score and instrumental variable methods, multiple imputation, multivariate modelling, and sensitivity analysis. *Frequentist and a Bayesian overview of these methods. *Practical experience of the above methods in Stata. COURSE FEE: £ 900 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: [log in to unmask] TO REGISTER CONTACT:[log in to unmask] You may leave the list at any time by sending the command SIGNOFF allstat to [log in to unmask], leaving the subject line blank.