Patient-reported outcomes in clinical health research
Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences at University of Copenhagen
This course is free of charge for PhD students at Danish universities (except Copenhagen Business School), and for PhD Students from NorDoc member faculties. All other participants must pay the course fee.
Anyone can apply for the course, but if you are not a PhD student at a Danish university, you will be placed on the waiting list until enrollment deadline. This also applies to PhD students from NorDoc member faculties. After the enrollment deadline, available seats will be allocated to applicants on the waiting list.
Learning objectives
A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:
1. Select and distribute relevant patient-reported outcome measures when designing and conducting clinical trials or observational studies.
2. Evaluate the quality of patient-reported outcome measures, including validity and reliability.
3. Understand how to increase response rates and handle non-response.
4. Analyze and report patient-reported outcomes.
5. Understand how patient-reported outcomes can be combined with register data.
Content
The course is an introduction to the use of patient-reported outcomes in clinical health research. The focus of the course is primarily on questionnaires. The course will address designing, conducting and reporting trials or observational studies where patient-reported outcome measures are included as primary or secondary outcomes. Considerations about choosing relevant instruments and evaluating the quality of instruments will be covered. Furthermore, specific generic instruments will be presented in more detail. The statistical preparation and reporting will also be covered, including handling of non-responders. Finally, patient-reported outcomes used as proxy or predictors of other health outcomes will be introduced.
Participants
PhD-students preferably newly enrolled. No special qualifications required, but it is an advantage if the student has knowledge about statistics.
Relevance to graduate programmes
The course is relevant to PhD students from the following graduate programmes at the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences, UCPH:
All graduate programmes
Language
English if non-Danish participants attend. Otherwise Danish.
Form
Lectures, group work, discussions. During the course days, you will get to work on reflections on your own research in relation to PROs.
Course director
Selina Kikkenborg Berg
Senior researcher
RN, MSN, PhD, FESC, FAHA.
Rigshospitalet, The Heart Centre, section 2151
Blegdamsvej 9
2100 Copenhagen
Denmark
+45 35459526
Selina@rh.dk
Teachers
Selina Kikkenborg Berg, professor, University of Copenhagen
Philip Moons, professor, KU Leuven, Belgium
Jakob Bjørner, professor, University of Copenhagen
Jane Lindschou, senior clinical research consultant, Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, Rigshospitalet
Anne Illemann Christensen, research director, University of Southern Denmark
Lau Caspar Thygesen, professor, University of Southern Denmark
Anne Vinggaard Christensen, forsker, National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark
Mitti Blakø, post doc, Bispebjerg Hospital
Pernille Palm, post doc, Rigshospitalet
Dates
21 October, 28 October and 4 November 2025
Course location
Panum, Copenhagen.
Registration
Please register before 1st of october 2025
Expected frequency
Annual in October
Seats to PhD students from other Danish universities will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and according to the applicable rules.
Note: All applicants are asked to submit invoice details in case of no-show, late cancellation or obligation to pay the course fee (typically non-PhD students). If you are a PhD student, your participation in the course must be in agreement with your principal supervisor.