Hands-on Training in Register-Based Epidemiology
Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences at University of Copenhagen
This is a generic course. This means that the course is reserved for PhD students at the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences at UCPH.
Anyone can apply for the course, but if you are not a PhD student at the Graduate School, you will be placed on the waiting list until enrollment deadline. After the enrollment deadline, available seats will be allocated to the waiting list.
The course is free of charge for PhD students at Danish universities (except Copenhagen Business School), and for PhD students at NorDoc member faculties. All other participants must pay the course fee.
Learning objectives
A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:
• Obtain knowledge of Danish national health and socioeconomic registers.
• Design a study using Danish register data.
• Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of register data and study designs.
• Manage register data effectively.
• Conduct statistical analyses for cohort studies using R.
At the end of the course, students should be able to
Knowledge
• Explain the content and structure of data in selected Danish health registers.
• Describe the use of register data in cohort studies.
• Identify different disease classification systems used in Danish registers.
• Assess the strengths and limitations of register data and study designs.
Skills
• Manage register data efficiently using R.
• Perform statistical analyses of register data using R packages and pipelines.
• Examine epidemiological measures.
• Interpret and understand the results of statistical analyses in R.
• Evaluate the strengths and limitations of epidemiological studies.
Competencies
• Explain how register data can be used in epidemiological studies.
• Apply register data in descriptive and analytical epidemiology.
• Determine under which circumstances data can be used to inform the public.
• Analyze registry data and implement effective data management.
• Interpret and communicate findings from Danish register-based epidemiological studies published in peer-reviewed journals.
Content
Participants will be introduced to various Danish health and socioeconomic registers and their applications in epidemiological studies, with hands-on training in R (download R here). Students can use either their own data or sample datasets provided on the course.
Prerequisite
Participants are expected to have a working knowledge of linear and logistic regression analysis. Experience with R is not mandatory, but is strongly recommended given the intensive hands-on exercises. Participants familiar with SAS or Stata will find it easier to pick up R quickly.
Topics include:
• Register data and register-based epidemiological studies
• Good data management
• Statistical analysis using R packages and pipelines
• Register-based epidemiological study designs
• Design and analysis of studies using register data, including cohort studies
This is a three-week course structured as follows:
• Weeks 1-3 (April 6-20, 2027): Lectures, seminars, journal club, and exercises using examples from Danish registers.
• Weeks 3-4 (April 21-26, 2027): Independent project work and preparation of presentations.
• April 27, 2027: Mini-conference where participants present their projects and receive feedback from peers and instructors.
Participants
This course is designed for PhD students and researchers. Participants should have a basic understanding of statistics and epidemiology (equivalent to a bachelor’s level). Support for exercises and coding in R will be provided during the course and at the Coding Café sessions.
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
Form
Lectures, journal club, group exercises, group discussion, and individual presentation
Course director
Youn-Hee Lim, Associate Professor, Section of Environmental Health, Department of Public Health, younhee.lim@sund.ku.dk
Teachers
Stephane Tuffier, PhD Student, Section of Environmental Health, Department of Public Health
Dates
April 6-27, 2027
Lectures & exercises April 6, 8, 13, 15, and 20, 2027 (Mandatory participation)
Independent project work April 21-26, 2027 (Individual work)
Mini-conference presentation April 27, 2027 (Mandatory)
Course location
CSS (To be announced)
Registration
Please register before March 5, 2027.
Seats to PhD students from other Danish universities will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and according to the applicable rules.
Applications from other participants will be considered after the last day of enrolment.