Workshop Title:

Basic Bio-Statistics for INDEPTH Sites

Dates:

a)    Arrival:

b)    Workshop:

c)     Departure:

27 July 2008

28 July – 1 August 2008

2  August  2008

Venue:

a)    City/Country:

Guest House, University of Ghana campus, Legon

Accra/Ghana

Host Site (Secretariat / Site):

Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Ghana and the INDEPTH Secretariat

Objectives:

The overall objective of this hands-on workshop is to strengthen biostatistics skills of non-statisticians at INDEPTH sites to enable them perform simple analysis of data generated at the sites.

Hands-on workshop will cover

1.  EXPLORATORY DATA  ANALYSIS (EDA)

·    Measurement Scales:  Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, Ratio

·    Descriptive Statistics: Mean, Median, Mode, Mode, Variance, Std. Deviation, Std. Error, Range

·    Some  Useful Graphical  Techniques in EDA:  Pie & Bar Charts, Box plots, Stem and Leaf Display, Frequency & Relative Histograms, Ogives

2.  ESTIMATION & HYPOTHESIS TESTING

·    Point Estimates, Normal and t-distributions, Confidence Interval for Population Means & Proportions, Confidence Interval for  the Difference of Two Population means & Proportions

·    Basic Concepts in Hypothesis Testing:  Null/Alternative Hypotheses on Means and Proportions, Type I & II Errors, p-value, sample size for estimating population means & proportions.

·    1-Way ANOVA,  Multiple Comparisons tests

·    Contingency Tables: Chi-square tests of homogeneity and Independence

3.  REGRESSION ANALYSIS

·    Scatter plots and  Correlations, Simple Linear Regression, Logistic Regression

4.  INTRODUCTION TO SURVIVAL ANALYSIS

·    Empirical estimates of survival distributions (Kaplan-Meier  estimates)

·    Comparing  survival distributions (Log-Rank Test)

Expected Outcomes:

By the end of the workshop, the following outcomes are expected:

1. Understanding of basic statistical concepts

2. Ability to do simply analysis of data using STATA

3. Zeal to approach higher level of statistical analysis

Max Number of Participants:

15 INDEPTH Sites

Reasonable tickets to workshops can be obtained if booking for participants is done early enough. Hence, site leaders are kindly urged to nominate participants on or before the deadline stated below. Please note that for most workshops, nominees are considered on a first-come first-serve basis.

4 July 2008.

Facilitators (Name and Institution):

Dr. Pasmor Kuranchie  (Head, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Ghana)

Dr. Omar B. Ahmad  (Vice Dean, School of Public Health, University of Ghana)

Requirements:

a)  Nominations must be made by site leaders only. Site leaders should support nominations with a justification

b)  Nominated staff must register online for the workshop

c)  No academic qualification required. Use of some statistics at place of work is highly recommended.

d)  Brief CVs of nominees should be attached.

e)  All participants are required to bring along laptops to the workshop.

All nominations received WITHOUT the brief CVs of the nominees shall not be counted as valid

Travel advisory:

a)    Visas:

b)    Overnight stays

a)  We will issue out letters of invite to confirmed participants to enable them apply for visas, where applicable. Please inform the Secretariat if you require any assistance.

b)     For overnight stays, please see travel support below.

Policy for purchase of tickets:

a)  You will be asked to book your flight and advise the Secretariat about the cost. Please do not pay for the ticket without our confirmation. We may be able to get reasonable tickets.

b)     Once you have confirmed a booking and tickets have been bought, you will be responsible for any changes especially if these cause extra expenses.

Travel Support:

a)  The Secretariat will cover the cost of a return economy class ticket from home country to the city where the workshop will be held.

b)     In-country travel from HDSS site to the airport will be covered. Please inform the Secretariat of the cost. Evidence of payment for the travel must be produced.

c)      Should overnight stay both in-country and while in transit be necessary, please inform the Secretariat before starting the journey so that adequate preparation is done for reimbursements. Original receipts will be requested by the Secretariat.

d)     The Secretariat will usually cover accommodation for the workshop days plus half boarding. A per diem will be paid for dinner and incidentals. All other services at the hotel (mini bar, telephones, etc) must be paid for directly by the participants.

Reimbursements

a)  Please endeavour to bring along to the workshops originals of all expenses incurred for your travel to the workshop.

b)  To avoid delays, please scan the receipts and email to the INDEPTH staff responsible for the workshop before you start your journey.

c)  We prefer to transfer funds to institutions’ bank accounts. You will be requested to provide the full bank details, including the SWIFT code. Should you require cash refund, please alert the Secretariat in good time.

INDEPTH Staff responsible for this workshop

Dr. Osman Sankoh

Email: biostats-course@indepth-network.org

Other issues:

a)  Participants may kindly be asked by the Secretariat to bring along information materials from the sites to the Secretariat. These may include strategic plans, annual reports, publications and brochures.