INDEPTH NETWORK

The Relational Database and SQL in the context of health and population surveillance

 Africa Centre, Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

 

Date: 18 - 21 November 2003

 

Hosts:           The Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado at Boulder; the Agincourt DSS, South Africa; and the Africa Centre DSS, South Africa
 

Funder:         The National Institute of Aging (NIA) of the NIH

 

Objective

To build capacity at INDEPTH sites in the use of relational database methods as they relate to health and population surveillance, with special emphasis on data retrieval.

 

Background of participants:

The workshop is structured for database managers and data analysts.  We encourage participants who are familiar with at least one relational database management system (Access, SQL Server, Foxpro, DB2, Oracle, mySQL etc.) and Microsoft Excel, or with a need to become familiar with these in the near future.

 

Outcomes:

Participants will be instructed in the relational model of data, the practical implementation of the relational model of data in a modern relational database management system, the Structured Query Language (SQL) that is used to manipulate a relational database, the Reference Data Model on which many DSS databases are currently based, and finally, in specific SQL queries that address common needs in health and population surveillance.

 

Participants:

The sponsors will cover all costs of ONE participant from each site, including all meals, accommodation, local ground transportation, airfare, visa fees, and exit taxes - transportation to and from the airport in the participant’s home country will not be reimbursed. 

 

If a site wants to send more than one participant, special arrangements may be made to accommodate the extra participant(s) at the site’s expense.  In order to facilitate scheduling, self-sponsoring participants will be required to make international travel arrangements and local accommodation bookings through our agent, and payment for both must be made by the self-sponsoring participant directly to the agent or service provider.  Please contact Samuel Clark and Kobus Herbst (sam@samclark.net, herbst.kobus@mrc.ac.za) to make arrangements for self-sponsoring participants.

 

Depending on availability of funds, sponsored participants will receive a small per diem to cover minor incidental costs.

 

To be included in the workshop, participants’ names must be received by Samuel Clark and Kobus Herbst (sam@samclark.net, herbst.kobus@mrc.ac.za) by August 1, 2003.

 

Curriculum:

 

Computers:

The workshop will provide sufficient computers for all participants for instruction purposes. 

 

Participants are strongly encouraged to bring their own laptop with their database management system of choice installed and working correctly so that they can practice what they learn in their usual database environment and potentially using their own data.

 

Course Manual:

A course manual consisting of background reading will be mailed to confirmed participants well in advance of the workshop.  Participants will be expected to be familiar with this material when they arrive.

 

Data:

An example data set will be made available to the participants for the workshop.  This will be provided with the course manual before the workshop, and participants will be expected to have “loaded” this data set into their database management system of choice and become familiar with it before arriving.

 

Additionally, participants are encouraged to bring their own data so that they can apply what they learn to their own data.  Evenings will be kept open to facilitate this.

 

Day 1:

 

Instruction:   

  • Relational Model of Data (RMD)

  • Entity-Relationship Diagrams

  • Data Models

  • Data Models for DSS

 

Practical:  

  • Examine and understand the Reference Data Model

  • Examine and understand the HRS Data Model

  • Examine and understand the Structured Population Event History Register

 

Day 2:

 

Instruction:   

  • The Structured Query Language (SQL)

Practical:  

  • Introduction to several Relational Database Management Systems, including MS Access, MS SQL Server, mySQL and DB2.

  • Practice with the Data Definition Language (DDL) components of SQL

  • Practice with the Data Manipulation Language (DML) components of SQL

 

Day 3:

 

Instruction:

  • Common SQL queries useful in the context of health and population surveillance, including:

    • Counts

    • Exposure time and Person Years calculations

    • Event/Exposure Rates, including standard sex-age-specific mortality and fertility rates

    • Person-time files for event history analysis

Practical:

  • Practice in the application and tuning of the SQL queries presented using health and population surveillance data.

 

Day 4:

 

Morning reserved for continuation of Day 3 agenda

Instruction:

  • Data-use policy

  • Data dictionaries and data documentation

  • “Production database” vs. “Analysis” database and procedures to govern the creation and archiving of analysis extracts

  • Routine analysis updates

  • “Temporal” database topics

 

 Evenings:

Instructors and facilitators will be available during the evenings to assist participants who want to work with their own data sets to experiment with the material that is covered in the workshop.

 

 Activities

 

  • An excursion to a local game park or nature reserve will be organized  during the week.

  • A tour of the Africa Centre DSS will be conducted during the week.

 

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