34th International Summer School of Epidemiology

 

COURSE 1: Introduction to Epidemiologic Principles and Causal Inference

Caroline A. Thompson

How do we know what causes disease? This course develops students' ability to critically evaluate causal claims in health research — a skill essential for anyone who reads, produces or acts on health evidence. Using causal inference as a unifying framework, students will be introduced to the core principles of epidemiology: how disease occurrence is measured, how study designs enable (or undermine) causal conclusions and how bias threatens the validity of health research. By the end of the course, students will be equipped to ask sharper questions of the evidence they encounter, whether in scientific literature, policy documents or public health practice.