Entry requirements

The general rules laid down by the Curriculum Committee of the Faculty of Pharmacy apply (see programme curriculum).

Aims

Having completed the course, the student shall

- be able to describe the use of drugs in the population, factors which influence it and its consequences

- be able to analyse and interpret the results of studies of the use of drugs in the population

- be able to plan and execute a simple study aimed at answering a question concerning the use of drugs in the population

- be able to retrieve, compile and evaluate information

- be able to think independently and reach a decision.

Content

The course comprises basic research methodology with special emphasis on methods of data collection (questionnaires and interviews), interpretation and evaluation of studies in the field concerned and statistics. Pharmacoepidemiology deals with the distribution of drug consumption in the population, different measures of disease, study design, systematic errors, methods of statistical analysis and causality. Pharmacoeconomics deals with the community's economic resources for health care, the health service's resource problems, methods for economic evaluation of drugs and drug treatment and measurement problems relating to evaluation. Research ethics is also included.

Instruction

The tuition comprises lectures, seminars and group exercises.

Compulsory parts of the course: Participation in group exercises.

Assessment

Written examinations are held at the end of the course. Students are required to pass the written examination (TENT) and compulsory parts of the course (GRUP). Repetition of compulsory parts of the course may be done in connection with the next course at the earliest and then only if there is a vacancy.