New Online course - Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis - Monday, 10th & Tuesday, 11th May AND Monday, 17th & Tuesday, 18th May 2021

ScHARR Online Course - Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis

4 x half-days delivered over two weeks:
Monday, 10th & Tuesday, 11th May AND Monday, 17th & Tuesday, 18th May 2021

Book your place here https://onlineshop.shef.ac.uk/short-courses/faculty-of-medicine-dentistry-and-health/scharr-short-course-unit/scharr-systematic-reviews-and-metaanalysis

The aim of this popular and intensive course is to provide participants with an introduction to methods for conducting systematic reviews and meta-analysis in health care

Sessions will be delivered by ScHARR staff experienced in systematic review methods and health technology assessment. The course will be interactive and practical, with delivery of sessions based on lectures and individual and small group practical exercises.

Who will benefit from the course?

The course is suitable for researchers who require an introduction to methods for conducting systematic reviews in health care, and professionals who need to develop the ability to interpret and assess the quality of systematic reviews. The course is also suitable for:
Clinicians wanting to undertake their own systematic review
PhD students with a significant review component to their thesis
Members of academic systematic review teams
Pharmaceutical companies and consultancies requiring an understanding of review methods

No previous knowledge of systematic reviews or meta-analysis is assumed.

This course is relevant to anyone involved in systematic reviews. If you are specifically interested in qualitative evidence synthesis only, please see our ESQUIRE course.

Learning outcomes

• By the end of this course participants should be able to:
• identify the key stages of the systematic review process
• define a review question and understand how to develop a review protocol
• describe methods for identifying sources of evidence for systematic reviews
• develop a search strategy to identify relevant studies for a specific review question and understand how to conduct a literature search
• apply inclusion criteria to identify relevant studies
• undertake critical appraisal of evidence using standardised quality checklists
• develop a data extraction form and extract relevant outcomes from reported studies
• select appropriate methods of evidence synthesis and be able to describe and summarise key results
• be familiar with statistical methods for analysis of quantitative data
• explore the use of meta-analysis in data synthesis using computer software (RevMan)
• understand potential sources of heterogeneity between included studies
• be familiar with good practice in reporting of systematic reviews
• critically appraise a systematic review.

Faculty
Marrissa Martyn-St James, is the course leader for this popular short course
Andrew Booth
Other members of ScHARR staff to be confirmed

Learn Online with ScHARR - An Introduction to using Social Media to Communicate Research

We are running some of our popular workshops online this Spring - join us from the comfort of your own home or workspace to learn from our experts.

An Introduction to using Social Media to Communicate Research

2 half days (13:00 - 16:00) April 2021 : 

27 April and Wednesday, 28 April 2021

Book your place via this link

The treadmill of academia is a relentless one: proposal, research, write, present and then hopefully publish before starting all over again, all in the hope that the research is recognised as being of good quality, worthy and valuable. There's one problem though - journals are not geared up for the modern online world of instant sharing and communication. Tools and ways of communicating research such as Twitter, YouTube, ResearchGate, Slideshare, blogging, infographics, animation and many others will be covered. The good news is they are mostly free and can work together to help research to reach a wider audience. That audience is not just academic peers, but publishers, editors, fund holders and the general public.

The aim of the workshop is to offer an introduction to the many tools you can use to help you communicate research and work smarter. The purpose of the day is to help attendees come away with a variety of tools and artefacts they can use to help communicate and share their work. We will teach you basics of social media in an academic setting and demystify some of the barriers that may have put you off from using these tools in your work.

We will show you how to make the most from these technologies and show you how to find out alternative ways of discussing and communicating research. Attention will be paid to the various ethical issues to working more on the web from copyright and Creative Commons to making more use of your mobile device, from safety and security to how you conduct yourself online and netiquette.

This short course will benefit a wide range of people including (but not exhaustive of):

Researchers,

Masters and PhD students,

Research Support Staff and Managers,

Library and Information Professionals,

Communications and Marketing Professionals.

Andy Tattersall Jisc Social Media Superstar in UK Higher Education

Fees

The fee for this online course is £149 per person

ScHARR Online 1 day course - Date TBC - Instant Evidence Based Medicine: How to Quickly Synthesise Research

Learn from our experts online in the comfort of your own home or workspace

Instant Evidence Based Medicine: How to Quickly Synthesise Research

This course will introduce participants to the concept of research synthesis and explore simple ways to rapidly bring evidence together to inform decision making. During the day we will undertake a search for high quality evidence to answer a clinical question. We will then look at ways of identifying the findings/key themes from the research and present various methods/tools to quickly bring the results together to form a useful overview of the evidence quickly and effectively.

Fees

The fee for this online course is £149 per person.

Register interest via this link

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIr7Hfy46JO54KwnJqGCwagFcG_fwPaKkFn5ly86aXk_J9YQ/viewform

Who Will Benefit from the Course?

If you are new to research synthesis or need to expand your skill set to include rapid synthesis then this course will be ideal. It will offer an introduction to synthesis for those who do not need to undertake full scale systematic reviews, but would like to be able to bring research findings together simply and quickly to form a clear picture. Typical participants might be:

• Academics & Researchers
• Health and social care clinicians/practitioners
• Post graduate students
• Health Librarians and Information Specialists

Course Faculty

Angie Rees

Interventional Studies as Service Evaluations workshop

View from INOX venue, Sheffield

The School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, are currently taking ‘Expressions of Interest (EoI)’ for the Interventional Studies as Service Evaluations workshop, taking place in Sheffield on Tuesday 4^th June 2019 from 9:30am until 4:30pm. 

The event is an opportunity for researchers and commissioners who work in the area of healthcare evaluation and/or commissioning to come together to discuss and debate what types of ‘evidence’ can be obtained from service evaluations as an alternative to research. This includes the associated benefits and negative consequences of taking these alternative approaches. 

Previous ReQoL event

Workshop highlights include taught sessions on understanding and distinguishing the differences between service evaluations and research, statistical methods for assessing effectiveness alongside non-randomised study designs (ability to randomise being a key difference associated between research and service evaluations), and methods for assessing value for money (ranging from formal economic evaluation methodologies to cost-only analyses). These taught sessions will culminate in a structured group discussion related to using service evaluations relative to research as a vehicle for assessing effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, as well as commissioners’ and researchers’ perspectives on why one approach might be chosen over the other.

The workshop is being run by Dr Steve Ariss, Dr Kate Ren, Dr Matt Franklin (University of Sheffield), Professor Gerry Richardson and Dr James Lomas (University of York).

Key information. To register your interest in attending the event, please email clahrc-heom@sheffield.ac.uk by the 10^th May 2019, with ‘EoI - Service Evaluation workshop’ in the subject line of your email. 

The Workshop programme can be found here: http://clahrc-yh.nihr.ac.uk/our-themes/health-economics-and-outcome-measurement/6-heom-events

Please forward this information to anyone you feel may be interested in ‘expressing an interest’ in attending this workshop. Places are limited and initial interest is high, so please register your interest as soon as possible before the deadline date.

HEDS 3 Day Course - ScHARR Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Short Course

ScHARR Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Short Course

3 day course:  Tuesday, 26th - Thursday, 28th March 2019

Overview

The aim of this three day course is to provide participants with an introduction to methods for conducting systematic reviews and meta-analysis in health care. Sessions will be delivered by ScHARR staff experienced in systematic review methods and health technology assessment. The course will be interactive and practical, with delivery of sessions based on lectures and individual and small group practical exercises.

Book here

Who will benefit from this course?

The course is suitable for researchers who require an introduction to methods for conducting systematic 
reviews in health care, and professionals who need to develop the ability to interpret and asses the quality of systematic reviews. The course is also suitable for:

• Clinicians wanting to undertake their own systematic review
• PhD Students with a significant review component to their thesis
• Members of academic systematic review teams
• Pharmaceutical companies and consultancies requiring an understanding of review methods

No previous knowledge of systematic reviews or meta-analysis is assumed.

This course is relevant to anyone involved in systematic reviews. If you are specifically interested in qualitative evidence synthesis only, please see our ESQUIRE course for further details.

Location: Halifax Hall

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course participants should be able to:

• Identify the key stages of the systematic review process
• Define a review question and understand how to develop a review protocol
• Describe methods for identifying sources of evidence for systematic reviews
• Develop a search strategy to identify relevant studies for a specific review question and understand how to conduct a literature search
• Apply inclusion criteria to identify relevant studies
• Undertake critical appraisal of evidence using standardised quality checklists
• Develop a data extraction form and extract relevant outcomes from reported studies
• Select appropriate methods of evidence synthesis and be able to describe and summarise key results
• Be familiar with statistical methods for analysis of quantitative data
• Explore the use of meta-analysis in data synthesis using computer software
• Understand potential sources of heterogeneity between included studies
• Be familiar with good practice in reporting of systematic reviews
• Critically appraise a systematic review

Course Materials

Course Materials will be provided via a Delegate Course Website approximately 2 weeks prior to the course start date.  Hard copies of exercises will be provided throughout the course.  Hard copies of powerpoint presentations will not be generally provided, but these can be printed and downloaded by delegates before the start of the course via the Delegate Course Website if required.  A USB of all materials will be provided on the first day of the course during registration.

Delegates are asked to provide their own laptop to use for the duration of the course.  If this is not possible please contact us as soon as possible.

Faculty

Marrissa Martyn-St James, is the course leader for this popular ScHARR short course.

Andrew Booth

Plus other members of ScHARR staff to be confirmed.

HEDS Two Day Course - Utility Data for Health Technology Assessment

HEDS are running a two day course on Utility Data for Health Technology Assessment

Monday 12th - Tuesday 13th March 2018

BackgroundNICE and similar agencies around the world are using QALYs, hence the need for health state utility data in their assessments of the cost effectiveness of health care interventions. This raises questions about the measurement of health, the valuation of health and whose values to use. It creates additional challenges for meeting the requirements of a ‘reference case’ set of methods that may not be appropriate in all circumstances.

What does the course deliver?This course outlines the practical requirements of measuring utility and obtaining utility data for health technology assessment for agencies such as NICE and explores recent research in utilities including EQ-5D-5L valuation, measuring subjective well-being and condition specific preference-based measures.  It is delivered by a world leading team of experts in utility measurement.

Halifax Hall

Course content

• What are the key issues in obtaining health state utility values?

• Does it matter which instruments are used?

• What is the current NICE reference case and requirements in other jurisdictions?

• When are EQ-5D and other generic measures not appropriate?

• What utility instruments are available for children?

• What are the latest development in EQ-5D including EQ-5D-5L valuation?

• What should be done when EQ-5D and other generics are not appropriate or not available?

• How can mapping be used to estimate utility values from disease specific measures?

• Social value QALY weights

• How do you search for utility values and what is the role of systematic reviews and meta-analysis of utility values?

• How should utility values be incorporated into cost effectiveness models?

• What is the role for wellbeing within HTA?

• The development of condition specific measures (including the ReQol for mental health).

Link to further information:https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/scharr/shortcourseunit/health_utilities_2018

Course Faculty

Professor John Brazier

Dr Tessa Peasgood is the Course Leader for this 2 day short course

Dr Donna Rowen

Dr Mónica Hernández Alava

Angie Rees

Roberta Ara

Short Course - How to Quickly Synthesise Research

Information Resources Group (part of our HEDS Group) are once again running our "Instant Evidence Based Medicine" course.

"How to quickly synthesise research" will take place in Sheffield on Tuesday 13th February 2018.

This course will introduce participants to the concept of research synthesis and explore simple ways to rapidly bring evidence together to inform decision making. During the day we will undertake a search for high quality evidence to answer a clinical question. We will then look at ways of identifying the findings/key themes from the research and present various methods/tools to quickly bring the results together to form a useful overview of the evidence quickly and effectively.

Location: Halifax Hall

If you are new to research synthesis or need to expand your skill set to include rapid synthesis then this course will be ideal. It will offer an introduction to synthesis for those who do not need to undertake full scale systematic reviews, but would like to be able to bring research findings together simply and quickly to form a clear picture.

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/scharr/shortcourseunit/synthesise-research

Link to book via our Online Store:
http://onlineshop.shef.ac.uk/conferences-events/faculty-of-medicine-dentistry-and-health/school-of-health-and-related-research-scharr

If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact the ScHARR Short Course Unit at scharr-scu@sheffield.ac.uk

The Identification and Review of Evidence to Inform Cost Effectiveness Models

HEDS are running a one day course, The Identification and Review of Evidence to Inform Cost Effectiveness Models on Tuesday 6th February 2018

Course information
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/scharr/shortcourseunit/cost_effectiveness_models2018

Course Overview

The course will enable participants to develop an understanding of the methods available for the identification and review of evidence to inform cost effectiveness models. The course will consist of three sessions:
1. Practical conceptual modelling methods
2. Identification of evidence to inform models
3. Reviewing of evidence to inform models

Halifax Hall

During the sessions there will be presentations to illustrate the main issues, structured small group discussions working through a set of related questions and practical exercises. The course will be delivered by researchers experienced in health technology assessment in the UK including a cost-effectiveness modeller, information specialist and systematic reviewer.

New Course - Expert Knowledge Elicitation, Sheffield, UK, 8-10 January 2018

Dr Kate Ren

HEDS Dr Kate Ren is collaborating with colleagues from The School of Mathematics and Statistics at The University of Sheffield to run the Expert Knowledge Elicitation course. The course takes place on 8th-10th January 2018 and is facilitated by Professor Anthony O’Hagan, Professor Jeremy Oakley, Dr John Paul Gosling, Dr Andy Hart and Dr Kate Ren.

Background Decision analytic models such as economic models submitted to NICE and similar reimbursement authorities around the world often incorporate evidence in the form of expert opinion. In particular, when suitable data are lacking, analysts may be dependent on expert opinion to obtain appropriate values for model inputs/parameters. To quantify expert uncertainty about such quantities, a process of elicitation can be used to obtain suitable probability distributions following a process of elicitation. This practical course aims to provide participants with the skills required to elicit experts’ probability distributions about unknown quantities of interest. The course is based around SHELF: a behavioural aggregation method for eliciting distributions from multiple experts.

Who will benefit from the course?

The course is suitable for health economists, statisticians, systematic reviewers and decision-makers interested in the elicitation of experts' probability distributions about unknown quantities of interest to populate their models. The course is also suitable for researchers in other disciplines who wish to learn about expert elicitation.  No previous knowledge of elicitation is assumed.


Course structure

The first two days will comprise a comprehensive short course, Elicitation with SHELF. The course will cover the principles of expert elicitation and the SHELF method, together with practical considerations in planning and running a SHELF elicitation workshop.

Participants may choose to attend the first two days only. The key role in the SHELF method is that of the facilitator. The third day, Advanced Facilitation, will be an intensive, small group, hands-on session for participants who wish to be trained to act as facilitators. Each trainee will gain practical experience of facilitating a SHELF elicitation workshop, using carefully designed and realistic scenarios. Trainees will also gain experience in another important role, that of recorder. This session is open to a maximum of four trainees.


Cost

Two-day elicitation with SHELF £500
Advanced facilitation day £1300

Course fees include lunch and refreshments. Participants will need to arrange their own accommodation.

For further details and registration, please go to

http://www.tonyohagan.co.uk/shelf/CourseJan18_v3.html