Date & Place
16-18 July, 2025
Ghent, Belgium
About the Summer School
The General Concepts of Burden of Disease summer school aims to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the burden of disease framework and the Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) metric. This program is tailored for professionals, researchers, and students in public health and related disciplines.
Learning objectives
- Comprehend Summary Measures of Population Health: Develop a thorough understanding of key summary measures used in population health, focusing on the DALY metric and its significance in quantifying disease burden.
- Understand DALY Components: Gain insights into the two primary components of DALYs:
- Years of Life Lost (YLL): Learn the methodology for calculating YLL, which reflects premature mortality by considering the number of years lost due to early death
- Years Lived with Disability (YLD): Explore the calculation of YLD, representing the impact of non-fatal health outcomes by accounting for the years lived with illness or disability, adjusted for severity
- Data Requirements and Methodologies: Understand the essential data prerequisites and methodologies employed in burden of disease assessments, including data collection, quality considerations, and analytical techniques.
- Practical Application: Engage in hands-on exercises designed to apply theoretical concepts to real-world scenarios, enhancing practical skills in burden of disease estimation and interpretation.
Structure
The summer school is organized into three modules, each combining theoretical lectures with practical sessions:
- Module 1: Introduction to DALYs and YLLs
- Content: Introduce the burden of disease concept, focusing on the DALY metric and the calculation of YLL.
- Activities: Theoretical lectures followed by an exploration of the GBD Compare tool and practical exercises to apply YLL calculations
- Module 2: Introduction to YLDs
- Content: Delve into YLD calculations, including the derivation and use of disability weights, assessment of severity distributions, and considerations for comorbidity adjustments.
- Activities: Theoretical discussions complemented by exercises on eliciting disability weights and constructing severity distributions.
- Module 3: DALYs – Theory to Practice
- Content: Address practical issues related to data sourcing, handling uncertainties, reporting DALY estimates, and knowledge translation.
- Activities: Interactive sessions focusing on real-life applications, data challenges, and interpretation and dissemination of results.
Each module is designed to build upon the previous one, ensuring a cohesive and comprehensive learning experience. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with experienced burden of disease researchers, fostering an environment conducive to learning and professional development.
Program
| Time (CET) | Module 1 Wednesday 16 July | Module 2 Thursday 17 July | Module 3 Friday 18 July |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9h00 | Welcome & introductions | ||
| 9h30 | Welcome & wrapup of previous session | Welcome & wrapup of previous session | |
| 10h00 | Introduction to the burden of disease concept and the DALY metric | Disability weights: theory and applications | From theory to practice: data, assumptions, uncertainties |
| 11h00 | Exercise | Exercise | Exercise |
| 12h00 | Discussion | Discussion | Discussion |
| 12h30 | Lunch break | Lunch break | Lunch break |
| 13h30 | Calculating Years of Life Lost |
Calculating Years Lived with Disability | Knowledge translation |
| 15h00 | Exercise | Exercise | Exercise |
| 16h00 | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A |
| 16h30 | Closure of module 1 | Closure of module 2 | Closure of module 3 |
Trainers
Robby De Pauw, Sciensano, Belgium
Dr. Robby De Pauw is a senior scientist at Sciensano and post-doctoral researcher in Rehabilitation Sciences at Ghent University. He conducts policy-driven public health research in the domain of composite measures of population health and rehabilitation. Currently, he is working on the Belgian National Burden of Disease Study. Robby holds PhD degrees in Health Sciences, and MSc degrees in Biostatistics and Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences.
Brecht Devleesschauwer, Sciensano, Belgium
Dr. Brecht Devleesschauwer is a senior epidemiologist at Sciensano (the Belgian institute for health) and visiting professor in Risk Analysis at Ghent University. He conducts policy-driven public health research in the domain of composite measures of population health and health inequalities. As a member of the World Health Organization Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (WHO/FERG), he contributed to the estimation of the global burden of foodborne disease. Currently, he is coordinating the Belgian National Burden of Disease Study, and chairing the European Burden of Disease Network (COST Action CA18218). Brecht holds PhD degrees in Public Health and Veterinary Sciences, and MSc degrees in Biostatistics and Veterinary Medicine.
Juanita Haagsma, Erasmus MC, the Netherlands
Dr. Juanita Haagsma, PhD in health sciences, works as Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health at the Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Her research focuses mainly on burden of disease estimates of injury and quantifying long-term consequences of injury in particular. For several years, she worked as Assistant Professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, where she was a member of the injuries team of the Global Burden of Disease study. She was responsible for the development and implementation of methods to calculate the global burden of injury. In addition, she has conducted several studies on disability weights, including a large disability weight study that collected responses from more than 30,000 people from four European countries.
Aline Scohy, Sciensano, Belgium
Aline Scohy is a researcher within the Health Indicators Unit of Sciensano, the Belgian institute for health. She works on the Belgian National Burden of Disease Study and also leads on the Health Status Report for Belgium which is a key resource of health information for the country and brings together a lot of stakeholders. Aline holds a Master's degree in Demography and has expertise in causes of death and mortality statistics.
How to participate
Eligibility and prerequisites
The summer school is open to everyone with a basic understanding of epidemiology.
Teaching will be in English. Exercises will require a basic proficiency in MS Excel.
Registration
The number of participants will be limited to a maximum of 30. Applicants will be enrolled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please refer to the overview page for general information on cancellation rules, venue, and travel and accomodation.
Registrations are open until 16 June 2025.
More information
For more information on the Summer School, please contact us via .
