2-credit-hour course. This course introduces the use of electronic resources and secondary health data in epidemiology, public health, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmaceutical policy, and health economics. Students will explore major secondary data sources, including electronic health records (EHRs), claims databases, medication dispensing records, registries, surveys, and administrative databases, with particular attention to their structure, accessibility, strengths, limitations, and suitability for research.
The course emphasizes practical skills in identifying appropriate data sources, understanding database structures, defining study populations, assessing data quality, cleaning and harmonizing datasets, and interpreting secondary data for research and economic evaluation. Students will also examine ethical, privacy, and regulatory considerations, data governance, and the challenges of using routinely collected health data in real-world settings, including Jordan.
Through case studies, guided workshops, and a semester project, students will develop the ability to critically evaluate secondary data, document data-management decisions, conduct basic descriptive analyses, and assess the suitability of available data for answering research and health-economic questions.