Course Patient reported outcomes (PRO) in clinical research

The course Patient reported outcomes (PROs) in clinical research is being offered by the Graduate School of Health, Aarhus University, 2026.

Criteria for participation: University degree in medicine, dentistry, nursing, or Master’s degree in other fields and/or postgraduate research fellows (PhD students and research-year medical students).

Requirements for participation: It is recommended to have basic statistics

Aim: PRO data has the potential to measure what matters to patients in their daily lives. Thus, the overall aim of this course is to ensure high-quality research based on PRO data and to introduce the PhD students to the methodology of using PRO in clinical research

Learning outcomes: 

By the end of this course, the students will

• be able to select PRO instruments and evaluate their quality
• be able to design, analyze, report and interpret PROs in clinical research

Workload: The full workload of the course is expected to be 40 hours

Content: The course is an introduction to the use of PRO in clinical research with a special emphasis on clinical trials. Thus, the focus is mainly on the application of PRO in research rather than on the design and psychometric evaluation of questionnaires. The attenders will be presented with the use of international PRO guidelines for selecting, analyzing and reporting PRO data. As an example, the course will cover the following areas: selection of PRO measures, evaluation of PRO measures, writing PRO protocols, how to handle missing data, analyzing PRO, etc.

Instructors:   Professor Melanie Calvert, University of Birmingham, UK, Associate Professor Olalekan Aiyegbusi, University of Birmingham, UK, MD, PhD, Associate Professor Lene Kongsgaard Nielsen, Department of Clinical Medicine, Gødstrup Hospital, Denmark, Associate Professor Mwidimi Ndosi, University of Bristol, UK, Associate Professor Liv Marit Valen Schougaard, AmbuFlex, Central Denmark, Region, and Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark, Professor Annette de Thurah, Department of Rheumatology, Aarhus University Hospital, and Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark

Venue: Aarhus University, Aarhus.

Participation in the course is without cost for:

• PhD students, Health Research Year students from Aarhus University
• PhD students enrolled at partner universities of the Nordoc collaboration
• PhD students from other institutions in the open market agreement for PhD courses

Course dates:

• 17 March 2026 09:00 - 14:00
• 18 March 2026 09:00 - 14:00
• 19 March 2026 09:00 - 14:00