SPHC Myanmar - SPHIP Programme organized a three day training on “Advanced Epidemiology – Multilevel Modeling

The “Strengthening Public Health Institutes” (SPHI) Programme, in line with its objectives of enhancing expertise, knowledge and resources of public health institutes in 8 different countries, namely in Myanmar, organized a three day training on “Advanced Epidemiology – Multilevel Modeling”, in Yangon (7 – 9 January, 2020), in collaboration with HelpAge International.

The training was officially opened by H.E Dr. Myint Htwe, MoHs Union minister. During his speech the Union Minister addressed the importance of this training and shared his experiences on the importance of advanced data analysis for generating evidence-based public health policies.

H.E. Dr. Myint Htwe also stressed on the significant contribution and support of HelpAge International (HAI) over the years to the Ministry, especially in the area of capacity building for higher education institutions.

The facilitator for the training, Professor Nawi Ng, was invited from the department of Global Health from the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden, and the training was delivered to professors from the University of Public Health (UPH), associate professors working in different Universities in Myanmar, and senior experts working in MoHS. A total number of 30 participants from 7 universities, Department of Medical research, Yangon Regional Health Department and Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) participated in the training.

The training aimed at developing skills of participants on multilevel modeling for in order to provide national health authorities and stakeholders with evidence-based and locally adapted policy advice, to feed decision and policy making. The methodology used for the training was a mix of theory, and practice exercises using Stata software. The theoretical part covered topics such as basic concepts of the multilevel modeling approach, multilevel analysis with continuous data, single and multilevel logistic regression, and the practical component aimed at teaching participants to build, use multilevel linear and logistic regression models in Stata. Finally, the training included a practical session on data analysis in the context of multilevel modeling and real-life application of such models for guiding policymaking. Materials, such as academic papers from renown journals, reference books, and sources for online courses, were also provided for participants to continue their learning experience on multilevel modeling.

The training was highly successful and relevant for participants from various public health institutions in the country. Not only did it enhance knowledge on advanced epidemiology, but it also provided participants with the tools and materials to use and apply such methods to generate strong evidence-based policymaking decisions. According to the feedback collected from the participants, the majority were satisfied with the training, and reported the wish to continue learning about these methods to strengthen their knowledge and capacity to use such methods in public health practices.