MORNING CASE
The Department of Public Health at Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam aims to conduct eminent research and provide excellent education with a discernable impact on population health. The Evaluation of Screening team within the department, for example, uses microsimulation modeling to predict the costs and effects of (cancer) screening. The team, consisting of modelers, epidemiologists, statisticians, econometricians and medical doctors, performs calculations for policy makers, for example to inform the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment and the United States National Cancer Institute. They closely collaborate with national and international partners to improve their understanding of the impact of cancer screening on population trends in cancer mortality, and present their results at many international conferences. Another example is the Medical Decision Making team, which utilizes quantitative methods such as prediction modelling, quasi-experimental study designs and comparative effectiveness research in order to contribute to optimal evidence-based and personalized decisions in health care. They apply their methods within and outside Erasmus MC, in collaboration with national and international partners, to directly improve patient care. The societal impact of the department is illustrated for instance by the development of the QVS database, which is a database in which medical data of patients with Q fever fatigue syndrome are collected and analyzed for four years. With this database, a long-awaited wish of patients was fulfilled.
Our organization
The Erasmus MC (www.erasmusmc.nl) is the largest university medical centre in the Netherlands, with approximately 14.000 employees. Erasmus MC is committed to a healthy population and excellence in healthcare through research and education.
Interested?
If you would like to find out more about the projects we are involved in, please see http://www.publichealthrotterdam.com, http://www.cisnet.cancer.gov, http://www.eu-topia.org and, http://www.center-tbi.eu, or http://www.mrclean-med.nl.
STATISTICS
Sectors: Health Science, Research, Data Science
Location: 1
Male-Female ratio: 24-76%
Number of employees (in Holland): 141
Number of starting positions per year: 20
Number of internship positions per year: 10
Annual working students per year: 5
Average age: 35
CASE
The Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport has sent a letter to the Dutch Health Council, seeking advice about the possibility of adjusting the existing national colorectal cancer screening program. The reason for this request is the promising result of a new revolutionary screening test, the Exhaled Breath Test, which is a promising new screening tool for several cancers, including colorectal cancer.
The Minister is especially interested in whether the current FIT-test (Fecal Immunochemical Test) should be replaced by this Exhaled Breath Test and if so, whether the current target ages and screening interval should also be adjusted to optimize the balance between health benefits, harms of screening, and costs.
Using a colorectal microsimulation model, you will estimate the harms, benefits and costs of different colorectal cancer screening strategies. You will use this information to advise the Dutch Minister of Health about whether the colorectal cancer screening program should be adjusted, and if so, which screening strategy is optimal.