Lesson series

Evidence-Based Health Reporting 

This course equips participants with essential skills to critically evaluate health and medical reporting, combining investigative journalism and evidence-based medicine. It covers how to assess study designs, understand the drug approval process, effectively communicate benefit/risk ratios, and identify conflicts of interest in health reporting. Participants will learn practical tools to ensure accurate, ethical, and evidence-based coverage of medical topics

  • 39 videos

    Always up to date

  • 2.4 hours

    Video duration
    Epistudia in partnership with STATA

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      Aims

    • To apply Evidence-based medicine and investigative journalism principles to report in the field of health and medicine 
    • To determine the relevance of a healthcare news by applying simple rules of thumb: differentiate between marketing, sensationalism, and misinterpretation, and focus on evidence-based reporting  
    • To dig deeper on the market approval of a pharmaceutical intervention - A Study is Not Just a Study: understand the different study designs, and what they can and can't prove  
    • To understand why conflicts of interests are important and how to unveil them 

      Content

    • Health reporting: flaws and accurate journalism in public health.
    • Combining investigative journalism and Evidence-Based Medicine: writing well-informed health stories using tools like PICO.
    • A study is not just a study: different study designs, biases, and how to critically evaluate research validity.
    • How the drug approval process works: drug approval process, common evidence manipulations, and how to assess pharmaceutical claims critically.
    • How should the benefit/risk ratio be communicated? Effective communication of benefit/risk ratios, focusing on preventing overdiagnosis and misleading statistics.
    • Conflict of Interest and Key Opinion Leaders: spotting conflicts of interest and analyze the influence of Key Opinion Leaders in health reporting.

      Methods

    The introduction to the topic is delivered through online video lectures, literature readings, practical exercises, and tests. Students will engage in individual exercises that cover various aspects of statistical methods using real-world case studies. Each section concludes with a test to evaluate your understanding. 

      Target audience

    The course is designed for journalists, healthcare professionals, and researchers who aim to enhance their skills in evidence-based reporting, critical evaluation of medical studies, and ethical communication in health and medicine. 

    Meet our lecturers

    Catherine Riva
    Investigative Journalist
    Nadia Elia
    Assistant Professor 
    Serena Tinari
    Investigative Journalist