As part of the continued commitment of the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) to strengthening the country’s capacity in public health data analysis for informed decision-making and health research, the International Research Center of Excellence (IRCE) at IHVN has successfully completed Cohort 2 of its Public Health Data Analysis Training Course (PHDAT).
The five-day training which held at the IHVN Campus, brought together 31 participants from medical and public health backgrounds. The course combined expert-led lectures, practical hands-on sessions and group presentations using real-world data, enabling participants to produce tangible analysis outputs.
The training covered key areas of public health data analysis, including descriptive statistics, epidemiological and statistical concepts, and health data cleaning and visualisation. Participants also learnt how to apply statistical methods to health data using RStudio, perform and interpret descriptive and inferential statistical analyses, calculate and interpret epidemiological measures of disease association, and communicate statistical and epidemiological findings effectively.
Participants expressed great satisfaction with the content, structure and delivery of the course, describing it as "phenomenal" and "fully loaded".
One participant, Jeremiah Ephraim, a graduate of Public Health, reflected on his training experience and expressed great delight at how the course has reshaped his understanding of data and the influence of good data in accurate policymaking for the government and leaders of the public health sector.
For Otimi Modi, a doctoral researcher who works as a cancer registrar, the skills gained during the training will help her better manage collated data and to study cancer trends effectively.
