Program Overview

Introduction to the Diplôme d'Etudes Supérieures Inter Universitaires - Réutilisation de données pour la recherche en santé (DESIU REDS)

The French healthcare system has evolved to incorporate the needs of stakeholders and the development of digital health, with a quasi-exhaustive coverage of the population through national medical-administrative databases and various hospital health data warehouses. The reuse of these data is a major challenge for public health and health research. This training aims to train professionals in the management, use, and reuse of health data to contribute to the development of health research.

Objectives of Knowledge

The objectives of knowledge for this program include:

• Understanding the organization of the French healthcare system and information systems
• Knowing the structure and specificities of French medical-administrative databases
• Understanding the structure and specificities of hospital health data warehouses and data modeling within these warehouses
• Being aware of the regulatory, ethical, and participatory aspects of retrospective research on health data
• Understanding the main methodological principles for conducting research from health data and databases
• Knowing the methods of querying and requesting health databases

Objectives of Competences

The objectives of competences for this program include:

• Setting up a research protocol
• Anticipating and managing technical and regulatory aspects
• Setting up different types of studies for retrospective research on data (cohort, case-control)
• Managing data from medical-administrative databases
• Conducting epidemiological and pharmaco-epidemiological studies from data issued by medical-administrative databases or warehouses
• Having critical and analytical expertise in experiments on different themes

Conditions of Admission

Admission is open to students in the second cycle of medical, pharmaceutical, and dental studies, as well as to doctors, pharmacists, and dental surgeons. Applicants must hold a license or a French or foreign diploma equivalent to a Bac + 3, either in their initial training or in professional activity within research laboratories, public institutions (hospitals, ATIH, ARS, etc.), or private institutions (CRO, etc.). They must also have a proven interest in the reuse, for research purposes, of data from medical and medical-administrative information systems. Admission is conditioned by a selection process by a jury composed of the training managers, who will analyze the application files individually.

Professional Outlets and Further Studies

Graduates can pursue careers as study managers or project leaders. They can progress in terms of responsibilities within their research laboratory, public institution, or private institution. Examples of professional outlets include data analysts in hospital data warehouses, real-world data departments, or pharmacovigilance. Further studies can be pursued at the Master's level in fields such as epidemiology, pharmaco-epidemiology, biostatistics, or medical informatics.

Pedagogical Organization

The training is entirely distance-based, with theoretical teaching spread over approximately 120 hours, including 70 or 90 hours of theoretical teaching and 50 or 30 hours of practical work and personal work. The teaching gives rise to a tutorship using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT): course materials available on the pedagogical server, training and practice exercises, quizzes, self-assessment, discussion forum, etc.

Program

The training is divided into 3 Units of Teaching (UEs) constituting a common core, to which is added 1 other UE to be chosen from two optional ones:

Common Core (3 compulsory UEs)

1. UE SIS-SIED. Information Systems and Data Warehouses
   • Objectives: Train students in the constitution of French information systems (health data warehouses, medical-administrative databases), their possible uses, and their limits for reuse in health research.
   • Competences to acquire: Understand the organization of health data warehouses and medical-administrative databases in France, as well as the interests and limits of their reuse for health research.
   • Themes taught: Introduction to the organization of the healthcare system and IT; Presentation of the PMSI; Presentation of the CépiDC; Constitution and structuring of the SNDS historical data; Introduction to health data warehouses; Examples of hospital data warehouses.
2. UE SOC-REPA. Regulatory, Ethical, and Participatory Aspects of Retrospective Research on Data
   • Objectives: Make students aware of the mission of the health data platform, the perspectives offered by the reuse of data for artificial intelligence, and the sharing of knowledge, and train them in the operational and regulatory aspects of retrospective research on data.
   • Competences to acquire: Understand the institutional context around national databases, understand the different procedures for accessing data, know how to identify which access procedure is adapted to their research project, know how to write a study protocol, understand the different documents of research, know how to integrate a patient into a study.
   • Themes taught: Mission of the Health Data Hub; Aspects of regulatory and access procedures to data; Writing a study protocol; Participatory and ethical issues of opening knowledge; Questions and implications of citizens in a research approach.
3. UE EPI-BDMA. Epidemiological Methods for Retrospective Research on Data
   • Objectives: Train students in the methods, different types of biases, and interpretation of results of epidemiological studies reusing health data.
   • Competences to acquire: Understand the basic measures and main study designs in epidemiology, master the advantages and limitations of different data sources, and be able to choose the most adapted data source for a research question.
   • Themes taught: Basics in epidemiology and applications in public health; Identification of events/exposures in health data; Cohort scheme; Case-control scheme; Biases in epidemiological studies; Practical application.

Optional UEs (1 UE to choose from 2)

1. UE INF-INBD. Health Data Management
   • Objectives: Train students in the theoretical and practical concepts of database querying as well as terminologies and data visualization.
   • Competences to acquire: Know how to query a database using SQL language, understand different terminologies and UMLS, and comprehend certain specificities of health databases, particularly those of the SNDS.
   • Themes taught: Normalization of databases/SQL; Introduction to terminologies and UMLS; Practical applications; Data visualization.
2. UE ORG-SEMI. Seminar on Applied Studies and Research
   • Objectives: Provide a comprehensive overview of research projects using health data.
   • Competences to acquire: Know the different perspectives offered by the reuse of data for health research.
   • Themes taught: Presentations of projects using health data.

Assessment of Knowledge

There is no assessment by UE. The evaluation of the training is carried out globally by the individual submission, in the form of a dissertation, of a collaborative work, giving rise to an oral defense. Specific coefficients are associated with individual work and the oral defense, determining a single final grade for the DESIU. To validate the DESIU, a final grade ≥ 10 must be obtained, with no compensation between UEs. Only one session is organized.

Location of Teaching

All courses are followed at a distance.

Maximum Number of Students

The number of students who can enroll in this DESIU is limited to 25.

Calendar of the Training

The training takes place from January to June.

Partnerships

This teaching is co-accredited by the UFR Health of the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris Cité. It is taught in partnership with the Health Data Hub and supported by the Institute of Public Health Sciences of Aix-Marseille University (ISSPAM).