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X-FROM-URL:https://eom.sdu.dk/events/ical/c9c9fc83-6e5c-4491-b676-e714b8a3
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X-WR-CALNAME:Christine Stabell Benn: Be curious – do our health interventi
 on against COVID-19 work as intended?
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TZID:Europe/Copenhagen
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DTSTART:20261028T030000
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DESCRIPTION:[b]DIAS lecture[/b] [nl] \nIn this lecture Professor at the Od
 ense Patient data Explorative Network (OPEN) at the Faculty of Health Sci
 ences at SDU and Professor in Global Health\, Dr. Christine Stabell Benn\
 , will discuss if health interventions against COVID-19 work as they are 
 intended. [nl]\n [nl] [b]Abstract[/b] [nl] COVID-19 was an unknown enemy.
  It is a particularly harmful enemy if we do not learn from the encounter
 . We can do that with a new gaze on randomised trials. [nl] Do face masks
  protect against COVID-19 or are they just a nuisance to the wearer and t
 o the environment? Is testing and contract tracing an important part of D
 enmark's toolbox or have we spent 2 billion DKK a month on something that
  did not change the course of the pandemic – but merely brought people in
 to queues and into isolation? Are vaccines a “super weapon”\, or can they
  harm some more than they benefit? These are just a few of the questions 
 we still do not know the answer to. [nl] Things could have been different
 . [nl] The way forward when considering the implementation of an approved
  health intervention\, for which there is uncertainty regarding the effec
 t\, is to implement the intervention in a way that ensures a valid measur
 e of "cost-effectiveness": does it make a difference on the overall healt
 h (the risk of death and morbidity) of those who receive the intervention
  versus those who do not? This question can be answered by ensuring that 
 there are comparable groups that receive and do not receive the intervent
 ion - and this can be ensured in several different ways\, of which the ra
 ndomised trial is the best known. Such trials can randomise individuals o
 r groups\, e.g. workplaces\, schools\, municipalities\, or regions (clust
 er-randomised trial) to receive a specific intervention or not\, and then
  compare the groups with respect to overall health. [nl] In a pandemic co
 ntext\, randomness - “a lottery” - can sound like an unpleasant raffle-li
 ke approach\, where one plays with people's well-being. However\, this un
 derstanding does not give randomised trials the recognition they deserve.
  Rather\, randomised trials are a solid and valid instrument in the resea
 rcher's toolbox that does not have to cause any harm - on the contrary it
  can prevent harm. [nl] From a researcher's perspective\, it is surprisin
 g that there has been essentially no interest and demands for testing the
  effects of the pandemic's health interventions in randomised trials. Had
  we tested face masks\, testing/contact tracing and vaccines for their ef
 fect on overall health while rolling them out\, we would have been in a b
 etter place today. We could have omitted interventions that did not work.
  We could have presented clear data on the effect to the doubters of othe
 r interventions\, ensuring a better implementation. We would have had a m
 easure of the "cost-effectiveness" of the various interventions\, so that
  we could compare them and assess which ones provided most overall health
  for the tax dollars and when to implement or abstain from using them. Co
 nfidence in the authorities and the interventions implemented would have 
 been greater. We would have avoided the divisive discussions between peop
 le. We would have important knowledge going forward when the next pandemi
 c arrives – and even just for next winter. [nl]\n[b] This lecture will be
  held at O-DIAS Seminarrum and can be viewed on our [url=https://www.yout
 ube.com/channel/UCuUBO2_ERXDj9apfMpPBVLw]Youtube channel[/url] [/b] [nl] 
 [nl]
DTEND:20220330T101500Z
DTSTAMP:20260430T102626Z
DTSTART:20220330T091500Z
LOCATION:Syddansk Universitet\, Campusvej 55\, 5230\, Odense M
SEQUENCE:0
SUMMARY:Christine Stabell Benn: Be curious – do our health intervention ag
 ainst COVID-19 work as intended?
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