QLD Branch
Upcoming Meetings
Tuesday March 9, 2010
SSAI ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Qld Branch AGM will be held at 5pm, ABS, Training Room 1 (3R 159), Level 3, 639 Wickham St, Fortitude Valley1.
ORDINARY BRANCH MEETING: Tuesday 9 March, 2010
Following the AGM there will be a Branch meeting addressed by Dr Martin Wolkewitz.
SPEAKER: Dr Martin Wolkewitz, University of Freiburg
TITLE: Understanding and avoiding survival bias: An application of multistate models in a cohort of Oscar nominees.
TIME: 4.30pm - 6pm
VENUE: ABS, Training Room 1 (3R 159), Level 3, 639 Wickham St, Fortitude Valley1.
DINNER: Members and guests are invited to join the speaker at a nearby restaurant.
ABSTRACT:
Survival bias is a common concern in applications of survival analysis. The reason is often related to sampling schemes or time-dependent intermediate events. In many situations the bias can be avoided by a proper statistical analysis. Multistate models provide a relevant framework to display and circumvent certain types of survival bias. In this talk I recall techniques which are available and implemented in statistical softwares to avoid these types of bias. Using Lexis diagrams I illustrate length bias as well as time-dependent bias which occurred jointly in a study of Academy Award-winning actors and actresses. Several historical as well very recent applications in epidemiological fields are discussed.
BIOGRAPHY:
Dr Wolkewitz has a Diploma in Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology. He is currently a senior statistician with a specific expertise in the application of event-history analysis and multistate modelling methodology to data arising in the field of health care epidemiology. Dr Wolkewitz joinrf the Research Unit FOR 534 “Statistical modeling and data analysis in clinical epidemiology” which is funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).