Statistical Methods for Mediation Analysis
Mediation analysis examines what variables may lie on the causal pathway between an exposure and an outcome. Mediation models are useful for understanding aetiology, providing evidence to confirm and refute theory, and assessing the impact of intervening on a mediator when it is not possible to alter an exposure.
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Please bear with us whilst we refresh the course information on this page for 2026-2027. Current details relate to the last run and are for reference only. Find out more about the 2026-2027 programme.
| Dates | 11 - 13 May 2026 |
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| Fee | £625 |
| Format | Online |
| Audience | Open to all applicants (prerequisites apply) |
Course profile
This course aims to provide an understanding of the statistical principles behind, and the practical application of, mediation analyses in epidemiology.
Please click on the sections below for more information.
This online course will run over 3 short days. The course will start at 9.30am on the first day and finish at 15.30pm on the last day. The total teaching time (excluding breaks) will be 14 teaching hours.
By the end of the course participants should:
- be aware of traditional and counterfactual approaches to mediation analysis and the assumptions underlying these methods;
- have a working knowledge of the Stata commands to run models for traditional and counterfactual approaches to mediation analysis;
- be aware of methods to incorporate multiple mediators and intermediate confounders; and
- have a working knowledge of the Stata commands to run models with multiple mediators or intermediate confounders.
This course is intended for medical statisticians, and epidemiologists with a quantitative background and knowledge of linear and logistic regression.
The course will:
- review and critique traditional methods for mediation analyses;
- describe counterfactual-based approaches to mediation analysis;
- review traditional and counterfactual methods to incorporate multiple mediators; and
- introduce counterfactual methods to incorporate intermediate confounders.
This course is taught by Dr Gemma Hammerton and Dr Ana Goncalves Soares. All teaching staff have extensive experience in performing both traditional and counterfactual mediation analyses.
To make sure the course is suitable for you and you will benefit from attending, please ensure you meet the following prerequisites before booking:
| Knowledge | Participants should have knowledge of regression analyses and their implementation in Stata of at least the level achieved in the Introduction to Linear and Logistic Regression Models short course. |
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| Software |
You must have Stata* (version 14, 15, 16 ,17 or 18) installed in advance of the course. *Internal University of Bristol participants are given access to Stata. Go to Stata Installation Instructions (internal only) for help setting it up before the start of the course. External participants are responsible for providing their own access to Stata, however if you are a student, Stata offer a short term free Student licence (one week). |
Before booking this course, please make sure you read the information provided above about the target audience and prerequisites. It is important that you have access to the relevant IT resources needed for the course and meet the knowledge prerequisites to ensure you can get the most from the course.
Bookings are taken via our online booking system, for which you must register an account. To check if you are eligible for free or discounted courses please see our fees and voucher packs page. All bookings are subject to our terms & conditions, which can be read in full here.
For help and support with booking a course refer to our booking information page, FAQs or feel free to contact us directly. For available payment options please see: How to pay your short course fees.
Participants are granted access to our virtual learning platform (Blackboard Ultra) 1 to 2 weeks in advance of the course. This allows time for any pre-course work to be completed and to familiarise with the platform.
To gain the most from the course, we recommend that you attend in full and participate in all interactive components. We endeavour to record all live lecture sessions and upload these to the online learning environment within 24 hours. This allows course participants to review these sessions at leisure and revisit them multiple times. Please note that we do not record breakout sessions.
All course participants retain access to the online learning materials and recordings for 5 months after the course.
University of Bristol staff and postgraduate students who do not wish to attend the full course may instead register for access to the 'Materials & Recordings' version of this course: Further information and bookings.
100% of attendees recommend this course*.
*Attendee feedback from 2026.
Here is a sample of feedback from the last run of the course:
"A lot of high-level content was covered with considerable breadth. This provides a useful suite of content for learners to return to." - Course feedback, May 2026
"It was a very comprehensive course, thorough and delivered by very knowledgeable lecturers." - Course feedback, May 2026
"I liked how they gave a formal part of the day on the second day for people to ask specific questions about their research and get help - this was v welcome especially as most people will have done the course with a specific aim for their own research, it was great this was acknowledged." - Course feedback, May 2026
"Great course, very informative." - Course feedback, May 2026
"Clear lectures with good use of examples." - Course feedback, May 2026
"I think the lectures were well-explained and the course team made a real effort to explain anything that didn't make sense." - Course feedback, May 2026
"The practical sessions were excellent!" - Course feedback, May 2026
"I think that the course instructors did a fantastic job in answering questions and also they were very engaging!" - Course feedback, May 2026