MSc thesis project: Constructing synthetic populations

Description

Mathematical models for policy support are increasingly based on micro-simulation or “agent-based” modelling. Such models simulate the lives of many individuals twice: once without and once with the policy that needs to be evaluated.

The quality of these models depends largely on the data used to simulate the lives. An important task is to make a synthetic population of individuals that is representative of the general population, and can be used as a starting point for the modelling. When simulating the health effects in the Netherlands of reformulating foods so that they contain less salt, one needs a population that is representative in terms of food intake, but also in terms of blood pressure and heart disease. Data are available on all three these items, but from separate studies.

Aim of the MSc thesis

The goal of the thesis work will be to link the afore mentioned datasets using methods analogous to that of probabilistic linkage. The linked dataset must be representative not only in terms of the distributions of food intake, blood pressure and heart disease, but also in terms of the correlations between them. This means that existing external information on the mutual relationships will be included in the linkage.

Part of the thesis work will be carried out at the institute of Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven (RIVM)