The measurement and quantification of population health could assist health policy making and priority setting. In the past few years there have been major advancements in burden of disease research, mainly led and stimulated by the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD). This course will give an overview on the concepts and methods used to quantify the burden of disease at the national and global level. The GBD will be a main focus of this course, but other alternative approaches will also be reviewed. The course consists of lectures, computer labs, a hands-on group-based project, and a field visit to the Department of Statistics of Ministry of Health and Welfare.