Economic Evaluation of Preparedness Programs

Trainer
Kevin Frick, PhD, associate professor, Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Description
This training product will introduce you to the basics of economics and the process of creating a cost-effectiveness survey. After learning introductory terms and ideas, you will be presented with two case studies before being given a final summary. By the time you've completed all four topics, you should be able to examine a cost-effectiveness survey and provide an informed opinion about whether to spend money on a program from a cost-effectiveness point of view. 

Trainer biography
Dr. Frick received his PhD in economics and health services organization and policy from the University of Michigan in 1996 and has been with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Department of Health Policy and Management since 1996. In his research, he combines his knowledge of economic analysis with clinical and epidemiological insights from his colleagues to produce cost-effectiveness analyses that bring the tools of economic decision-making to policy makers.

Dr. Frick has focused on community-based interventions such as the Baltimore City Healthy Start program, the Experience Corps volunteer program for older adults and an intervention to increase breastfeeding duration among low-income women. Although these programs are often completely outside of a physician's office, they potentially have a substantial impact on health.

At present, his main focus is cost-effectiveness studies dealing with sensory impairments. He has published several international cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness studies or framework papers on blinding trachoma, and is extending his work to include the topics of deafness and of vision care services in the United States.