300.713.01
Research and Evaluation Methods for Health Policy
Location
East Baltimore
Term
3rd Term
Department
Health Policy and Management
Credit(s)
3
Academic Year
2022 - 2023
Instruction Method
In-person
Tu, Th, 9:00 - 10:20am
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
No
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Resources
Prerequisite
Public health is a science-based profession. An important part of that science is determining whether public health interventions achieve their intended objectives in practice. Whether your career goal is to become a researcher, a teacher, or a practitioner in public health, it is critical that you understand the principles and practices of that determination, to ensure that the interventions you pursue or advocate are in fact evidence-based.
Introduces basic principles and methods for undertaking scientifically rigorous research with a special emphasis on evaluations of interventions intended to improve health and safety. Focuses on evaluations of policy, health care delivery systems, and public health programs. Topics include the evaluation and health policy analysis; common research designs and their strengths and weaknesses; and internal and external validity with the intent of giving students the fundamental tools needed to conduct health policy evaluations and/or making them better consumers of research conducted by others.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- Critique existing research evaluating a health policy or program
- Explain the relationship between the policy question and the research design
- Identify different types of study designs and their inherent threats to internal and external validity
- Assess which methodology is most appropriate to evaluate a given health policy or program
- Engage in reflection to ensure research follows ethical standards and meets stakeholder needs
- Design a simple evaluation
- Describe how research can influence policy and inform stakeholder goals
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
- 50% In-class Exercises
- 50% Final Exam
Final grade applies to all terms
Enrollment Restriction
Restricted to graduate students only