Concentration in Health Services Research & Policy
The concentration in Health Services Research and Policy provides a firm grounding in public health principles, research and evaluation methods, policy analysis, and numerous content areas related to health and health services delivery. The program at Johns Hopkins is one of the oldest and most respected of its type in the nation.
The health care systems in the U.S. and other nations are under extreme pressure. Costs are rising, quality and outcomes are not optimal, many vulnerable groups have inadequate access, and programs and technologies are often poorly implemented. There is a great need for doctorally-prepared researchers and policy analysts to address these issues within public and private organizations and to lead health care reform in the U.S. and globally.
In this concentration, students acquire the conceptual and methodological tools needed to conduct research, program evaluation and policy analysis and synthesis to advance the state of knowledge. The curriculum emphasizes the following areas: public and private sector health insurance and financing, organizations for the delivery of health care, methodologies for measuring and improving quality and safety of medical care, methods to measure personal and population health status, methods for assessing the impact of government health care policy on individuals and populations, and comparative effectiveness methods for assessing the impact of technology and treatments on patient outcomes. The concentration places emphasis on special need populations, such as children, older populations, minorities and persons with high burden diseases and disabilities.
The development of research and analysis methods, as well as content knowledge is also stressed. In addition to careers in academia, the program prepares students for leadership careers as health services researchers and health care policy analysts working in public or private agencies or organizations. There are many research opportunities within research centers of the Department and elsewhere within the Johns Hopkins University and Health System. Also the Baltimore-Washington area is the home to the largest concentration of public and private health services research and health care policy analysis organizations in the world. Formal and informal relationship with these agencies, including research practicas, thesis collaborations and part-time employment are encouraged and facilitated.
Competencies
The competencies for the concentration in Health Services Research and Policy are met through required and elective coursework, independent research, and the process of writing a thesis. Upon successful completion of the concentration, students will have mastered the following concentration competencies; specifically students by the end of the program will have the ability to:
Health Services Research and Policy Concentration Competencies
- Examine classic studies and current developments in the field of health services research, including issues relating to quality of care, patient safety, comparative effectiveness, patient centered outcomes and implementation.
- Integrate and critique theoretical and empirical literature in the formulation of an original and significant health services research and policy research question with clear and testable hypotheses.
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of experimental, quasi-experimental and observational study designs and be able to select the most appropriate design for a specified research question.
- Identify, evaluate and determine the most suitable data sources for a specified research question (data sources may include existing data sources or the development of a primary data collection protocol utilizing quantitative or qualitative methods).
- Select and implement appropriate analytic techniques from advanced epidemiological, statistical, economic, qualitative or measurement methods (including structured systematic review, synthesis and meta-analysis, causal modeling, multivariable linear and logistic regression, general linear models, longitudinal and multilevel modeling, and cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses) to address a specified research question.
Department-wide PhD Competencies
- Analyze the nature, scope, and determinants of major health policy problems by applying conceptual frameworks from key academic disciplines, formulating testable hypotheses, and identifying appropriate interventions based on an understanding of the existing evidence base.
- Critique the policymaking process, including the underlying roles of legislation, regulation, litigation, and advocacy; the differences between federal, state and local policies; and the influence of academic research in the policy formulation and evaluation processes.
- Assess the organization and financing of both public health and medical services and critique their impact on access and use, quality of care, costs, and outcomes.
- Apply appropriate rigorous empirical methods to the evaluation of health policy, including a well-rounded foundation of the methods and tools of public health, such as biostatistics, epidemiology, and survey design.
- Communicate scientific findings effectively through written and oral methods to technical and lay audiences, demonstrating an ability to interpret study results in light of study limitations and prior research.
- Conduct research in accordance with the highest ethical standards, scientific integrity, and interpersonal collegiality.
Curriculum
Summer Term Workshops
Required
550.860.82 Academic & Research Ethics
xxx.xxx.xx Introduction to Online Learning
xxx.xxx.xx Title IX and Harassment Prevention Training for Students
First Year
Required
140.651.01 - 140.654 Methods in Biostatistics I - IV OR
140.621.01 - 140.624.01 Statistical Methods in Public Health I - IV
300.713.01 - 300.715.01 Research and Evaluation Methods for Health Policy I - II
300.721.01 - 300.724.01 Foundations in Health Policy I - IV
309.720.01 Managed Care and Health Insurance
309.712.01 Assessing Health Status and Patient Outcomes
309.861.01 Graduate Seminar in Health Services Research (Terms 1-4)
311.615.01 The Quality of Medical Care
313.643.01 Health Economics I
340.721.60 Epidemiologic Inference in Public Health I
Recommended
309.631.81 Population Health Informatics
309.730.01 Patient Safety and Medical Errors
312.693.01 Comparative Effectiveness and Outcomes Research
313.644.01 Intermediate Health Economics
340.722.60 Epidemiologic Inference in Public Health II
Second Year
Required
300.741.01 PhD Seminar in Health Policy: Using Secondary Data to Conduct Health Policy Research
300.840.01 Special Studies/Methods (Terms 1-4)
300.870.01 - 300.871.01 Research and Proposal Writing I - II
306.665.01 Research Ethics and Integrity
309.715.01 Advanced Methods for Health Services Research: Data Sources
309.716.01 Advanced Methods in Health Services Research: Analysis
309.861.01 Graduate Seminar in Health Services Research (Terms 1-4)
550.865.81 Public Health Perspectives on Research
Recommended
221.621.01 Econometrics I
300.750.81 Teaching, Learning and Leading--In the Classroom, in the Workplace, and in the Community
313.601.01 Economic Evaluation I
Distributional Methods Requirements
During the second year, students will complete at least two of the methods courses below (equaling at least 6 credits) in one of the following domains. The intent of this distributional methods requirement is to allow the student to develop a special area of methods expertise. Approval for alternative methods courses will require approval from the program director and the student’s advisor. Students are also encouraged to familiarize themselves with the School's certificate programs, which can be combined with the PhD degree (and which in the case of methods oriented certificates would in most cases meet the distributional requirements), particularly the Quality, Gerontology and Pharmacoepidemiology certificates. You can learn more about these certificates here.
Qualitative Research Methods
224.690.01 Qualitative Research Theory and Methods
224.691.01 Qualitative Data Analysis
Economic Evaluation
313.601.01 Economic Evaluation I
313.602.01 Economic Evaluation II
313.604.01 Economic Evaluation IV
318.603.01 Applied Microeconomics for Policy Making
Econometrics
221.644.01 Econometric Methods for Evaluation of Health Programs
221.651.01 Econometrics I
309.720.01 Applied Econometrics for Health Policy Research
Advanced Statistical Analysis for Special Data Issues
140.655.01 Analysis of Longitudinal Data
140.656.01 Multilevel Statistical Models in Public Health
140.665.01 Causal Inference
140.698.01 Spatial Analysis III: Spatial Statistics
140.699.01 Spatial Analysis IV: Spatial Design and Application
180.636.01 Statistical Inference
220.622.01 Seminar on Limited Dependent Variable Models
230.605.01 Categorical Data Analysis and Selected Topics
230.615.01 Seminar on Panel Data Analysis
340.606.01 Systematic on Panel Data Analysis
340.696.01 Spatial Analysis I: ArcGIS
340.697.01 Spatial Analysis II: Spatial Data Technologies
Informatics and Informational Sciences
309.631.81 Population Health Informatics
315.700.81 Health Informatics: Design to Deployment
315.703.81 Informatics Evaluation and Quality Improvement
315.707.81 Introduction to Public Health and Biomedical Informatics
315.708.81 HIT Standards and Interoperability
Social and Behavioral and Measurement Methods
140.658.01 Statistics for Psychosocial Research: Structural Models
330.657.01 Statistics for Psychosocial Research: Measurement
410.615.01 Research Design in the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Epidemiologic Perspective on Research Design & Analysis
340.722.60 Epidemiologic Inference in Public Health II
340.763.01 Professional Epidemiological Methods I
340.764.01 Professional Epidemiological Methods II
Design and Conduct of Population-Based Surveys
140.640.01 Statistical Methods for Sample Surveys
340.717.01 Health Survey Research Methods
380.712.01 Methods in Analysis of Large Population Surveys
Once students have completed all of the required and elective coursework, they must maintain a full-time registration (12+ credits each term) for the duration of their program. Students who have not yet passed the school-wide oral exam should register for 12 credits of special studies (300.840) with their advisor to work on their thesis proposal; once a student has passed the school-wide oral exam, they should register for thesis research credits 301.820.
Specialization in Gerontology
Students in this specialization will learn the principles of health services research and policy and then apply them to the study of all aspects of health and health care of the aging population.
This specialization integrates gerontologic content into health policy in general and health services research in particular. The required course work prepares students for leadership positions in agencies and institutions that administer services and research positions that address the health and well-being of older populations.
Students must complete the course requirements for the concentration in Health Services Research and Policy and take four additional courses to earn the Bloomberg School’s Certificate in Gerontology. Requirements for the Certificate in Gerontology can be found on the School's Certificate website.
Faculty
- Gerard Anderson, PhD
- Renan Castillo, PhD, MS
- Sydney Dy, MD, MSc
- Darrell Gaskin, PhD
- Hadi Kharrazi, MD, PhD
- Judith Kasper, PhD
- Jill Marsteller, PhD, MPP
- Laura Morlock, PhD
- Lauren Nicholas, PhD
- Leiyu Shi, DrPH, MBA, MPA
- Jonathan Weiner, DrPH
- Jennifer Wolff, PhD, MHS
- Albert Wu, MD, MPH, Concentration Director
- Junya Zhu, PhD
Sample Graduates
Below is a list of recent graduates’ current positions and dissertation titles for the PhD Concentration in Health Services Research and Policy.
| Graduate Name | Current Position | Dissertation Title |
|---|---|---|
| Winnie Chi (2016) | Associate Research Director: HealthCore Inc | Individuals' preferences for decision-making and experiences with treatment burden in the context of multimorbidity and dementia among older adults in the U.S. |
| Rachael Zuckerman (2016) | Program Analyst: HHS Office of Healthcare Finance Policy | The role of public transportation in access to care for older adults in the United States |
| Julia Baller (2015) | Health Researcher: Mathematica Policy Research | Financing school-based health services for children with disabilities: The intersection between Medicaid and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act |
| Joy L. Lee (2015) | Assistant Professor of Medicine: Indiana University School of Medicine | Doctor, can I have your e-mail? A multi-method examination of patient-provider electronic communication in primary care |
| Eva DuGoff (2014) | Assistant Professor: Department of Health Services Administration, University of Maryland, College Park | Care coordination in older adults with multiple chronic conditions |
| Elizabeth Pfoh (2014) | Associate Staff: Cleveland Clinic | The value of measuring quality of primary care using patient-reported depression collected through electronic health records |
| Eva Chang (2013) | Research Public Health Analyst: RTI International | Access to care among Asian Americans: Assessing determinants of usual source of care |
| Tracy Mroz (2013) | Assistant Professor: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington | Medicare utilization incentives for rehabilitation therapy in home health: Relationships between agency factors, therapy provision, and outcomes of care |
| Tanjala Purnell (2012) | Assistant Professor of Surgery and Epidemiology: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine | Examining barriers to live donor kidney transplantation among racial-ethnic minorities in the United States: Opportunities for policy interventions |
| Hsien Seow (2009) | Associate Professor: McMaster University’s Department of Oncology | The use of end-of-life homecare services in Ontario, Canada: Is it associated with using less acute care services in late life? |