Introduction to priority setting in health

Ph.D. -course

Course description

Course content

The participants will learn the basic methods for priority setting in health, with an emphasis on how to evaluate equity in access to health services and fairness in distributions of health outcomes, and to integrate tools for equity concerns and health maximization.

The course is divided into two parts:

Part 1: Will cover theoretical concepts of UHC, ethics, equity and fairness as well as health maximization, and how they are applied in global and national health care priority settings.

Part 2: Will cover hands-on exercises on burden of disease, cost-effectiveness, and use of FairChoices DCP Analytic Tool

The first days are largely theoretical and consist of a mixture of lectures, breakout sessions and discussions on the main topics described above. Students are required to participate in group work on assigned topics. This includes daily student active teaching exercises, with alternating group compositions and presentation of results for the class. The remaining days are combinations of theory and practice, and students will work through exercises on their own laptops on a "learning by doing" principle.

Learning outcomes

Upon completing this course the candidate will have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

  1. is able to explain and justify distribution of scarce resources according to utilitarian, egalitarian and prioritarian principles, and how they apply to health.
  2. is able to describe key principles and criteria of health priority setting
  3. is able to explain basic ideas of fair priority setting process
  4. is able to explain what an Essential Health Service Package (EHSP) is and the key steps for revising EHSP
  5. is able to explain the basic concept of economic evaluation
  6. is able to explain the difference between data on average population coverage for a health service, and data on distribution of coverage disaggregated according to key determinants of health

Skills

The student

  1. can identify and provide arguments against unfairness in health and the determinants of health
  2. can identify and analyze various data needed for EHSP development/revision
  3. can explore and use the FairChoices DCP Analytic Tool
  4. is able to produce prototype EHSP

General competence

The student

  1. can identify and analyze trade-offs in health care priority setting based on key values
  2. can evaluate and critically analyze health interventions according to principles of health maximization and fair distribution and standard quantitative methods
  3. can describe key elements of fair priority setting process in EHSP development/revision

Study period

Spring

Credits (ECTS)

5 ECTS

Course location

Digitally (syncronized)
Language of instruction
English
Pre-requirements

Basic skills in Excel software. Good working knowledge of English (TOEFL score of at least 550 points paper-based or 213 points computer-based, or an equivalent approved test). Economists, other social scientists, medical doctors, ethicists, psychologists, nurses, dentists and others with training at the bachelor level or higher in a relevant subject at a recognized institution can be admitted to the MSc level course

Part of training component
Yes, the course might be part of training components
Form of assessment

Students will be graded based on their performance of the three mandatory assignments, and an essay on a topic with relevance for priority-setting in health (deadline for submission 2 weeks after the course).

Course overlap
3 ECTS with BCEPS300
Who may participate
PhD-students
Programme

The course will be fully digital over 8 days (two weeks). A combination of lectures, reading, active participation in discussions and group work, hands on analyses on computers, plenary presentations and discussion. Participants need to bring own laptop with R and R-Studio software preinstalled.

There are three mandatory assignments, with a combination of individual work and group work. In addition, group work in class will be graded, which requires attendance

Academic responsible
Kjell Arne Johansson and others
Reading list
Reading list in Leganto