Dr Pepita Barlow COW 2.05

This course is compulsory on the Executive MSc in Evaluation of Health Care Interventions and Outcomes, in collaboration with NICE. This course is not available as an outside option.

The objective of this course is to introduce students to key concepts in evaluation in healthcare. The course will provide an overview of the principles and models of evaluation, and the role of theories, concepts, and hypotheses. In terms of research design, it will cover study design choices in light of bias, validity and other design tradeoffs. It will introduce students to experimental, quasi-experimental, non-experimental, and qualitative designs for evaluating healthcare interventions, programmes and policies aimed at achieving high quality care, reducing costs, and improving health outcomes. Data and measurement considerations for both quantitative and qualitative studies will be discussed alongside the importance of using mixed-methods and triangulation for interpreting findings and taking a critical approach to the results of evaluation. The course will conclude with practical and ethical issues when undertaking evaluation studies. 

This course will be delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars totalling a minimum 20 hours

Students will be expected to produce 1 piece of coursework in the ST.

Following the group presentations delivered on the last day of the course, students will continue developing their projects individually. The formative assessment will be a more detailed written outline of their projects written individually. Students will receive detailed feedback (individually and not as a group) on their formative assessments and continue developing their project reports individually. The formative feedback is intended to help the students while developing their final project reports. 

Angrist JD and Pischke J-S (2014). Mastering Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect. Princeton University Press.

Cartwright N and Hardie J (2012). Evidence-Based Policy: A practical guide to doing it better. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 

Patton, MQ (2005). Qualitative research. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 

Ovretveit, John. Evaluating health interventions: an introduction to evaluation of health treatments, services, policies and organizational interventions. McGraw-Hill International, 1998.

Project (100%, 3000 words) post-summer term.