Planning and Evaluating Public Health Interventions

Code

MEDS4013

School

Epidemiology and Public Health

Level

4

Credits

10

Semesters

Autumn UK

Summary

The purpose of the course is to develop students’ skills in planning and evaluating interventions including public health programmes, services and policies.
The course will cover the full intervention cycle:
i) assessing need and priorities (including health needs assessment, health equity audit and health impact assessment);
ii) intervention planning (including programme theory and choosing interventions), and
iii) monitoring and evaluation (including quasi-experimental study designs for assessing outcomes).
The course assessment includes writing a protocol for a public health intervention (individual coursework).

Target Students

Primarily postgraduate students on the Master of Public Health, Master of Public Health (Global Health) and Master of Public Health (Research Methods). Places will be available to new staff and PhD students in School of Medicine who require training as part of their research role.

Classes

• One 3-hour lecture each week for 10 weeks

30 hours of lectures with discussion and small group activities, across the semester. 50 hours of compulsory reading and further self-directed background reading

Assessment

• 50% Coursework 1: A briefing paper of 1500 words as an individual coursework.
• 10% Presentation 1: Group oral presentation of evaluation protocol
• 40% Coursework 2: An evaluation protocol of 3000 words as a collaborative exercise in groups of 4-5 students

Assessed by end of autumn semester

Educational Aims

Learning Outcomes

Objectives: to enable students to:

• Recognise the basic principles of the planning and evaluation of public health interventions

• Apply common approaches to assessing need and priorities, such as health needs assessment

• Plan an intervention drawing on the theory of change and using a logic model

• Design an evaluation which encompasses a suitable evaluation design and appropriate outcome measures.

Knowledge and understanding. All students must be able to demonstrate:

• Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of planning and evaluation within the context of the practice of public health

• Knowledge of the conceptual frameworks, values and principles embedded within planning and evaluation

• Critically evaluate public health problems in relation to the surveillance and assessment of the population's health and wellbeing

• Critically evaluate public health problems by assessing the evidence of effectiveness

• Critically evaluate public health problems in relation to policy and strategy development and implementation to improve population health and well being

• Critically evaluate public health problems in relation to strategic leadership to improve population health and well being

Skills and other attributes:

• A rigorous and systematic approach to acquiring knowledge involving the ability to identify, locate and retrieve relevant material in paper or electronic format in core disciplines

• A comprehensive understanding of, and ability to synthesise, knowledge acquired in evaluation theory, and to demonstrate critical awareness of knowledge and insights gained within the context of public health and complex problems in public health practice

• Originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the disciplines

• The use of current research, theories and concepts in public health disciplines in advanced scholarship.

• Synthesise knowledge acquired across the field of study

• Apply public health techniques to analyse public health problems

• Critically evaluate different research methodologies and evidence

• Make evidence-based recommendations on public health issues.

Professional practical skills. Students will be expected to be able to:

• Systematically assemble relevant printed and electronic material related to specific public health issues

• Synthesis the material, identifying key points for evidence-based actions

• Plan, carry out and interpret the meaning of original research, evaluations or audit, leading to realistic recommendations for practice

• Understand and employ terminology from the multi-disciplinary core public health disciplines

• Work in multidisciplinary settings and in multidisciplinary teams relevant to public health practice

• Work independently and to deadlines

• Communicate effectively with peers and professionals in the field

• Conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to their professional role within a multi-disciplinary environment.

Transferable (key) skills. All students will be expected to be able to:

• Exercise initiative, integrity and personal responsibility in conducting their professional role within a multi-disciplinary environment

• Make decisions individually or within a group to address complex and unpredictable theoretical and practical public health scenarios

• Communicate simple and complex knowledge or arguments both orally and in writing, discussing appropriately

• Use electronic information systems to communicate, retrieve and send information and analyse data, including email, word-processing, and the WWW.

• Be independent learners engaged in continuing professional development and with the ability to evaluate and assess personal abilities, reflect on individual and group performance and seek help and advice when necessary.

Conveners

• Dr Kaushik Chattopadhyay
• Dr Tessa Langley