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Title Global Health Economics
Course number 3196
Programme Infektionsbiologi och global hälsa (BIGH)
Language English
Credits 3.0
Date 2022-03-28 -- 2022-04-08
Responsible KI department Institutionen för global folkhälsa
Specific entry requirements Students should be familiar with basic concepts of health economics.
Purpose of the course The aim of this course will be to learn about the principles of health economics and the role of this discipline in managing healthcare and taking decisions using different economic tools. Students will learn how health care systems are financed around the world, the principles of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and financial protection and how it can be measured. Different perspectives of economic evaluations and the four most common types of health economic analysis (cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis and cost-benefit analysis) will be described and a brief introduction to modeling in health economics will be given. It will also focus on the unique challenges found in performing economic evaluations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as validated tools to collect effectiveness/utility measurements and collecting cost data.
Intended learning outcomes At the end of the course the students will be able to:

• Describe and discuss the definitions, key methods, measurements and indicators of UHC, financial protection and patient costs (out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures, opportunity costs and catastrophic costs)
• Explain different perspectives for economic evaluations (health care system, government, third party payer, societal, etc)
• Describe common health economic evaluation methods, explain advantages and disadvantages with the different methods and discuss which method that would be preferable in different low- and middle-income settings.
• Learn how to calculate costs and outcomes for a health economic evaluation
• Critically assess different tools to collect effectiveness and utility measurements
• Describe the different health outcomes used in economic evaluation including DALYs, QALYs and different kinds of socio-economic outcomes related to patient costs
Contents of the course The course will introduce key concepts of health economics and methodology to analyze how scarce resources are used in the health sector and in relation to health. OOP spending and opportunity costs is increasingly recognized as an important barrier to accessing health care, particularly in LMICs where a large portion of health expenditure comes from OOP payments and social safety net systems are often weak. Emerging UHC policies prioritize reduction of poverty impact such as catastrophic and impoverishing healthcare costs.

In addition, the course will explore and describe the main kinds of health economic perspectives and evaluations (i.e. cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis and cost-benefit analysis) and the challenges that are unique to LMIC settings when it comes to conducting health economic evaluations. This course will highlight methodological challenges in collecting effectiveness/utility and cost data in LMIC contexts. The course will also give an introduction to how modeling techniques can be used in health economics.
The course provides training in health economic analyses and presentations, both written and oral.
Teaching and learning activities The course will have a blended learning approach with the combination of face-to-face lectures, online practical assignments/discussions, self-study and oral presentations and a final written assignment. Face-to-face lectures and other activities will be conducted over the two-week period. Practical assignments in the form of discussions and exercises will be discussed with the group (if applicable online) and peer feedback will be given.
Compulsory elements Participation in the group work, oral presentation, and submitting a final written assignment will be mandatory. Absence can be compensated by an assignment from the course leader.
Examination Course assignments, oral presentation and final written assignment will be graded as fail or pass. In order to pass the course, the student needs to pass the oral presentation and the written assignment. The course assignments will guide the students through the steps needed to design and conduct a health economic study. The aim of the examination is to test the students on what they have learned over the duration of the course and how well they can apply it. The written assignment will be submitted through the KI online learning platform.
Literature and other teaching material Mandatory Reading:
Drummond MF (ed.). Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programmes. Oxford: Oxford university press, latest edition.
- Chapter 2: Basic types of economic evaluation
- Chapter 4: Cost analysis
- Chapter 5: Cost-effectiveness
Morris, S.; Morris, S. Economic analysis in health care. 2nd ed. : Chichester : John Wiley & Sons, 2012. ISBN:978-1-119-95149-0 (paper : alk. paper) LIBRIS-ID:12746972

Recommended Reading:
Griffiths UK, Legood R, Pitt C. Comparison of Economic Evaluation Methods Across Low-income, Middle-income and High-income Countries: What are the Differences and Why? Health Econ. 2016 Feb;25 Suppl 1:29-41. doi: 10.1002/hec.3312. Epub 2016 Jan 17.

Sweeney S, Vassall A, Foster N, Simms V, Ilboudo P, Kimaro G, et al. Methodological Issues to Consider When Collecting Data to Estimate Poverty Impact in Economic Evaluations in Low-income and Middle-income Countries. Health Econ. 2016 Feb;25 Suppl 1:42-52.

Number of students 8 - 20
Selection of students Selection will be based on 1) the relevance of the course syllabus for the applicant’s doctoral project (according to written motivation), 2) start date of doctoral studies (priority given to earlier start date)
More information
Additional course leader Associate Professor Birger Forsberg
Latest course evaluation Course evaluation report
Course responsible Kristi Sidney Annerstedt
Institutionen för global folkhälsa

kristi.sidney@ki.se
Contact person Kristi Sidney Annerstedt
Institutionen för global folkhälsa

kristi.sidney@ki.se