SPH 671 - Introduction to Health Economic Evaluation

3 units (fi 6)(EITHER, 3-0-0)

School of Public Health

A required course for the Graduate Embedded Certificate in Health Economic Evaluation, this 3-credit course provides an introduction to health economic evaluation. Methodological areas covered include: (1) types of economic evaluation (including cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis); (2) defining the target population; (3) comparators; (4) the perspective of the evaluation; (5) time preference and discounting; (6) measuring and valuing health; (7) resource use and costs; (8) uncertainty and probabilistic analysis; (9) equity considerations; and (10) analysis and reporting of economic evaluations. Students will be introduced to Indigenous perspectives on measuring and valuing health, and those of other equity-seeking groups, and will consider the implications for health economic evaluations. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with current best practices for conducting health economic evaluations in Canada. Students will also learn how to construct basic decision analytic models, providing practical experience in applying these methods. No prior economics courses or experience required. Note: Credit may not be obtained for both PHS 671 and SPH 671.