Global Health Sciences

EPI 213

Decision and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (Tuesday morning TBA)

Course Director: James G. Kahn, M.D., M.P.H.

Decision and cost-effectiveness analysis are the tools used in medicine to formally portray clinical and policy decisions. Decision analysis estimates the health consequences of alternative courses of action. Cost-effectiveness analysis estimates economic costs per gain in health status.

Course credit and format:

2 units. Lecture and lab seminar; Thursday afternoons

Competencies:

At the conclusion of this course the student should be able to:

• Understand the principles of decision analysis (DA) including decision trees to portray action options and their consequences
• Understand the principles of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), including health and cost inputs and cost-effectiveness ratios
• Understand disease state (Markov) modeling and its uses
• Understand and experience steps in conducting DA/CEA
• Use a computer spreadsheet to do DA/CEA computations
• Design a DA/CEA in an area of expertise
• Know how to critique published DA/CEAs including structure, inputs and findings

Course content:

Instruction in creating decision trees and other analytic models; obtaining appropriate probabilities, utilities and costs; and completing analyses using customized software.

For more information see:http://www.epibiostat.ucsf.edu/general/education/index.html

Fall Quarter (12 units)

• GHS 201A Principles of Global Health (3 units)
• GHS 201B Social, Cultural, and Economic Determinants of Health (3 units)
• GHS 201C Research Methods I [Course under development] (4 units)
• GHS 203A Global Health Practice Seminar (2 units)

Winter Quarter (12 units)

• GHS 202A Communicable Diseases of Global Importance (3 units)
• GHS 202B Non Communicable Diseases of Global Importance (3 units)
• GHS 202C Research Methods II [Course under development] (2 units)
• EPI 213 Decision and Cost Effectiveness Analysis (2 units)
• GHS 203B Global Health Practice Seminar (2 units)

Spring Quarter (6 units)

• GHS 204 Global Health Fieldwork

Summer Quarter (6 units)

• GHS 205 Policy and Development in Global Health (3 units)
• GHS 203C Global Health Practice Seminar (3 units)