Global Health Interventions

Course Objective

At the end of this course students can:
1. understand the way global health interventions and their evaluation
are deeply intertwined
2. describe the characteristics, and give examples, of successful health
interventions, according to different theoretical perspectives
3. describe five study designs for studying the effect of health
interventions
4. design a health intervention strategy on the basis of a case study
5. design a framework for monitoring and evaluating health interventions
on the basis of a case study
6. select relevant research methods for evaluating a health intervention
strategy
7. defend the health intervention strategy and framework for monitoring
and evaluating its effects verbally and in written form
8. analyze differences between epistemic assumptions underlying health
interventions for a similar topic

Course Content

In this course, attention is paid to the relationship between the
analysis of complex health problems (needs assessment) and the design,
implementation and evaluation of interventions’ strategies for specific
health problems. Complex health problems manifest on different,
interrelated levels: molecular, cellular, organism, population, societal
and global. The advantages and disadvantages of various approaches to
designing and evaluating global health interventions will be discussed.
Interventions in the field of health care, such as behaviour change
relevant to compliance with medication, will be discussed as well as
overarching topics, such as the prioritization of scarce resources and
the responsibility of governments to ensure safe, effective, efficient
and cost-effective health services. The effect of global health
interventions on different individual, group and societal levels is
assessed from economic and socio-cultural perspectives, whereby students
acquire insight into how these perspectives shape the design,
implementation and feasibility of interventions in different contexts.
Research techniques, including using a transdisciplinary approach,
different methods of evaluation, learning histories, randomised
controlled trials, and cohort studies, are taught and exercised.

In the research component of the course, students work in groups to
design an inter- (and where applicable trans)disciplinary, case-based
intervention strategy for a global health issue as well as a framework
for monitoring and evaluating their intervention strategy. At the end of
the course, the intervention strategy is presented in front of a panel
with global health experts and reports will be critically assessed.

Additional Information Teaching Methods

Lectures, working groups, group work, self-study

Method of Assessment

Written take-home essay exam (50%), intervention report (group
assignment) (30%) and a presentation of the assignment (20%),
functioning within a group (pass/fail). All parts have to be concluded
with a grade of 5.5 or higher

Literature

An online reader will be made available on Canvas that indicates the
required reading for each lecture.

Additional Information Target Audience

First-year students MSc Global Health; compulsory course. Only open to
students of the Research Masters Global Health.

Additional Information

Dr. Teun Zuiderent-Jerak and guest lecturers