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. The advantages and disadvantages of various approaches to designing and evaluating global health interventions will be discussed.

In this course, students get introduced to some of the assumptions about what a good intervention and a good evaluation method is. They will be trained in epistemological thinking about interventions and evaluations, and presented with a wide range of health interventions and their evaluation methods. Research techniques, including using a transdisciplinary approach, 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.

The most important lesson of the course is that one intervention strategy is not inherently better than the other, nor is one type of evaluation superior in nature over the other. The important skill is to reflect on how intervention and evaluation are related, and to design both in such a way that a strong contribution to the challenge at hand can be expected.

Additional Information Teaching Methods

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. Nora Engel and guest lecturers