Fundamental of Global Health Course outline

Module 1: Introduction to Implementation Science (IS) and IS Data Sources

• Describe why implementation science is important to global health
• Summarize a framework for using implementation science to facilitate the translation of knowledge to successful program implementation.
• Recognize the value of core systems of information collection to monitor disease and health programs; and
  Identify barriers to implementing robust health information systems.

Module 2: Impact Evaluation and IS Study Designs

• Describe common impact evaluation methods and study designs used to evaluate the effects of programs at scale.
• Distinguish between internal validity and external validity, and describe the importance of external validity within implementation science.
• Recognize the importance of impact evaluations in the design of public health policies.

Module 3: Economic Evaluation

•  Provide an overview of different economic evaluation methods; and
  Provide an overview of how to conduct a cost-effectiveness evaluation.

Module 4: Qualitative Health System Research

• Identify qualitative data collection methods and sampling approaches, and describe their implications for analysis and interpretation of data in implementation science studies;
• Identify how qualitative research design and methods can be developed to maximize rigor, validity, and reliability of findings in implementation studies; and
• Describe the benefits and limitations of mixing qualitative and quantitative methods in operational and implementation science study designs.

Module 5: Organizational Readiness

• Explain the theory behind and importance of organizational readiness.

Module 6: Quality Improvement as a Management Tool

• Define Plan – Do –Study – Act cycles and how they can be used in continuous quality improvement; and
• Demonstrate how quality improvement can be used to facilitate broad scale-up of health programs.

Module 7: Stakeholder and Policy Analysis

• Describe the stages of policy development and how empirical information can be used at each stage; and
• Identify and map key stakeholders in a policy issue.

Module 8: Dissemination Research

• Familiarize yourself with implementation science frameworks for dissemination of evidence-based health promotion practices; and
• Discuss the need for dissemination research and describe the roles that researchers play in dissemination.

Module 9: Social Marketing of Implementation Strategies

• Explain the process of developing an effective social marketing strategy; and
• Assess the incremental value of social marketing strategies in health program development and execution.

Module 10: Operations Research as a Contributing Discipline

• Identify basic lean implementation and its application to healthcare settings: waste and time, value steam mapping, process improvement/Kaizen; and
• Recognize other potential applications of modeling for operations research.
• Course Synthesis and Final Project Submission
• Identify appropriate implementation science methods and strategies to develop and implement successful, large-scale public health programs.