Health Services - Program Learning Objectives

The learning objectives of the Department of Health Services are to teach concepts to advance the health of populations by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of personal and other health services in private and public health organizations. This includes quality of care, process improvement and organizational performance management, as well as policy evaluation and analysis with the expectations of favorably impacting the community's health. Students are evaluated by course examinations and papers, a department comprehensive examination (for the post-doctoral MPH, MBA/MPH, and MS), completion of an internship followed by a consulting report on an organization problem (for the two-year MPH), completion of a summer field study project (for the MPH for Health Professionals), and ongoing interaction between the student and academic advisor. Fulfillment of the objectives is measured by the dissertation for students in the doctoral (DrPH, PhD) programs.

The MPH Program

All MPH Program graduates should demonstrate:

• thorough understanding of how personal health services are organized, financed and delivered;
• evidence of ability to apply this understanding using the policy process in the furtherance of improving health status and community health;
• knowledge of the role of public health services in meeting goals of health promotion, education and disease prevention;
• cognizance and application of ways to measure and assess the impact of access, technology and quality of care;
• understand the regulatory environment in which health delivery and public health function and understand the implications of those regulations on health services;
• comprehension of basic statistical skills to understand how health services research is conducted and interpret research findings;
• facility with various written and oral communication modalities to in order to intervene in health programs and further public health policy initiatives; and
• understand and apply techniques of planning, budgeting, management and evaluation of organizations and community initiatives.

Learning objectives specific to each program are as follows.

The Two-Year MPH Program

MPH graduates who choose to concentrate in health policy should be able to:

• apply paradigms from economics, sociology, political science and law to analyze policy issues and to develop potential policy solutions.

MPH graduates who choose to concentrate in health services management should be able to:

• apply paradigms from sociology, political science, organization theory and behavior, strategic planning and marketing, financial theory, quality improvement, information systems sciences, and other management sciences to continuously and effectively manage organizational performance and solve practical issues confronted while managing health care organizations.

The Post-Doctoral (One-year) MPH Program

In addition to the general MPH objectives, graduates should be able to:

• demonstrate their ability to integrate their previous training and experience with the MPH curriculum to better understand and improve the organization and delivery of health services.

The MPH Program for Health Professionals

In addition to the general MPH objectives, graduates should be able to:

• demonstrate individual and organizational leadership competencies.

The MS Program

All MS program graduates should demonstrate:

• ability to conceptualize a health services research problem;
• basic competence in design and analyses of evaluation research and quality assessment;
• knowledge of fundamental health services research methods including decision analyses, meta analysis, cost-benefit analysis, and qualitative research; and
• ability to carry out multivariate/econometric analyses using a large health services data set.

The Two-Year MS Program

In addition to the general MS and Post-Doctoral MS objectives, graduates should be able to:

• successfully complete additional electives directed toward intermediate-level research activities as a career or as a base for pursuing the PhD.

The Post-Doctoral MS Program

In addition to the general MS objectives, graduates should be able to:

• demonstrate their ability to integrate their previous training and experience with the MS curriculum to better understand and improve the organization and delivery of health services.

The DrPH Program

The DrPH objectives include those listed under the MPH program. Additionally, DrPH graduates should be able to:

• identify and utilize the tools for developing and implementing population health and health care interventions, and perform evaluations of these interventions (Population Health Perspective);
• amass and critically evaluate evidence for health effectiveness and dollar cost-effectiveness of population-targeted policy and programmatic interventions to improve or maintain health (Assessment and Evaluation);
• apply established leadership concepts and principles to structure and lead organizations or groups in health care, public health, or other health-interested agencies (Leadership);
• articulate the complex relationships between underlying determinants and health for the U.S. population and key sociodemographically-defined (age, ethnicity, gender, SES) population subgroups (Determinants of Health);
• analyze key aspects of the development/evolution of the ways that society organizes to protect and advance health, demonstrating an understanding of the historical underpinnings of current issues in public health policy (Public Health Infrastructure);
• understand, foster and manage the relationships between the private and public health care sectors in the U.S. (Inter-Sectoral Relationships);
• use effective management principles and practices to develop health improvement strategies in various sectors and settings (Systems Management);
• apply advanced management precepts and tools, including performance and change, required for the efficient operation of a health services organization (Organizational Management); and
• successfully complete a year-long practicum in a health services organization.

The PhD Program

The PhD objectives include those listed under the MS program. Additionally, PhD graduates should be able to:

• successfully complete a cognate (at least three courses) in a relevant discipline (e.g., economics, sociology, epidemiology, management) which will serve as an additional perspective and tool for health services research;
• demonstrate additional statistics and methods skills;
• demonstrate the skill to teach and communicate their work effectively, both orally and in writing.