Course Descriptions

Program monitoring and evaluation are essential tools to understanding and judging the impact that global health interventions and policies have in communities. This course introduces students to essential tools and models of both program monitoring and evaluation. Students will understand and analyze the key elements of program monitoring and evaluation: assessing population health needs using qualitative and quantitative information, identifying key program elements and their implementation, monitoring the program’s cost and efficiency, and evaluating the success of implementation, including program outcomes. Particular attention is given to Involving key community stakeholders throughout the monitoring and evaluation process. The course emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to global health program monitoring and evaluation and the skills needed to conduct program evaluations.

This course applies the concepts, theories, and principles of the field of global health presented in the first course to the practical challenges facing global health professionals. Each student will select a specific global health priority for a given national or geo politically defined population to examine over the Durant of the course. The students selected case will be her primary focus for applying needs assessment methodologies, including epidemiological methods, mapping local, national and global policy processes, identifying strategies for building infrastructure and workforce capacity, analyzing financial opportunities and limitations and assessing the impact of macro changes in global economy, political environment and human rights and legal systems. Each student will complete a final summary project report that will summarize findings regarding scope, option, outcomes and a recommended action plan for improving the health status of the population group they have studied.

This course builds upon Program Evaluation and Monitoring 1 by engaging students in using a health program monitoring and evaluation framework to design credible and feasible global health needs assessments, implementation monitoring systems, and outcome evaluations that involve stakeholders as appropriate. There is a more in-depth analysis of qualitative and quantitative methods including study design and question development frequently used in global health program evaluations. Students learn the importance of an ethical approach to involving stakeholders throughout the monitoring and evaluation cycle that demonstrates integrity and respects people from different cultural backgrounds and communities. Through case studies students will evaluate whether program designs, analyses, and evidence are credible and conclusions are justified. They will propose how to communicate and use findings and shared lessons learned to improve the health of global communities.

This course provides in-depth knowledge on principles and strategies of disease control and equips students with the necessary skills to successfully establish, strengthen and systematically review disease control programs. The course focuses on disease control in disadvantaged populations of developing countries. It draws on local, regional and global policies and strategies to analyze strengths and weaknesses in disease control. The course places special emphasis on strengthening multi-disciplinary and inter-sectoral collaboration and effectively involving communities and patients in disease control programs.