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Overview

Course Prescription

The application of economic methods to the evaluation of health services and programmes. The principles and techniques of economic evaluation, the process of measuring costs and benefits of health services, quality of life measurement.

Course Overview

This course provides students with an understanding of economic evaluation generally and of cost-effectiveness in particular. It focuses on the use of decision analytic modelling to provide a broad picture of likely costs and outcomes for use in decision making. No prior knowledge of economics is necessary (although it may be helpful). It is relevant for students interested in public health and decision making.

This course makes considerable use of Microsoft Excel. If you have not used this program before, it is highly recommended that you use some online material to make sure that you are familiar with it before the course starts. Towards the end of the course, some of the material that is introduced in Excel is also covered in the statistical package, R.

Course Contacts

Dr Richard Edlin, School of Population Health

r.edlin@auckland.ac.nz

(09) 923 9029

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, I try to use flipped classrooms in most of the (six) teaching days.  I would anticipate that there are likely to be 12 hours of pre-recorded lectures, and 15 hours of classroom time. Computer-based learning is used for exercises that take another 23 hours. (So, 50 hours of formal teaching time.) The courses is relatively light on reading, with around 10 hours of reading time.

The remaining 90 hours will be spent on 90 hours of work on assignments, with a split of around 35 hours for the first two assignments (40% each), and around 20 hours for the final assignment (20%).

Locations and Semesters Offered

LocationSemester
Grafton

Teaching and Learning

Campus Experience

Attendance is strongly advised at scheduled activities including exercise sessions to complete components of the course. Course content is typically novel to most students, so that those who do not attend tend to struggle with the assessments.

Lectures and discussion sessions will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including exercise sessions will not be available as recordings.

The activities for the course are scheduled as a block delivery over six weeks, with the balance of lectures, discussion sessions and exercise sessions varying across weeks.

Learning Resources

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Additional Information on Learning Resources

The course textbook (available online from the library) is:Edlin R., McCabe, C., Hulme, C., Hall, P., Wright, J. (2015) Cost Effectiveness Modelling for Health Technology Assessment. ADIS.

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.


You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Other Information

As the course aims to provide much of the instruction using practical exercises in Microsoft Excel, it is difficult to obtain full value out of this course if you are unable to attend in person or if you cannot use Excel. Postgraduate students who have not used Microsoft Excel before are recommended to take some online training before the course to gain familiarity with this software before this course begins.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

  • Honesty - in all aspects of research work
  • Accountability - in the conduct of research
  • Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
  • Good stewardship – on behalf of others
  • Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
  • Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.


Additional Information on Academic integrity

Where computerised detection is not feasible (e.g. for Excel workbooks), manual and coding checks may be used.

Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO #OutcomeProgramme Capability Link
1
2
3

Assessments

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment Classification

Assessment to CLO Mapping

Assessment Type123

Student Feedback, Support and Charter

Student Feedback

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Additional Information on Student Feedback

In the first session of every course, the changes made to the course from feedback in previous iterations will be discussed.  From previous years, feedback has changed the balance between lecture and exercise sessions and the availability of some additional material online.  In 2024, I am reducing the number of assessments from four to three.  Whilst the final assessment will not be due until close to the end of the course, I strongly recommend that you work on it gradually and give yourself enough time to ask questions.

Class representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Wellbeing

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Student Academic Complaints and Disputes

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.