Economic evaluation, defined as the comparative analysis of alternative courses of action in terms of both their costs and consequences, is now an accepted method for comparing and evaluating healthcare interventions in many countries. It has increasingly been used at the global level for health policy-related decision making and impact assessment. This course introduces the basic concepts and theories of economic evaluation and thoroughly examines key methodological and ethical issues related to conducting economic evaluations. Additionally, this course presents real-world application cases demonstrating the use of economic evaluation in projects and policy assessments in the field of global health.
Decision analysis is a multidisciplinary science that draws upon economics, mathematics, statistics, psychology, and other fields, which systematically applies various quantitative analysis methods to help decision-making under uncertainty. Decision analysis finds applications in various academic disciplines, serving as a methodological foundation for economic evaluation in the fields of public and global health. Recently, it has been actively utilized as one of the key methodologies for evaluating the performance and impact of health programs and policies by individual countries and international organizations. This course introduces the key concepts and methods of decision analysis applicable in the field of public and global health. Topics to be covered include decision analysis basics, decision structuring, decision modeling, parameter estimation, simulation techniques using decision models, and uncertainty analysis. Real-world application examples and recent trends in the field will be introduced as well.