Online Applied Health 2024-2025

Economics is concerned with how individuals and organisations use scarce resources. In this course, you will develop your understanding of economics and begin to apply it to health care. Knowledge of health economics helps us to understand how decisions are made regarding the use of scarce health care resource. It provides us with the tools and frameworks to ensure that available resources are used in the more effective way possible. Health economics allows more informed decision-making about a variety of issues: choosing between alternative treatments; setting priorities between patients; choosing between alternative new technologies; organising the provision of health care. 

This course is an introduction to the skills and information needed to appraise and undertake health-related research. This course provides a foundation for further learning in quantitative and qualitative research methods. Within this course you will develop the skills necessary for the planning, conduct and dissemination stages of health-related research.

Topics covered include: Developing a Research Question, Research Design, Methods of Data Collection, Approaches to Analysing Data, Dissemination of Research Findings, and Writing a Research Proposal. 

Students will learn to formulate a health research question that can be addressed with an evidence review. They will learn the principles and purposes of different types of evidence review and work through the stages of a systematic review. They will study how synthesised evidence may be implemented in practice at different levels (e.g., patient, clinician, health system), about factors that may influence implementation (e.g., barriers/enablers) and strategies that may be used to address these factors.

Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) are used to test the effectiveness of interventions. The aim of this course is to take a student through the process of designing RCTs. The course will focus on RCTs in the evaluation of real-world healthcare and public health settings. 

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Specify and critically evaluate the key elements of trial design.

2. Justify trial design decisions. 

3. Describe the differences between pragmatic and explanatory trials. 

This course provides a sound introduction to qualitative health research. You will consider the relevance and value of qualitative methodologies which respond to current health agendas. The course introduces planning to conduct relevant research and a range of methods to generate, handle and analyse qualitative data. You will gain insight into issues of rigour, quality and ethics, and understand the importance of engaging with relevant audiences. 

Public health is the art and science of improving health through the organised efforts of society. This course provides an introduction to a population-based perspective on health, illness and disease. The course illustrates the practical application of numerical ways of thinking about the health of a population. The course covers the three major public health domains of Health Improvement, Health Protection and Healthcare Public Health.

This course aims to support students in developing a critical understanding of the breadth of public health approaches to protecting, promoting, monitoring and improving health among a population as a whole.

Humans vary from one person to the next, both in terms of their stable characteristics and in terms of how they respond to different situations and environments. These individual differences can in turn influence health positively and negatively. This course explores key individual differences in stress and personality. We will explore differences in physical, psychological and behavioural responses to stress; methods of coping with stress; theoretical determinants of stress; and the role of personality in health and illness.

This course introduces students to key concepts in global health and develops skills to critically appraise organisations, actors, debates and data. Teaching material will cover: key definitions and terminology; institutions, practitioners and scholars in global health; and key drivers and challenges in the global health field. Students will learn about established and emerging topics, how these intersect with broader social, economic and political factors, and how research can make credible contributions in this context.

Nationally and internationally there is recognition of the critical shortage in data-intensive analytic capacity applied to healthcare. This course is an introduction to the field of health data science, with examples of real-life healthcare applications, using the popular data science language R.

This course covers issues involved in identifying, measuring and valuing costs and benefits. Consideration will be given to the importance of health outcomes, non-health outcomes and process attributes when valuing the benefits of health care interventions. The student will be introduced to Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) and the use of standard gamble and time-trade off to estimate quality weights within the QALY framework. Consideration will be given here to the creation and use of generic QALY measures such as EuroQol; as well as specific QALY measures.

This course is taken by students enrolled on Health Economics for Health Professionals (MSc/PGDip/PGCert). It is concerned with practical issues in the design and conduct of economic evaluation of health care interventions. It covers the principles of the two most common approaches to economic evaluation – using individual patient data collected alongside a randomised controlled trial, and the use of decision modelling to synthesis data from a number of secondary sources. The course highlights the strengths and limitations of each approach, and emphasises their complimentary nature for informing value based health care decision making.

This course in Applied Statistics intends to focus on the application of statistical techniques in postgraduate research for health professionals, with a particular emphasis on the correct interpretation of statistical analyses. The course will NOT concentrate on the statistical theory underlying the subject. An important component of the course is the use of a statistical package, IBM SPSS Statistics, which can be used to implement all the methods taught on the course. 

We live in a time of ‘Big Data’ with the rapid growth in the digital capture of health information. Health Informatics is the science of data capture, linkage and analysis of large datasets to improve health. The demand for health researchers with training and experience in health informatics is high. For people practicing in Public Health, it is a key skill. It will equip students for any career in health research or public health practice and this course is an excellent stepping stone for those wishing to develop a specialist interest in the field.

This course takes an international perspective on the function and performance of health care systems. Students will learn why and how governments commonly intervene in the market for health care. Health care systems can vary in the way they raise revenue (e.g. taxation, health insurance), reimburse providers (e.g. hospitals, doctors) and offer patients choice. Students will evaluate the equity and efficiency implications of these options using real world examples and drawing on the experience of their own health care systems. 

This course in applied epidemiology gives an introduction to disease measurement at a population level, basic epidemiological study design and analysis, and provides an understanding of key methodological issues needed to apply when designing – or critically appraising – an epidemiological study.

This course introduces the students to key economic concepts that help explain and predict health behaviours, providing discussion of how these can be used to understand and influence health behaviours. Theoretical models of health behaviour and health production are introduced and examined, together with important concepts related to equity and health inequality, to understand the extent to which these can be applied in the development and evaluation of policies and interventions that aim to inform or change behaviours. The types of health behaviours studied in the course include lifestyle choices relating to diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking, together with a focus on obesity. 

Resources available for the provision and payment for health care are limited. However, knowledge of economics helps ensure that available resources are used in the most effective way possible. Economics allows more informed decision making about a variety of issues: choosing between alternative treatments; setting priorities between patients; choosing between alternative new technologies; organising the provision of health care.

In this course students will acquire a knowledge and understanding of:

• Key themes of economic theory applied to health care
• Some of the main techniques of health care evaluation
• Main arguments concerning alternative systems for organising and financing health care

This course provides up-to-date knowledge of the challenges of nutrition in the global context. It provides students with an opportunity to develop their understanding of the methods of monitoring population nutritional status, a picture of the current global nutritional status, the determinants of nutritional status in different populations, and skills that will enable them to design, implement and evaluate nutrition interventions and programmes aimed at addressing global nutritional issues. The learning is widely applicable to all populations globally although the main focus is on low and middle-income countries (LMIC).

This course will explore the challenges faced in women’s health and health care in a global setting. Students will gain knowledge of how gender differences, inequality, women’s family roles, community and society support, and approaches to healthcare systems all play a role in women’s health. It will also present how women’s health intersects with broader social and economic factors.

Machine learning has the potential to revolutionise healthcare. The aim of this course is to introduce machine learning for health data science with examples of real-life healthcare applications, using the popular data science language R.

This intermediate-level course intends to advance a student's statistical skills and understanding of common and more advanced regression modelling techniques so that they can apply them to a wide range of health research data. The course will focus on introducing the student to the concepts underpinning generalised linear models. They will deepen their understanding of linear and logistic regression and learn how to analyse outcomes such as count data and time-to-event data using regression for count data and survival analysis. This course will focus on the application, interpretation, and communication of the learned methodologies. It assumes that students will already have completed a first course in introductory statistics and have an understanding of hypothesis testing and basic mathematical skills. 

The health economics project is an independent piece of work undertaken by students which allow them to demonstrate in depth the skills and knowledge acquired on the MSc and apply these to a research question. Under expert supervision, each student independently and creatively identifies and formulates a research question which they address using appropriate methodology.

The case study provides students with the opportunity to select, design, conduct and report on a detailed systematic investigation of a topic within an applied health field. The aim is to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of a particular topic, including the academic background, relevant policy and the roles played by various actors and agencies. The case study is conducted in an academically robust and ethically sensitive manner.

This course offers students the opportunity to complete a substantial piece of data-driven, empirical work within their field of study under the supervision of an experienced researcher.

Topics available will be varied but within the domain of their field of study. Alongside supervisors, students will identify a suitable topic area, describe an appropriate study design and implement an empirical study. Students will be involved alongside the supervisors in the process of defining the research question, and developing the research plan and, where appropriate, obtaining regulatory approvals. This course is for non-laboratory based projects (if you are intending to undertake a project in a scientific laboratory setting, you should register on MB5904).

The course on Professional Development and Research Skills is designed to equip you with essential tools and knowledge to excel in your research project and future professional careers. Through a comprehensive series of workshops, you will gain a deep understanding and have opportunities to develop your skills in the core principles of professional development, including communication skills, leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving. In addition, the course focuses on supporting you to developing strong research skills, covering topics such as research methodology, literature review, data collection and analysis, and ethical considerations within the focus of your chosen methodology. You will engage in hands-on exercises, working with your own research project supported by your peers and tutors to enhance your practical understanding of these skills. By the end of the course, you will have a solid foundation in professional development and research, enabling you to thrive in your chosen fields and contribute to the advancement of knowledge and innovation.

This course will provide you with the basic knowledge required to enable you to move on to the complex issues that are addressed in today's society around the role of nutrition and food in disease prevention and management.  This course is designed as a refresher course for those who have already undertaken nutrition at undergraduate levels or to enable students with a strong science background to convert their knowledge into the nutrition field.

Some of the material on this course will describe/discuss animal research. 

This course will give you a detailed theoretical and practical understanding of the methods used to assess nutritional status, including body composition, dietary intake, and energy expenditure assessment. It includes a 'hands-on' experience of using a dietary assessment technique used routinely by nutritionists. The assignments for this course are designed to help you develop the skills you will employ in daily life as a nutritionist. These include presenting and conducting a nutritional assessment of a client and determining the best methods for nutritional assessment. 

Chronic diseases account for 70% of annual deaths in the world and present a great burden for the society. Emerging clinical evidence suggests that improving diet and nutrition can substantially reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

This course addresses the link between diet and the risk of developing chronic diseases. Furthermore, this course provides scientific evidence as to how nutrition may be used as a tool to prevent chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic diseases. It also highlights the importance of scientific research on developing public health policy frameworks, which encompass a range of educational and regulatory measures aiming to contribute to chronic disease prevention.

This course will provide a detailed knowledge of the relationships between diet, human development, health, and disease. Topics covered include diet and nutrition across the life course, integration and adaptability of different metabolic pathways e.g. starvation, exercise, and the role of diet in the development of diseases including cancer and cardiovascular disease. During the course you will also develop the skills required to select and critically appraise scientific evidence.

The course will explore the complex nature of sustainable diets within a global food system. It will give you an understanding of the need for healthy and more environmentally sustainable diets to tackle some of the greatest global challenges facing us today, including poor dietary health, climate change and environmental degradation, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It will cover the multidimensional attributes and the challenge of combining these attributes into a single entity of sustainable diets. The course will explore synergies and trade-offs between attributes, barriers and drivers of change and potential solutions to achieving sustainable diets within a global food system. In addition, external influences affecting the resilience and changes to the food system will be discussed.