Title:	Health Economics for Global Health Professionals
Keywords:	Planning and programming Health economics Financing
Country:	Spain
Institution:	Spain - Barcelona Institute for Global Health - University of Barcelona
Course coordinator:	Dr. Elisa Sicuri
Date start:	2026-01-07
Date end:	2026-01-16
About duration and dates:	● 8 full days + 2 additional days for pre-readings made available 2 weeks prior to the course commencement ● Application deadline: 2 weeks prior to first presence course day
Classification:	advanced optional
Mode of delivery:	Face to face
Course location: Barcelona Institute for Global Health – University of Barcelona School of Medicine and Health Sciences Campus Clínic August Pi i Sunyer Casanova, 143 08036 Barcelona TropEd representative: Núria Casamitjana (nuria.casamitjana@isglobal.org)
ECTS credit points:	3 ECTS credits
SIT: 75 hours SIT ● Contact hours face-to-face: 32 h (including 1h exam and 1,5h presentations of group-based assignment last day of the course) ● Self-study hours (reading and preparing for classes and case study exam): 40 h ● Directed work hours (out of class): 3 h
Language:	English
Description: At the end of the course, students should be able to: 1. Understand and apply key economic concepts to health and healthcare 2. A ssess the use of economic analysis applied to decision-making in health and healthcare markets 3. Discuss the use of economic evaluation methods applied to healthcare interventions.
Assessment Procedures: The final grade will be the result of two assessment components: 1. Exam: The final exam will consist of 20 multiple-choice questions related to session content. The exam represents 52% of the total final grade. This assessment will take place on the last day of the course, with a duration of 1 hour. Note: Students need to obtain a minimum of 5 out of 10 in the final exam in order to pass. 2. Short assignments: Students will be asked to complete 3 short assignments (either individual or group-based) during the sessions. Successful completion of each exercise will represent 16% of the grade. In total, the 3 assignments represent 48% of the total final grade. Specifically, the 3 assignments will consist of: a. Individual assignment: five questions on demand and supply curves shifts /market equilibrium changes (duration 30 minutes). b. Individual assignment: five questions on market failures and possible adjustments (duration 30 minutes) c. Group-based assignment: presentation of an article on economic evaluation recorded on a PowerPoint. Investment time approx. 1 h 30 min. To be delivered on the last day (same day of final exam). Students are randomly split into groups. A group-work peer assessment is requested from each student. Students will pass the evaluation with a final weighted grade calculated among the final exam and the 3 short assignments of at least 5. Evaluation grades will be communicated within 15 days after the day of the exam. Students will receive feedback on all assignments at the end of the course (a specific meeting will be organised). The course coordinator will be available at any moment during the course to reply to specific questions regarding assessment. Resit: Students with a final weighted grade among all evaluations received of
Content: Sessions 1 & 2: Basic concepts of economics applied to health and healthcare: decision making and demand. Sessions 3 & 4: Basic concepts of economics applied to health and healthcare: decision-making, production, supply and market equilibrium. Session 5 & Session 6: Basic concepts of economics applied to health and healthcare: market failures and corrections. Session 7: Specific market interventions to regulate R&D in health and healthcare and to improve access. Session 8: Specific interventions to improve access to interventions for neglected diseases. Sessions 9 & 10: Impact evaluation of interventions with experimental or non-experimental study designs and the role of process evaluation. Sessions 11 and 12: Introduction to Health Economic Evaluation. Basic principles and concepts, and decision models. Sessions 13 and 14: Uncertainty in economic evaluation. Session 15: Health Economic Evaluation: case studies. Session 16: Exam and course wrap up
Methods: Class sessions combine theoretical explanations with practical cases that illustrate each theme and encourage students to actively participate and propose different approaches to address questions. At the end of each session instructors will summarize the theoretical explanations and practical tools that lie under each solution, as well as offer other examples to help understand and critically use them.
Prerequisites: tropEd candidates must accredit an English language level TOEFL test 550 or 213 computer-based or 79/80 internet-based or IELTS band 6.0 or equivalent.
Attendance: Minimum of 10 students. Maximum of 35 students. No limitations for tropEd students. We will confirm if the course takes place at least 4 weeks in advance.
Selection: For tropEd students: First come, first served principle
Fees: 570 € + University taxes (90 Euro approx.)
Scholarships: Not available
Major changes since initial accreditation: The course has not changed its main organisation since last accreditation but the following changes have been made to improve the course based on students feedback: ● We enriched the content of the initial part of the course by adding the concepts of principal-agent and information asymmetry, and additional details on market failures and relative corrections. This enrichment allows explaining in theoretical terms healthcare system features such as the need for compulsory public healthcare insurance; ● Students evaluation consists of, in addition to the final exam, three short assignments: two assignments are individual and one consists of group recording a presentation on a cost-effectiveness article of choice of the students (respecting certain constraints, see annex below). Previously, there were two group assignments and one individual. Two group-assignments were too complex to organise and too time consuming for such a short course; ● Currently, the course invites as faculty experts in different specializations of the subject (for example in R&D, access and behavioural models, etc.).
Student evaluation: The students have repeatedly assessed this course as overall positive, with an average score above 4 out of 5. Main areas of improvement suggested us the inclusion of more in-class exercises and examples, and more time to solve doubts and answer questions.
Lessons learned: The course has several technical aspects: these are important as the majority, if not all the students, have never been exposed to basic economic concepts that are key in global healthcare, such as information asymmetry. However, we learnt that students need, in addition to the technical notions, a great amount of examples/case studies to illustrate the concepts explained in class.
tropEd accreditation: Accredited in September 2015, Basel and reaccredited in online GA, June 2020. Reaccredited in June 2025 in Heidelberg. This accreditation is valid until June 2030.
Email Address:	nuria.casamitjana@isglobal.org
Date Of Record Creation:	2015-09-14 06:05:28 (W3C-DTF)
Date Of Record Release:	2015-09-14 10:30:52 (W3C-DTF)
Date Record Checked:	2019-08-14 (W3C-DTF)
Date Last Modified:	2025-07-08 09:12:18 (W3C-DTF)