The urgency for control and prevention of new and reemerging infectious diseases in local situations given limited resources requires efficient budgetary allocations and prioritization of prevention strategies and intervention programmes. Clinical and public health decision makings for using treatment/strategy over the others nowadays requires sounded justifications to ensure cost-effectiveness and value for the money spent.

This course aims to equip health professionals with techniques and abilities to apply analytic methods to identify, measure, and compare the costs and consequences of alternative strategies for control and prevention of emerging infectious diseases.

This 3-day intensive module focuses on economic methods for evaluation of prevention programmes. Participants will acquire skills to conduct economic analysis in determining effectiveness of pubic health practices and policies.

After completion of the course, the participants should be able to:

• Identify major economic methods that can be used to evaluate prevention programmes
• Describe the techniques used in economic analysis to evaluate public health interventions
• Appreciate prevention effectiveness study for a specific public health intervention
• Participate in conducting economic analysis in determining public health practices and policies
• Calculate and interpret average and incremental cost effectiveness ratios
• Interpret economic literature in the context of prevention effectiveness and be able to evaluate different prevention strategies

• Introduction to health economics/economic evaluation
• Principles and methods of prevention effectiveness
• Economic evaluation of health outcomes (Decision analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis, cost-benefit analysis, sensitivity analysis)
• Application of health economics in public health policy and practice
• Hand-on practice of a computer software for economic analysis

• Professionals working in public health organizations, disease control agencies, and field situations, who seek to acquire knowledge and analytical skills for evidence-based decision making for resource allocations in the control and prevention of public health crisis.
• Policy makers and others who need to understand and apply public health evaluation and economic analyses for the control of diseases.
• Participants who are interested in health economics and evaluation.

Certificate in Prevention Effectiveness will be offered by the School of Public Health under the Faculty of Medicine, if the participant fulfills the course requirements.

This course will also serve as an elective module for Postgraduate Programmes of the School of Public Health. The course will be equivalent to 2 course units and the credit gained could be transferable to the Postgraduate Diploma in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases or Master of Science in Applied Epidemiology.

English will be used as the language for instruction.

Dr. Martin MELTZER (Key Speaker), Senior Health Economist, US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and teaching staff from the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Assessment will be in the form of attendance, exercises and written examination. Participants who fulfill the assessment requirements will obtain the Certificate in Prevention Effectiveness.

Applicants should have a graduate qualification in a health-related discipline from a recognized university and obtained a Bachelor's degree, and preferably have at least two years working experience in a health-related setting.