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16 April - 21 May

NICE and health care funding agencies worldwide are using QALYs (quality-adjusted life year), hence the need for health state utility data in their assessments of the cost-effectiveness of health care interventions. This raises questions about the measurement of health, the valuation of health and how to use the values in cost-effectiveness models. It creates additional challenges for meeting the requirements of a 'reference case' set of methods that may not be appropriate in all circumstances.  

This course outlines the practical requirements of measuring utility and obtaining utility data for health technology assessment for agencies such as NICE. The course explores up-to-date research and guidance in utilities, including mapping, the updated 2022 NICE recommendations for Health Technology Assessment, and identifying and using utility evidence in cost-effectiveness models.

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22 April - 2 May

Within healthcare decision-making, cohort Markov models and decision trees are frequently used. However, these are not always the most appropriate modelling methods.

This course provides an in-depth review of individual-level simulation rationale, techniques and methodologies with a particular focus on discrete event simulation and its practical application to inform healthcare decision-making. From the fundamentals of a basic model, the course will progress to modelling complex systems, verification and interpreting output, as well as exploring alternative software options. 

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4 - 25 June 

This online course aims to introduce participants to applied statistics from a beginner level. The content will provide an overview of common statistical ideas and approaches. By the end of the course, you should be able to identify which statistical test is the most applicable for a given scenario and interpret the results.  

The course will be interactive and practical, with delivery of sessions based on lectures, multiple choice questions and 'pen and paper' exercises.

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4 and 11 July 

Rapid reviews are increasingly undertaken to meet the demands of decision-makers, who need timely evidence to inform their decisions. Under such constraints, the time required to undertake a traditional systematic review may be prohibitive. Limited budgets to fund systematic reviews, may also increase pressure to fund a rapid review.

If the review is to be delivered in a shorter time frame or a smaller budget, it may seem inevitable that it will no longer be able to remain transparent, rigorous, exhaustive and comprehensive. What are the implications of any shortcuts that might be taken? Can we measure the impact of such shortcuts? Which methods might be adopted when undertaking a rapid review? What do commissioners want? What is the balance between working smarter and short-changing the commissioners? How do you create a team that can work together more efficiently within a shorter timescale?

These questions will be explored through a detailed examination of tools that can be used and adapted to meet the particular needs of each rapid review.

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12 - 13 September

This 2-day online course seeks to provide an overview of the essential principles of health protection practice. It will cover the principles of infectious disease epidemiology, communicable disease surveillance, outbreak management, immunisation/vaccination, and public health measures for the control of infectious diseases. A range of case studies will also be covered including influenza, invasive meningococcal disease, gastrointestinal infections, healthcare-associated infections, and sexually transmitted infections. This course is a condensed version of the university's successful and long-running Master of Public Health module on Communicable Disease Control (HAR685).

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18 - 26 September

This course will take participants through the stages of defining and exploring scope, conducting the literature searches, quality assessing studies for inclusion, synthesising data, and writing up and presenting the product of the synthesis. Participants will be provided with practical experience of key stages in the review process.

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15 - 16 October

This course will introduce participants to the concept of research synthesis and explore simple ways to rapidly bring evidence together to inform decision-making. During the day we will undertake a search for high-quality evidence to answer a clinical question. We will then look at ways of identifying the findings/key themes from the research and present various methods/tools to quickly bring the results together to form a useful overview of the evidence quickly and effectively.

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5 - 14 November

This popular course aims to provide participants with an understanding of the processes and methods for conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses in health care. The course will include tips and techniques for managing the systematic review process efficiently. Sessions will be delivered by SCHARR staff experienced in systematic review methods and health technology assessment. The course will be interactive and practical, with the delivery of sessions based on lectures and individual and small-group practical exercises.

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