Commonly offered: This course is very likely to be offered in the next one to three years.
A small experiential learning class in the spring for UW-Madison undergraduates, ideally seniors or juniors, completing the certificate health policy. Learn to effectively work in teams. Analyze questions proposed through an applied project by a client organization working in health policy. Research questions by pulling together, synthesizing, and analyzing existing information and research on the topic. Possibly perform primary data analysis using either publicly-available data or data supplied by the client organization. Recommend options based on review of existing evidence and primary analyses. Communicate findings using written reports, visualized data, and oral presentations to peers and clients.
Answer questions such as how to apply policy analysis in seeking evidence-based approaches to various problems posed by a range of organizations using evidence to shape policy. Explore the definition of “evidence-based”, learn about different kinds of evidence and how it is used, and learn strategies for judging the rigor of research evidence. Learn strategies for specifying deliverables of policy analysis; the basics of project management in a team; how to communicate with policy analysis clients both during and at the end of the project; and understand the limits of policy analysis within the complex, dynamic field of health policy. Learn self-reflection skills to set a course for independent learning after graduation.
Instructor
Mary Davis Michaud
Susan Webb Yackee