MSc in Health Service Improvement and Evaluation modules

Module 1: Health systems and HSIE foundations

You will begin the MSc with an introduction to the concepts of a “health system” and its key components, including health system governance and health service delivery, as well as illustrations of different forms of health systems intervention and innovations.

Module 2: The methods toolbox - gathering and assessing evidence

This module will focus on core concepts and use of research and evaluation methods, including epidemiological and statistical methods, controlled trials, mixed methods and qualitative approaches.

Module 3: Investigating context: safety, quality and health system performance 

Typically, health services are expected to deliver high-quality, safe healthcare that results in good outcomes. But what is good quality, safe care? What are valued outcomes from the health system and population or user perspective? Taking these different perspectives, you will be able to appraise the different dimensions of quality and safety to identify challenges that require intervention in a specific context.

Module 4: Designing interventions and planning implementation  

This module will provide you with important skills to design and implement interventions to improve quality, safety and health outcomes. You will explore approaches to intervention design such as behaviour change and design thinking, and how these are considered in organisational and system-wide change. Implementation science concepts will be taught through case studies to demonstrate intervention designs and consider the practicalities of implementation.

Module 5: Programme implementation and evaluation 

Starting with the outcomes and indicators of success, this module will progress through examples of different types of evaluations and explore how each is best suited to answer specific research questions. You will also learn practical skills such as understanding the resource requirements to implement different evaluation designs and the implications of different evaluations for communicating with different stakeholder groups.

Module 6: Core skills in health systems research and practice 

This unique module focuses on cross-cutting topics that increase your employability as a graduate of this MSc. It runs across all three terms in parallel to the other modules. Topics include:

• The ethics of health system research and practice  
• Leadership and teamwork skills  
• Communication skills  
• Academic research and technical writing skills  
• Community and stakeholder engagement 
• Project management skills