PhD in Global Health Metrics and Implementation Science | University of Washington - Department of Global Health

Department of Global Health

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Conducting interviews in Dhulikhel with a verbal autopsy tool.

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Conducting interviews in Dhulikhel with a verbal autopsy tool. Photo credit: Nicole Ide.

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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the widespread closing of testing centers around the world, the Global Health PhD program is no longer requiring GRE test results as of the 2021 application admissions cycle. This change applies to both the Metrics and Implementation Science tracks, and went into effect as of September 1, 2020.

The Department of Global Health, in collaboration with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and Health Alliance International, have developed a PhD program in Global Health that is the first of its kind, building on the expertise of our faculty in the areas of metrics and implementation science. The PhD program provides students with the latest and most innovative tools to advance global health solutions that are critical for decision-making and priority setting.

PhD candidates will have the opportunity to study in Seattle, one of the true global health capitals, where innovators in research, funding, and delivery work side by side to improve population health. Our doctoral program offers amazing opportunities to those who choose to pursue a career in academia, international organizations, ministries of health, foundations, or the private sector.

At the University of Washington, diversity is integral to excellence. We value and honor diverse experiences and perspectives, strive to create welcoming and respectful learning environments, and promote access, opportunity and justice for all.

Select from the following:

Implementation science focuses on developing and applying diverse, state-of-the-art methodologies to understand and improve complex health systems to close the gap between incomplete evidence on interventions into effective programs. The interdisciplinary implementation science framework includes systems analysis and improvement techniques; innovative designs to measure impact; economic analysis; and policy research to inform the formulation, implementation, and scale-up of improved delivery approaches.

Because of the applied nature of this area of emphasis, it is expected that implementation science doctoral projects will involve primary data collection.

Examples of dissertation topics:

Development, application, and evaluation of simulation and optimization models for provincial and district human resource allocation systems
Systems analysis and improvement for malaria case management in primary health care settings
Stepped wedge trial of alternative delivery strategies for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV
Cost effectiveness of partner services for HIV
Impact of the introduction of point of care diagnostics for TB care system performance

Metrics students translate evidence into useful knowledge by learning and applying advanced quantitative methods, impact evaluation techniques, and analytic tools. Students in the metrics area of emphasis organize their research around answering three critical questions that are essential to understanding the current state of population health and strategies necessary to improve it.

What are the world’s major health problems
How well is society addressing these problems?
How do we best dedicate resources to maximize health improvement?

Examples of projects that doctoral students in metrics engage in:

Estimating the Global Burden of Disease for diabetes
Improving the cost effectiveness of antiretroviral delivery systems in sub-Saharan Africa
Improving the methods to measure mortality by cause in a comparable way across countries
Evaluating the effect of malaria control policies on reducing child mortality
The contribution of development assistance for health on health outcomes

What is implementation science? What is metrics? This short video features our students discussing the PhD program in Global Health, including the definitions of metrics and implementation science, their dissertation, research, and what makes this program unique.

In this unique interdisciplinary program, students develop skills through a combination of didactic courses, seminars, and research activities including primary data collection and analysis. The PhD program is comprised of a core curriculum in advanced quantitative methods, epidemiology, population health measurement, impact evaluations, and implementation science methods.

The PhD program specializes in two areas of emphasis, metrics and implementation science. Metrics is dedicated to providing students with advanced training in independent, rigorous, and timely scientific measurements to accelerate progress on global health by identifying the world’s major health problems, assessing how well society addresses these problems, and guiding resource allocation to maximize health improvements. Implementation science focuses on the systematic application of scientific approaches to ask and answer questions regarding evidence of intervention efficacy to implementation. This science addresses how interventions can be scaled-up with greater speed, fidelity, efficiency, quality, and coverage.

Upon graduation, students will have acquired the knowledge and skills required to make meaningful and innovative contributions to the field of global health.

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