Module manager: Dr Alison Smith
Email: a.f.c.smith@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
See programme entry requirements
This module is not approved as an Elective
Health economics and economic evaluation provide a framework for understanding the allocation of limited resources to maximize patient health outcomes. By analysing the costs and benefits of different healthcare interventions, policymakers and healthcare providers can make informed decisions about which treatments and programs offer the best value for money within the increasingly constrained NHS budget and resources (e.g. hospitals, staff, beds). Economic evaluation helps to identify the most cost-effective strategies for preventing, identifying and treating diseases, ultimately contributing to better health outcomes and more sustainable healthcare systems. Health economic evaluation is now considered a crucial component of evidence required for new technologies and treatments to be adopted into health and social care systems, like the NHS. Funding regulation bodies – such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in England and Wales, or the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), demand evidence on cost-effectiveness in order to consider approving new technologies for adoption. It is therefore increasingly important that policymakers, healthcare providers, allied health professionals, and health care researchers all possess a good understanding of health economic principles. This module provides a comprehensive overview of core health economic principles and tools used to aid decision making and improve efficiency within health care systems. It covers key topics such as the demand and supply of healthcare services, the measurement of health benefit, the economic evaluation of healthcare interventions, and equity considerations. You will learn about the analytical tools needed to address real-world health economic issues, in particular focusing on the importance of cost-effectiveness analysis for decision-making in health care.
The teaching style for this module will be active and participative. Through lectures, you will be introduced to key economic principles underpinning health-economics, different forms of economic evaluation undertaken within health technology assessment (HTA), and contemporary topics within health economics (e.g. evaluation of equity impacts). Through lectures and group-based activities you will learn about decision modelling for HTA, the measurement and valuation of health, and critical appraisal techniques. The sessions will be delivered by health economists actively working in the field of health economic research, who will support you through your learning.
The course content covered across the lectures and group-based activities will address the following learning objectives:
- To develop knowledge and understanding of economic theory underpinning health economics, in particular relating to efficiency, effectiveness, value and behaviour;
- To understand the alternative types of economic analysis which may be applied within health technology assessments;
- To be able to appraise the strengths and limitations of different types of economic analysis;
- To understand different methods for measuring patients’ health status and quality of life, and how this is applied within health-economic analyses;
- To understand the main types of economic decision models used in economic evaluation (including decision trees and Markov models)
- To understand the process of constructing and evaluating an economic decision model
- To understand how to interpret economic analysis results (including measures of cost-effectiveness and uncertainty around cost-effectiveness results);
- To gain knowledge of the requirements of healthcare agencies such as the National Institution for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK, with respect to health economic evidence;
- To be able to understand and appraise methodology applied in published health economic analyses, and draw conclusions around cost-effectiveness findings;
- To have an awareness of contemporary topics within health technology assessment (e.g. evaluation of equity impacts).
The knowledge obtained from this course will give you a sufficient grounding in key health economic topics to enable you to engage with health economists in their future research, identify when health economics may be required or useful in research, and understand the types of methods which may be employed in health economic analyses and understand and interpret key results from economic evaluations.
Subject Specific Learning Outcomes;
On successful completion of the module and associated assessment, you will have demonstrated the following subject specific learning outcomes:
1) Demonstrate an understanding of key economic principles underpinning health economics.
2) Identify and explain different tools for measuring patients’ health status and quality of life.
3) Identify alternative types of economic analyses which may be utilised in health technology assessments and explain the merits of each under different circumstances.
4) Understand the main types of decision-analytic models used in economic evaluation and how to construct and evaluate a simple decision-analytic model
5) Understand and interpret the results of an economic analysis, and draw conclusions around the cost-effectiveness of different alternatives based on those results within the context of healthcare decision making in the UK.
6) Critically appraise methods and results of published economic evaluations, including identifying key assumptions and limitations underpinning analyses.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
1. Participants will develop the ability to critically appraise methodology applied in economic evaluations, delivering an independent appraisal of a published study written in an essay-style format.
Leeds Skill Matrix: Academic skills: critical thinking and academic writing.
2. Participants will develop skills in understanding key statistical concepts and outcomes used in health economics.
Leeds Skill Matrix: Work ready skills: core literacies.
3. Participants will develop an awareness of contemporary considerations and requirements in health technology assessment, within the context of UK policy and healthcare decision making.
Leeds Skill Matrix: Work ready skills: critical thinking.
The course will cover the following topics:
- Core economic principles underpinning health economics
- Types of economic evaluation used in health economics (including cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis and cost-benefit analysis)
- Methods for measuring and valuing patients’ health status
- Key decision-analytic modelling techniques (including decision trees and Markov models)
- Interpretation and understanding of economic evaluation results
- Appraisal and decision-making processes adopted by the UK National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- Approaches to critical appraisal of published economic evaluation studies
- Contemporary topics in health economics (e.g. evaluation of equity impacts)
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 130 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 150 | ||
Small group work with tutor support will take place throughout the module, providing you with regular opportunities for formative feedback on the topics being covered. In particular, you will engage in:
• Small group activities and individual tasks during the module seminars
• Multiple choice questionnaires (MCQs) on core module topics: economic principles, measuring health outcomes, and economic evaluation.
• Feedback sessions (including MCQs in addition to further opportunity for discussion around areas of uncertainty)
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay - 3,500 words | 100 |
| In-course MCQ | Formative assessment – MCQ questions. | 0 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
You will be asked to complete an essay-style piece of coursework, comprising of two parts: (a) a critical appraisal of an existing (published) economic evaluation, and (b) additional questions relating to your understanding of core health economic principles and contemporary topics in health economics. Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated. Module marks will be capped at 50% on successful resit of any failed assessment in the module.
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 16/06/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team