Personalized training for agencies

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The training programs in behavioral economics and health economics provide a basic introduction into the fundamentals of each area and how they can be applied to public health. But there are additional training opportunities available in which we work with your department or agencies on a targeted project of your choosing. This provides a way to broaden your staff’s understanding and capacity and serves to demonstrate who behavioral economics and/or health economics can be used to support public health decision making.

Behavioral Economics Training:

The personalized Behavioral Economics training will include providing access to all your staff to our basic training program (the Fundamental Awareness in Behavioral Economics) and then working with a small group of your choosing to help apply the behavioral economic techniques (such as the OECD’s BASIC framework) to an issue facing your public health agencies. Ideas for projects include:

  • How to promote vaccinations to an often skeptical public;
  • Reducing smoking and vaping use by adolescents;
  • Increase testing and treatment adherence for STIs and other communicable diseases;
  • Increasing health eating and reducing sugar consumption.

The training can also focus on ways to use behavioral economics in your organization. This might include:

  • Shifting thinking from a “we are rational decision makers” model to a understanding when that people make impulsive decisions (i.e., System 1/System 2 thinking);
  • Protecting against the “bias blind spot” including the tendency to believe that “others are biased but I am not”;
  • Providing capabilities to identify common instances where biases could influence decisions

If you are interested in learning more, let us know and we can provide more information about the training.

Health Economics Training:

The personalized Health Economics training will include providing access to all your staff to our basic training program (the Fundamental Awareness in Health Economics) and then working with a small group of your choosing to help apply the health economic techniques (such as Return on Investment analysis) to an issue facing your public health agencies. Ideas for projects include how to:

  • Estimate the cost of your programs and activities;
  • Identify the Return on Investment from a program or initiative;
  • Relay the economic impact of a policy or program;
  • Use economic principles to understand the needs of the community;
  • Use economic principles to prioritize and make decisions.

This might be especially useful if you are considering what areas to invest in or if you are facing the need to cut a budget and need to review the returns from your current funding. Questions that you might consider when choosing a project are:

  • Will the economic analysis assist in getting additional funding or make the case for continuation of funding?
  • Does a stakeholder want to see a ROI or other type of economic analysis?  
  • Could there be significant health savings or health gains?
  • Is it an area where there is currently significant funding?

If you are interested in learning more, let us know and we can provide more information about the training.