Operations research in health programs

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

We are glad to inform you that IIHMR is going to conduct a six-day short

training programme on " Operations and Evaluation Research in Health Programmes "

during January 31 - February 5, 2005 at IIHMR, Jaipur, India. The programme aims

to raise the participant's skills and knowledge to design and conduct operations

research with the application of appropriate techniques of data collection and

analysis. The details of the is given below.

DHIRENDRA KUMAR, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Indian Institute of Health Management Research,

1 Prabhu Dayal Marg, Near Sanganer Airport, Jaipur - 302 011 Rajasthan, India

Phone: Office - 91-141- 2791431-34; Fax - 91-141-2792138 and Residence -

91-141-2761413

E-mail: dhir@... & dk_sakhi@...

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Management Development Program (Short Training Programme)

Operations and Evaluation Research in Health Programs

(January 31 - February 5, 2005)

Background

Operations Research (OR) is a research technique that uses systematic data

gathering to support decision-making for improving the coverage, quality and

sustainability of services and programmes. Primarily, the application of

operations research was most popular in the family planning programme to improve

the efficiency, quality, effectiveness and availability of services. The use of

this technique has grown over time; it is being widely applied in reproductive

health by health managers.

The health of children, women and men in India and most of the South-Asian

countries is the poorest in the world. The level of infant and maternal

mortality is still very high. Reproductive tract infections and sexually

transmitted diseases are widespread among men and women and this has been the

leading cause of HIV infections. In spite of huge investments in the

infrastructure, technology and manpower development in health services, the

accessibility and availability of services has been a perpetual problem to the

health manager. Health managers struggle to redirect and restructure programmes

to increase access to their services, improve quality of care, use available

resources efficiently and raise funds. Operations research helps them in these

endeavours. It applies systematic research techniques to evaluate programmes

in a variety of settings, with a focus on factors under managerial control.

Keeping these factors in view the Indian Institute of Health Management research

(IIHMR), Jaipur offers a one-week management development programme for

mid-career professionals who are working for the improvement of the health of

people in their country.

Objectives

The programme is specifically designed to enhance the participants' skills in

conducting operations research and evaluation studies in health programmes. The

programme will be participatory in nature, based on experimental learning.

The specific objectives of the programme are:

· To provide an overview of the health situation and scope of

operations research.

· To discuss the concept, definition and techniques of

operations research and evaluation.

· To develop skills among the participants to design outlines

for conducting operations research and evaluation studies, which include problem

identification and diagnosis, strategy selection, strategy testing and

evaluation, information dissemination, and utilization. The principles of

research methodology will be discussed to explain sampling procedures and sample

size, formulation of questionnaires and tools, data quality control, data

analysis and interpretation

· To prepare strategic interventions based on the findings of

operations research.

Contents

· Operations research: scope and utility

· Evaluation studies: concept, type, methods and design

· Linkages: information technology and evaluation

· Survey design: type, issues and sampling techniques

· Basics of questionnaire design

· Planning of data analysis and dummy tables

· Field procedures and controlling: uniform instructions, manuals and protocols

· Communicating research findings: barriers in using research results, strategy

and action plan for presenting health findings

Pedagogy

The programme is an interactive one, providing a blend of lectures,

participatory exercises, individual and group presentations, and group

discussion focusing especially on the issues of reproductive and general health.

Participants

The programme is aimed at middle and senior level health mangers, planners,

researchers and officials involved in health care in both government and

non-government sectors in developing countries. A working knowledge of English

is essential for this course.

Certification

A certificate of participation will be awarded on successful completion of the

course.

Programme Fee

Residential Rs. 12,000/ ($600 for overseas participants)

The course fee includes tuition fee, charges for course material, and board and

lodging facilities on the Institute's campus for the total duration of the

course.

Arrival/Departure

Participants are advised to reach Jaipur by the evening of January 30, 2005 and

plan their departure on the evening of February 5, 2005. IIHMR is located at a

distance of 2.5 km from Jaipur Airport and 20 km from Jaipur Railway Station/Bus

Stand. Participants will be met at the Airport / Railway Station / Bus Stand, if

informed in advance about the airline / flight number / train number and date

and time of arrival.

Programme Director

Dhirendra Kumar, M.Phil., Ph.D. (IIPS, Mumbai)

Associate Professor, IIHMR

Nominations

Please fill in the enclosed nomination form and send it with a demand draft for

Rs 12000 in favour of Indian Institute of Health Management Research latest by

January 5, 2005 to:

THE DEAN (TRAINING)

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF HEALTH MANAGEMENT RESEARCH

1, Prabhu Dayal Marg

Sanganer Air Port, Jaipur - 302011

Phones : 91-141-2791431/32/33/34

Fax : 91-141-2792138

E mail : iihmr@...

URL : http:/www.iihmr.org

Resource Persons

S.D. Gupta, M.D., Ph.D. (s Hopkins University, USA)

Dhirendra Kumar, M.Phil., Ph.D.

Ravi Chandran, Ph.D

Anoop Khanna, MSW

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INDIAN INSTITUTE OF HEALTH MANAGEMENT RESEARCH, JAIPUR

NOMINATION FORM

1.Programme Title: Operations and Evaluation Research in Health Programmes

2.Duration : January 31 - February 5, 2005

3. Name and address of the sponsoring organization........

.............................................................

Phone ...............................................

Fax....................................................

4. Personal details of the nominee(s)

Name

Designation

Age

................................

..............................

..............................

To The Dean (Training)

Please register my/our nomination(s) for the above mentioned programme as per

above details. Enclosed is Draft

No.......................................................................

Dated....................................of

Bank...................................................... for Rs./US

$........... .................. towards the nomination fee, drawn in favour of

Indian Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur, India.

Name of the sponsoring authority

................................................................

Designation of the sponsoring authority

.................................................................

Date

............................

Signature

...........................

PLEASE SEND THIS FORM WITH NOMINATION FEE TO

The Dean (Training)

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF HEALTH MANAGEMENT RESEARCH

1, Prabhu Dayal Marg, Sanganer Airport, Jaipur - 302 011, INDIA

Phone: 91-141-2791431/32/33/34 Fax:91-141-2792138

E-mail: iihmr@... OR dhir@...

Internet : http://www.iihmr.org