Complex Public Health Interventions: Introduction to Theories and Methods
Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences at University of Copenhagen
This is a generic course. This means that the course is reserved for PhD students at the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences at UCPH.
Anyone can apply for the course, but if you are not a PhD student at the Graduate School, you will be placed on the waiting list until enrollment deadline. After the enrolment deadline, available seats will be allocated to the waiting list.
The course is free of charge for PhD students at Danish universities (except Copenhagen Business School), and for PhD students at NorDoc member faculties. All other participants must pay the course fee.
Learning objectives
A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:
1. explain the characteristics of complex public health interventions
2. explain the different phases of complex interventions
3. facilitate participation with target groups and stakeholders
4. differentiate the purpose and methods of different types of evaluation, including process and effect evaluations as well as realistic evaluation and systems perspectives
5. choose and apply relevant methods and theories to analyse their own projects
Content
Research in complex public health interventions develops and evaluates policies, programmes and other interventions that seek to have an impact on population health and/or health equity by modifying the underlying determinants of health or by directly influencing health behaviours. Complex interventions generate changes through social practices of the people, who are to receive or deliver the intervention. Thus, the interplay between the intervention, the context around it and the actors is cornerstone to acknowledge and understand when doing research in this field.
The PhD course will be an interactive introduction to the theories and methods in complex interventions research, guiding the PhD students through each phase of the intervention cycle. Central to the curriculum are the most important phases in intervention research, including needs assessment, intervention development, implementation and evaluation, anchored in the comprehensive framework for complex interventions by Skivington et al. Additionally, the course introduces diverse evaluation approaches such as process, effectiveness, realist, and systems perspectives and also illuminate how the various approaches can inform evidence synthsis. The course will introduce the students to mixed methods research including when and how to use the respective methods. Furthermore, for complex interventions to succeed, participation of target groups and stakeholders is needed, and methods for involvement and co-creation will be discussed.
Participants
The course is aimed at PhD students in public health. 18 participants.
Relevance to graduate programmes
The course is relevant to PhD students from the following graduate programmes at the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences, UCPH:
Public Health and Epidemiology
Medicine, Culture and Society
Language
English
Form
The course consists of an online introduction lecture, an individual written reflection assignment with a peer-feedback session, and then five days from 9-16 and one from 9-15 at CSS, Copenhagen. The days in Copenhagen will include lectures, oral presentations, discussion, panel discussion, and interactive seminars with international keynote speakers.
The PhD students will work on their own projects within the specific elements or phases on which their PhD projects are based. Throughout the course, the PhD students’ projects will serve as empirical examples, facilitated through student presentations and feedback.
Dinner out on Wednesday evening, January 15. (At the participants’ own expense).
Mandatory readings
• Skivington K et al. A new framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions: update of Medical Research Council guidance BMJ 2021; 374 :n2061 doi:10.1136/bmj.n2061
• Moore et al. Process evaluation of complex interventions: Medical Research Council guidance. BMJ 2015; https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h1258
• Harris, K. (2018). Building sport for development practitioners’ capacity for undertaking monitoring and evaluation – reflections on a training programme building capacity in realist evaluation. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 10(4), 795–814. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2018.1442870
• Bonell et al. Realist randomised controlled trials: a new approach to evaluating complex public health interventions. Soc Sci Med. 2012 Dec;75(12):2299-306. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.08.032
Course director
Sarah Fredsted Villadsen, Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, sfv@sund.ku.dk
Signe Smith Jervelund, Section of Health Services Research, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, ssj@sund.ku.dk
Teachers
• Morten Hulvej Rod, Director and Professor National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, DK (to be confirmed)
• Ulla Toft, Clinical Professor, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen and Head of Department, Research in Prevention, Health Promotion and Community Care, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, DK
• Catharina Thiel Sandholt, Postdoc, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, DK
• Marius Brostrøm, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, DK
• Henriette Knold Rossau, Postdoc, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, DK
• Graham Moore, Professor, School of Social Sciences, University of Cardiff, Wales
• Peter Craig, Professor, School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Skotland
• Paul Frederic Blanche, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, DK
• Stine Dandanell Garn, Special consultant, National Reseach Center for the Working Environment, DK
• Anders Blædel Gottlieb Hansen, reseacher, Center for Health Promotion and Prevention, Frederiksberg Hospital, The Capitial Region of Copenhagen, DK
• Camilla Palmhøj, Head of research, DEFACTO, Region Midt, DK (to be confirmed)
• Kevin Harris, Associate Professor, Department of Sports, University of Hartpury, UK
• Chris Bonell, Professor, Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygeine, UK
• Signe Smith Jervelund, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, ssj@sund.ku.dk, DK
• Sarah Fredsted Villadsen, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, sfv@sund.ku.dk, DK
Dates
12. December 2024 09:00 – 11:00
14-16 January 2025 and 4-6 February 2025 09:00-16:00
Course location
CSS, Øster Farimagsgade 5, 1353 Copenhagen C
Registration
Please register before 30. November 2024
Expected frequency
Every third year
Seats to PhD students from other Danish universities will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and according to the applicable rules. Applications from other participants will be considered after the last day of enrolment.
Note: All applicants are asked to submit invoice details in case of no-show, late cancellation or obligation to pay the course fee (typically non-PhD students). If you are a PhD student, your participation in the course must be in agreement with your principal supervisor.