Institutional Training Programs: University of Wisconsin

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Institutional Training Programs (T32s)

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Department of Population Health Sciences
School of Medicine

Contact

Pre-doctoral Training Program

Dennis G. Fryback, Ph.D.
Director, Department of Population Health Sciences
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine
610 Walnut Street, Room 685
Madison, WI 53726-2397
Phone: (608) 262-5997
E-mail: dfryback@wisc.edu

Maureen A. Smith, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.
Associate Director, Department of Population Health Sciences
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine
610 Walnut Street, Room 603
Madison, WI 53726-2397
Phone: (608) 262-4802
E-mail: maureensmith@wisc.edu

Pascale Carayon, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Department of Industrial Engineering
University of Wisconsin College of Engineering
393 Mechanical Engineering Building
1513 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706-1572
Phone: (608) 262-9797
E-mail: carayon@engr.wisc.edu

Web site: http://www.pophealth.wisc.edu/HSR/traininggrant.htm

Content Areas

Determinants of Individual and Population Health.
Measurement of Health Outcomes.
Health Care Technology Assessment.
Healthcare Quality Improvement and Patient Safety.
Health Economics.
Epidemiology.
Quantitative Methods in Health Services Research and Population Health Sciences.
Human Factors Engineering.
Health Systems Engineering.
Quality Engineering.

Program Description

The goal of this training program is to produce highly skilled health services researchers who have a strong interdisciplinary foundation in population health sciences, systems and quality engineering, and quantitative methods. Health of individuals and health collectively in populations is the product of many determinants ranging from personal behaviors and genetic endowment of individuals, to environmental exposures, to healthcare system characteristics and processes, to socioeconomic and racial-ethnic factors. Although our students may each eventually conduct detailed research only in a subset of these areas, it is our desire to see that they have exposures and analytic tools allowing them to place their specific research in a larger population focus. They should understand and be responsive to population-level tradeoffs for resources to improve health as well as be skilled in general analytic methods for health services research and quality improvement from a systems perspective.

Most pre-doctoral trainees will pursue a Ph.D. degree in the Population Health program, which encompasses core training opportunities in health services research, epidemiology, health economics, and quantitative methods from a population focus. Although the Population Health Program is administratively housed in the Department of Population Health Sciences (DPHS) of the UW Medical School, the highly inter-disciplinary faculty in the Program hold appointments in seven schools and colleges across the campus (Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Letters & Science, Social Work, Engineering, and Business) and many departments within these. Other trainees will pursue Ph.D. degrees through the Department of Industrial Engineering, which includes concentrations in health systems engineering, quality engineering, and human factors engineering. Trainees in this arm of the proposed program will be affiliated with the Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement (CQPI) and the AHRQ-sponsored Developmental Center for Research and Evaluation in Patient Safety (titled SEIPS or Systems Engineering Initiative in Patient Safety).

All pre-doctoral trainees regardless of degree program will share a common year of introductory course work in Population Health. These core courses include the determinants of health, epidemiology, health services research, and quantitative methods. Additional required courses include quality in healthcare, sociotechnical systems engineering, and ethics in research. Trainees in the Population Health Ph.D. will have additional coursework in quantitative methods, measuring and monitoring health, medical technology assessment, health economics, and sociology, while trainees in the Industrial Engineering Ph.D. will have coursework in human factors engineering, health systems engineering, or industrial applications of modern quality improvement methods. All trainees will participate in an ongoing weekly seminar for doctoral students in the Department of Population Health Sciences; this seminar includes regular training experiences in ethical conduct of research as well as other aspects of grant writing and research conduct.

Current as of November 2007

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Internet Citation:

Institutional Training Programs (T32s): University of Wisconsin. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/fund/training/T32-27.htm