Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
Institutional Training Programs
Bloomberg School of Public Health
Contact
Albert Wu, M.D., M.P.H
Program Director
Health Policy and Management
The Johns Hopkins University
624 North Broadway, Room 653 Hampton House
Baltimore, MD 21205
Web site: http://www.jhsph.edu/HPM
Content Areas & Program Description
The pre-doctoral training program at Johns Hopkins Department of Health Policy & Management is prepared to train students as interdisciplinary Ph.D. health services researchers within several broad areas that are of considerable priority to our Nation's health care delivery system. Our program's overall intent is to prepare trainees to conduct independent health services research within the following topic areas:
- Patient Safety, Quality and Outcomes: This area will focus on the factors associated with the attainment of patient safety, efficiency, quality and outcomes of care delivery in diverse settings. We will address clinical, management and patient/family perspectives. We will encompass a range of research foci including patient safety, management systems for improvement, learning and accountability, patient centered outcomes, implementation science for adoption of evidence-based practice, development of advanced metrics for quality and safety, effective adoption of health IT for intervention and measurement.
- Transforming the Financing and Organization of Health Care Services: This area will focus on research that seeks to expand our understanding of the ways in which our health care system's public and private financing mechanisms (e.g., coverage benefit and provider payment design) and organizational structure affect the efficiency, equity, and quality of care.
- Reducing Health Care Disparities for Vulnerable Populations: This area will focus on racial and ethnic minorities and populations disadvantaged by lack of access to health services (low income persons, uninsured children, residents of underserved areas) and vulnerable groups with complex care needs that often lead to poor care coordination and lower quality of care (e.g., those with mental illness, people with disabilities, and elderly with multiple chronic conditions).
The 3 areas of pre-doctoral training build from a common core of course work that emphasizes statistical modeling, measurement, and evaluation design methodologies that are applied using conceptual frameworks from health services research. Our goal is to educate students broadly and to offer them considerable latitude in selecting dissertation topics within each focus area. Our strength is a faculty that brings an unusual depth and breadth of expertise and active research programs in which trainees can participate and learn. The core faculty have academic appointments (primary or secondary) in Health Policy and Management (HPM). The core faculty are supplemented by a large number of resource faculty both from HPM and from elsewhere in Public Health and the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Business, Arts & Sciences and Engineering.
Students are generally required to enroll in the Health Services Research and Policy (HSR and P) Ph.D. track within the Department of Health Policy and Management (HPM) of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The three areas of pre-doctoral training outlined above build from a common core of course work that emphasize statistical, measurement, and evaluation design methodologies that are applied using conceptual frameworks from health services research. All students also are required to take core courses applicable to health care policy. Our goal is to educate students broadly and to offer them considerable latitude in selecting dissertation topics within the above areas of focus.
Our strength is a faculty that brings an unusual depth and breadth of expertise and active research programs in which trainees can participate and learn. The core training faculty have academic appointments in the Department of HPM. The core faculty is supplemented by a large number of resource faculty from elsewhere in the School of Public Health and also from the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Business, Arts and Sciences and Engineering.
Generally, students take 1.5-2 years of course work. Students usually enter the program possessing a Master's-level degree. They are expected to initiate their doctoral dissertation research upon completion after the second year. Students are generally supported for a 2-year period on the grant and then are assisted in seeking funding on their own. Most students are also assisted in finding part-time research positions at the Johns Hopkins University or at the numerous public and private health services research and policy organizations in the Baltimore/Washington area.
U.S. citizens and permanent residents interested in the Johns Hopkins pre-doctoral NRSA program should apply to the "Health Services Research and Policy" Ph.D. program in the Department of HPM. A link to the online admissions process is available at http://www.jhsph.edu/HPM. On the application form prospective students should indicate that they wish to be considered for the "AHRQ NRSA" training program. No other special application process is required. The application deadline is December 1st of each year for the class entering in the Fall of the following year.