Economic evaluation typically considers the cost and consequences of different alternatives in the context of budgetary limitations. Cost analyses form an integral part of economic evaluation. This training package covers content on the development and key components of an economic evaluation, including the different types of cost analyses relevant to health policy development. The supplementary materials at the end are for optional further reading. 

Key learning objectives include: 

identifying the key components of economic evaluations;

describing the different types of cost analyses and how to undertake them;

explaining how broader economic concepts can apply to health systems.

Basic

The online course below provides a comprehensive introduction to economic evaluation, including the different types of cost analyses, and how it applies to public health decisions.

Topic	Source	Title	Format	Duration	Cost and access
Key components of economic evaluation; undertaking cost analyses	Northwest Center for Public Health Practice at The University of Washington (PH Learn Link) Please review all content in Module 7 – Economic Evaluation.	Economic evaluation	Online course	2 hours	Free with registration and login
Practical introduction to cost-effectiveness analysis in health, covering purpose, core methods of analysis and presentation, research question format, and decision trees	Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies	Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) in Health: The ICER Man Cometh (Version 1)	YouTube video	2 hours	–
This course covers why economic evaluation is important, what is economic evaluation, and four types of economic evaluations, 1) cost minimization analysis, 2) cost effectiveness analysis, 3) cost utility analysis, and 4) cost benefit analysis.	Centers for Disease Control (CDC)	TDH Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programs	Online training	30 minutes

Advanced

The online course below covers a broad range of economic topics such as supply and demand, failing markets and health care financing, that go beyond the basic level of knowledge needed to comprehend cost analyses and economic evaluation.

Topic	Source	Title	Format	Duration	Cost and access
Applying economics and financing concepts to health	UNICEF	Health economics and financing	Online course	4–5 hours	Free with registration and login

Supplementary materials

All supplementary materials are optional. The materials below provide further information and perspectives related to economic evaluation in health. They also provide illustrative examples of how cost analyses and economic evaluation apply in practice.

Topic	Source	Title	Format	Duration	Cost and access
Key components of economic evaluation; cost analyses	Centers for Disease Control (CDC)	Introduction to economic evaluation in public health	Online course	1 hour	Free with registration and login
Cost analyses	WHO	What counts in economic evaluations in health?	Text	1 hour	Free, no login required
	Centers for Disease Control (CDC)	Economic evaluation	Webpage tutorial	1 hour	Free, no login required
	Janssen4Patients	Pillars of economic evaluation	Webinar	5 minutes	Free, no login required
Costings and health budgets	WHO	Strategizing national health in the 21st century: a handbook Please review all content in Chapters 7 + 8:   7. Estimating cost implications of a national health policy, strategy or plan 8. Budgeting for health	Text	3–4 hours	Free, no login required
Routine data for costing and economic evaluation	Data for Impact (USAID)	Use of Routine Data for Economic Evaluations - DataForImpactProject (data4impactproject.org)	Webinar	1 hour	Free, no login required