"For my current job role, PHDA 06 evaluation course reinforced work planning, stakeholder engagement planning, and reporting planning skills -- their corresponding activities are prevalent at my job."
PHDA testimonials
PHDA 06 Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation
PHDA Overall program/course experience
"I enjoyed all the courses. In particular, I found the GIS course very interesting and fun as I had never worked in this subject area before. I also benefitted from learning new SAS skills in other PHDA courses. Prior to taking the program, I had no knowledge of SAS.
The instructors were all very knowledgeable and experienced. They really supported students through engaging conversations and encouragement for our work assignments. The PHDA courses catered to both beginner students as well as those with experience in the field. Instructors were always willing to provide extra resources and support – the courses were never boring!"
PHDA full testimonial
- How did you learn about the program and what motivated you to enroll?
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My postdoctoral supervisor suggested it to me – my PhD work was qualitative, and I’m interested in doing more mixed-methods and quantitative research using administrative data so it seemed like a good fit. The fact that it was online and I could take the courses at my own pace was an additional motivator.
- Tell us about your course experience. What skills did you develop and which courses provided the greatest benefit to you?
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I developed a number of skills, most importantly in working with administrative data and statistical analysis. The evaluation course was probably the most useful as it is something I’d like to incorporate into my future research much more.
- How have you been able to (or how do you plan to) apply your new skills in your work/research?
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I am currently planning an evaluation of a health program that will include using administrative data, so hopefully it will give me plenty of opportunity to use the skills I’ve developed.
- What do you think were the strengths of this program? Please provide examples.
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The flexibility of timing due to the entirely online nature of the program stood out to me. I could work on things when I had the time, which I think is a great feature for people who are generally working full time. I also liked the mix of discussion and individual assignments in the courses; getting to hear others’ opinions and experiences was very useful.
- Would you recommend this program to others? If so, what recommendations/suggestions would you give those interested in applying to this program?
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Yes, I would recommend this program to others, although I would definitely suggest only taking one course at a time. Even working only part time, taking two courses at once was a bit much.
PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographical Information Systems
"I developed an understanding of not only how descriptive statistics can be geographically interpreted, but also how inferential statistics can be geographically interpreted. It taught me how to begin thinking spatially in-terms of patterns of health outcomes – neighbourhood make up, neighbourhood location, infrastructure, environmental concerns, etc."
PHDA 06 Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation
"PHDA 06 Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation course was a bit different as it did not have an SRTL lab component. I had taken a very similar course within my Master’s degree but it wasn’t as applied as the PHDA 06 course which had a very practical project component. I found the instructor’s experience and feedback as well as the peer review work really enabled me to get a lot out of the course evaluation project I completed."
University of British Columbia, 201-2206 East Mall, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z3
Health Data Research Network Canada (HDRN) member
International Population Data Linkage Network (IPDLN) member
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