ESHPM offers four courses for incoming exchange students. You can choose from a 30 EC minor or 3 separate courses and a minor ranging from 5 to 15 EC.
Modular minor
Healthcare spending is increasing rapidly. This minor uses insights from behavioural and health economics to study how this spending can be done more efficiently. This is done from different perspectives: individual and organisational in the main subject, and hospital, national and global perspectives on health and behaviour in the electives.
Good healthcare is essential for a long and healthy life. Much progress has been made in recent decades, but many countries still face enormous challenges when it comes to financing and providing high-quality healthcare. On average, health and life expectancy have improved, but there are large differences between and also within demographic groups. Lifestyle and preventive measures play an important role in this context. Academics from the disciplines of health economics, behavioural economics, public health and global health are joining forces to make healthcare systems more equitable and effective with existing financial resources. The results of this research will be reflected in this minor.
This 30 EC minor consists of four modules: a major introductory module of 15 EC and three electives of 5 EC each from Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management.
Minor and courses
In this minor, we apply psychology, behavioural and health economics to understand and develop interventions to improve health and behaviour.
People generally attach great importance to their health, citing it as one of the most important aspects for a happy life. Yet many people do not adhere to a healthy lifestyle and therefore seem to behave contrary to their own life goals. Smoking, physical inactivity, rejecting vaccination and screening or not following doctors' recommendations are popular examples. This raises the question of how to change behaviour and improve health and well-being. This is a question that concerns individuals, schools, companies and governments and is the focus of this minor. In recent decades, there have been many different approaches to how behaviour change can potentially be achieved. In many fields, but especially in economics, individuals are traditionally seen as "rational decision-makers", i.e. they know what they want and make reasoned choices to achieve their goal of better health and happiness. In this view, policies or interventions to promote behavioural change are only needed when individuals are misinformed or their choice is limited.
The value-based Health Care (VBHC) course will teach students on all the facets of VBHC. VBHC was introduced to address the challenge of cost-control while maintaining quality. It aligns the interests of all stakeholders by maximizing value for patients and populations. The VBHC approach is growing rapidly and appears on health policy agendas in many countries. Off course shifting to a new form comes with its challenges as current institutions need to shift.
During the course VBHC, both advantages and disadvantages, and the challenges ahead will be discussed. This will be achieved by literature, lectures, workgroups and guest lectures. The theory will be taken to practice by guest lectures to learn what VBHC means for patients, doctors and other stakeholders in health care. These learning forms will prepare the student for the written exam at the end of the course.
This elective is developed by the Erasmus Initiative Smarter Choices for Better Health in which ESHPM, Erasmus MC and ESE are participating.
Rationing health care is as contentious as it is inevitable. Even though health care resources are ever growing, they remain limited and insufficient to meet all population demands and needs. In this minor, you will learn about the efficiency and equity aspects of rationing health care, and international differences in supply- and demand side rationing approaches. This course includes topics such as waiting lists, delineating the basic benefits package, solidarity, and co-payments. After completing the course, students will be acquainted with different forms of rationing and priority setting, mainly from an economic perspective. Relevant topics will be discussed during 6 weeks of interactive (guest) lectures and will be examined by a written exam.
This elective is developed by the Erasmus Initiative Smarter Choices for Better Health in which ESHPM, Erasmus MC and ESE are participating.
Exams
Exams usually take place after the last class. Re-sits of the exams take place in April and July. Your contact person of the Education Service Centre will register you for the exams and re-sit (if needed).
Please find more information about examinations on our website: examinations.
Workload & EC
Each course has a workload expressed in an amount of European Credits (EC). A total of 60 credits represents the workload of a full year of study; 1 EC stands for 28 hours of study. Studying includes: attending lectures and workgroup meetings, planning, reading, preparing for the exam, writing essays, and carrying out assignments.
Please note: registering for a course during the application process is not a guarantee that you can eventually follow the course. We do our best to place you for all the courses mentioned in your application, but since there are limited spots per course it could happen occasionally that we cannot place you for all of them.