Program Description

The Ph.D. program in Health Services Research is designed to prepare students to conduct health services research and/or teach at a university level. The program of study is designed around the interests of the individual, taking previous academic training and professional experience into account. Emphasis in the program is in research methods, statistics, and theoretical and empirical concepts in health services research, policy and management. The HSR PhD Program is offered for full-time and part-time students.

Graduates of the PhD Program in Health Services Research will be prepared for employment as researchers and senior program leaders in: colleges and universities, federal and state governmental agencies, public health organizations, health care provider organizations, advocacy organizations, and international health provider and advocacy organizations.

Administratively located in the Department of Public Health Sciences (publichealth.charlotte.edu), the HSR PhD program is interdisciplinary, with courses taught by faculty from the College of Health and Human Services, the Belk College of Business, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This approach allows the HSR PhD Program to incorporate multiple perspectives and draw on the strengths of scholars from diverse disciplines.

The PhD in Health Services Research consists of 57 post-master’s total credit hours including four major areas:

  1. Interdisciplinary health services research theoretical courses (9 credits);
  2. Methods and methodological issues (15 credits);
  3. HSRD 8200 Seminar to be taken every spring for the first 4 years (1 credit/year)
  4. GRAD 8002 Professionalism and the Responsible Conduct of Research (2 credits)
  5. Area emphasis (9 credits); and
  6. Dissertation (18 credits maximum).

As defined in the Graduate Catalog, a semester course load totaling nine credit hours is considered full‑time. Doctoral-level courses are considerably more time-consuming than most courses at the master’s level, and doctoral students should also typically be involved in conducting research in collaboration with faculty. Students should not register for more than 10 credit hours in a given semester. A course load less than nine hours is considered part-time.

Required courses in the curriculum include:

Interdisciplinary Theoretical Courses (9 credits required)

HSRD 8001: Introduction to Health Services Research (3)

(3) Introductory course in models, theoretical frameworks and key components of health services research. Historical development of health services research will be traced. An in-depth study of social determinants of health will be explored.

HSRD 8004/PPOL 8667: Economics of Health and Healthcare (3)

This course will use economic theory and econometrics to analyze the functioning of the health care sector and appropriate public policy. Topics will include: how markets for medical care differ from other markets, the demand for medical care, the demand and supply of health insurance, the role of competition in medical markets, managed care, managed competition, and the role of the public sector in regulating and financing health care. The topic list is flexible and student input will be solicited and welcomed.

HSRD 8002: Healthcare Systems and Delivery (3)

Doctoral seminar to provide a theoretical and empirical basis for understanding major organizational, delivery, and financing structures and related health outcomes comprising present day health care in the United States and globally. Evidence from health services research studies will be discussed as part of the identification of key areas for future research. Open only to students admitted to the PhD in Health Services Research or permission of the instructor.

PPOL 8663/HSRD 8005: Health Policy (3)

Prerequisites:Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or Health Services Research programs and a graduate level course providing an adequate introduction to the U.S. health care system such as HADM 6112, MPAD 6172, or permission of the Instructor. This course examines the formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation of health policy at national, state, and local levels through extensive readings in relevant health and policy literatures.

HSRD 8003/PPOL 8665: Analytic Epidemiology (3)

Crosslisted as HLTH 6260. Pre- or corequisites: a graduate introductory course in Epidemiology such as HLTH 6202, Community Epidemiology, or HADM 6104, Health and Disease. Principles and methods of studying advanced epidemiology, with emphasis on the analytic approach.

Includes: advanced techniques in the establishment of disease causation in groups and communities. Such topics a risk assessment, environmental exposures, stratification and adjustment, and multivariate analysis in epidemiology are covered. Emphasis is also placed on quality assurance and control and communicating results of epidemiological studies in professional publications and settings.

Methods & Methodological Issues (15 credits required)

HSRD 8101: Design of Health Services Research (3)

Prerequisite: Masterís level Applied Biostatistics course or equivalent. This course will provide an overview of quantitative and qualitative methods as applied to design and analysis of health services research problems. Qualitative topics: overview of philosophies of qualitative inquiry, characteristics of qualitative research design, managing qualitative data, and qualitative methods. Quantitative topics: categories and levels of quantitative research, characteristics of a good research design, relationship between theory and research, selection process for measurement tools, power analysis, sampling techniques, design sensitivity, and human subject protection. Open only to students admitted to the PhD program in Health Services Research or permission of instructor.

HSRD 8102: Advanced Design of Health Services Research (3)

Prerequisites: STAT 8110/HSRD 8110, Applied Biostatistics: Regression, and HSRD 8101, Design of Health Services Research. This course will provide an overview of advanced quantitative methods as applied to design and analysis of health services research problems. Topics include: cost-effectiveness analysis, missing data, endogenous variables, panel data methods, and duration analysis. Other current topics in the design and analysis of health services research will also be considered. Open only to students admitted to PhD Health Services Research program or permission of the instructor.

HSRD 8103: Large Data Sets and Health Services Research (3)

Prerequisite: STAT 8111/HSRD 8111, Applied Biostatistics: Multivariate Methods, and HSRD 8102, Advanced Design of Health Services Research. Health quality and outcomes issues addressed through secondary data analysis using large, public data sets will be examined. Issues related to secondary analysis and drawing items from multiple data sets will be discussed. Analytical techniques such as adjustments for missing data, transformations of data, and risk adjustment will be applied using public data sets. Open only to students admitted to PhD Health Services Research program or permission of the instructor.

HSRD 8104: Program Evaluation, Outcomes and Quality (3)

Prerequisite: HSRD 8102, Advanced Design of Health Services Research or permission of the instructor. Introductory course in evaluation research in health care settings. Emphasis is on conceptual, methodological, organizational, political, and ethical problems in evaluating programs. Tasks of identifying quality and outcome indicators, choosing methods, assessing feasibility, assuring quality data, addressing population and program diversity, project management, and incorporating context into reports of findings are also examined.

HSRD 8106: Advanced Data Management for Health Services Research (3)

Prerequisites: STAT 8110/HSRD 8110, Applied Biostatistics: Regression; or permission of the instructor. Includes study of the concepts, principles and statistical methods of analysis of discrete and continuous multivariate data. Students will learn to use the most popular methods of multivariate data reduction, classification and clustering such as principal components, factor analysis and canonical correlation analysis. Design issues, verification of the assumptions and interpretation of the results will be discussed. Skills for concise presentation of the results of statistical analysis will be developed.

STAT 8110/HSRD 8110: Applied Biostatistics: Regression (3)

STAT 8111/HSRD 8111: Applied Biostatistics: Multivariate (3)

HSRD 8612: 8612: Seminar in Grant Proposal Writing (3)

Other Required Courses:

HSRD 8200. Seminar in Health Services Research. (1) Guided reading and presentation course introducing the peer reviewed literature in health services research. Students will be introduced to reading, reviewing and presenting literature. This course is required for the HSR PhD program. Graded on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis only.

GRAD 8002: Professionalism and the Responsible Conduct of Research (2) Cross-listed as GRAD 6002. An introduction to several aspects of a successful professional career emphasizing research. Designed to benefit graduate students across the University. Focuses on practical skills and critical thinking about the responsible conduct of research, highlighting the nine areas of instruction required by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF). Features several different speakers with expertise in various areas of professionalism and research ethics.

Area Emphasis (9 credits)

Students may select one of the following areas to provide depth in a chosen area of special interest and emphasis, or define an area of emphasis not listed here with the approval of the Program Director, Dissertation Committee Chair/faculty advisor, and other faculty as needed. Areas of emphasis include:

  • Aging/long-term care
  • Health policy
  • Health disparities
  • Health promotion
  • Health care organization/administration
  • Mental health
  • Research methods

A student may also select another relevant area of emphasis, providing it can be fulfilled with existing graduate courses or through independent study courses with HSR PhD faculty.