The request to change admissions requirements for the Health Services Research Ph.D. Program and crosslisting of HSRD 8004

Date: March 9, 2011
To: College of Health and Human Services
From: Clarence Greene, Faculty Governance Assistant
Approved On: February 1, 2011
Implementation Date: 2011

Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.

Summary

Health Services Research
Ph.D. in Health Services Research
College of Health and Human Services

704-687-8374
http://health.uncc.edu

Director

Laura A. Talbot, Ph.D., Ed.D., RN, Nursing

Graduate Teaching Faculty

  • Dee Baldwin, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Nursing
  • Suzanne Boyd, Ph.D., Social Work
  • Bill Brandon, Ph.D., Public Policy, PHS Adjunct
  • Mitchell Cordova, Ph.D., Kinesiology
  • Andrew Harver, Ph.D., Public Health Sciences
  • Larissa Huber, Ph.D.,,Public Health Sciences
  • James Laditka, Ph.D., D.A., Public Health Sciences
  • Sarah Laditka, Ph.D., Public Health Sciences
  • Mary Nies, Ph.D., F.A.A.N., Nursing
  • Jim Studnicki, Ph.D., Public Health Sciences
  • Laura Talbot, Ph.D., Ed.D., Nursing
  • Rosemarie Tong, Ph.D., Philosophy
  • Lucille Lombardi Travis PhD, RN, NE-BC, Nursing
  • Jennifer Troyer, Ph.D., Economics

Ph.D. in Health Services Research

This interdisciplinary program in Health Services Research will include course work in biostatistics, health economics, healthcare organizational structures and processes, epidemiology, health policy, personal behaviors, and social factors that affect access to health care, quality and cost of health care, and health outcomes. Graduates will be prepared to conduct interdisciplinary research utilizing quantitative methods supplemented with qualitative methods to advance knowledge to support innovations in health care delivery systems and health policy. All students are required to complete a series of core and special emphasis courses individually developed between the student and their advisor. The cornerstone of the program is the student’s dissertation, which is expected to be a significant contribution based on original and independent research leading to publications in peer reviewed, indexed journals. Graduates are prepared to work in healthcare delivery systems, academia, or government positions.

Additional Admission Requirements

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the graduate school, the following are required for study in the Ph.D. Program in Health Services Research:

  1. Master’s Degree from an accredited university in a health-related field
  2. An overall graduategrade point average (GPA) of at least 3.5 out of 4.0 from an accredited graduate program
  3. Minimum score of 500 on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE); submission of the analytic writing score
  4. Graduate level research methodology and introduction to statistics Completed at least 1 graduate level course in each of the following areas, with a grade of B or higher in each:
  • Statistics or biostatistics
  • Health policy
  • Epidemiology

Applicants will be considered for admission if they have not completed one or more of the above three prerequisite graduate courses. Admitted students lacking any of these courses are able to be admitted; however, the prerequisite courses must be successfully completed before enrolling in the corresponding doctoral level course. Masters level courses in these areas that are taken to fulfill the prerequisite requirements are not counted toward the 64 credit total for the PhD.

  1. An essay that addresses professional and academic experience, motivation for pursuing the degree, specialty area of emphasis to pursue in the program, research interests, and career goals following the program
  2. A current curriculum vitae.
  3. A score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination, which meets university requirements for those applicants whose native language is not English
  4. An interview with the Director or the Director’s designee either in person or by telephone
  5. Three letters of reference, at least one of which is from a former graduate faculty member and one from a former supervisor

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. acknowledges the value of course work for background and preparatory to conducting research. This program emphasizes courses in research methods and analysis, as well as experiences working with faculty on research to support the development of research skills in order to carry out the dissertation on a significant research problem in the area of health services research.

Total hours required

The program requires 64 post-master’s credit hours. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the program, all students will be required to take the general curriculum that includes a sequence of core courses as shown below.

Interdisciplinary Theoretical Base: 15 semester hours. Includes Introduction to Health Services Research, Health Policy, Economics of Health and Healthcare, Health Care Systems and Delivery, and Analytical Epidemiology. There is a prerequisite of a Master’s level course in Epidemiology for the Analytical Epidemiology course and a Master’s level course in Health or Social Policy for the Health Policy course. If not completed before admission, these courses must be completed before the student takes the course for which each is a prerequisite. These courses cannot be applied toward the Area of Interest requirement.

Methods and Methodological Issues: 25 semester hours. Includes Applied Biostatistics: Regression, Design of Health Services Research, Applied Biostatistics: Multivariate, Advanced Data Analysis for Health Services Research, Advanced Design of Health Services Research, Large Data Sets and Health Services Research, Seminar in Grant Proposal Writing, Program Evaluation, Outcomes and Quality and a seminar in Research Ethics. Additionally, six semester hours in anArea of Interest. Students each develop a set of courses in a chosen area of interest that is designed mutually with their advisor. These courses may be at the Master’s or Doctoral level in areas such as research methods, mental health, gerontology, public policy, or health disparities.

Dissertation: 18 semester hours.

Proportion of Courses Open Only to Doctoral Students

Health Services Research Program courses are only open to doctoral students, except with written approval of the instructor and the Director. Students from other university doctoral programs may enroll.

Grades Required

A student must maintain a cumulative average of 3.0 in all course work taken in the program. The seminars will be graded on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis and therefore will not be included in the cumulative average. An accumulation of two C grades will result in termination of the student’s enrollment in the doctoral program. A second failure in any of the following results in dismissal from the program the candidacy examination; the dissertation proposal defense; or final dissertation defense. If a student makes a grade of U or NC on any course, enrollment will be terminated. A doctoral student whose enrollment has been terminated because of grades is ineligible to register in any semester or summer session.

Amount of Transfer Credit Accepted

Only courses with grades of A or B may be accepted for transfer credit. With approval of the student’s advisor, the Doctoral Program Director and the Doctoral Program Committee, a maximum of six hours of transfer credit for post-Master’s coursework earned at a regionally or nationally accredited university within the previous five years will be accepted. The date for the first of these courses will become the starting date for the 8-year period for completing the Ph.D. degree.

College of Health and Human Services Seminars

Doctoral students are expected to attend seminars sponsored by the College.

The Dissertation Process

  1. The student selects a dissertation Chair. The Chair must be a member of the HSR Ph.D. Program Faculty, or a member of the HSR Ph.D. Participating Faculty with a co-Chair who is a member of the Program Faculty. Students should consult with their faculty advisor and the Program Director as they develop their plans for selecting the dissertation committee chair, and for forming the dissertation committee. The student should work closely with the Chair on identifying other committee members, and typically should approach other faculty about serving on the committee only after consulting with the Chair.
  2. Select Dissertation Committee. Must be at least 5 members. Four must be from the HSR Ph.D. Program Faculty or Participating Faculty (one of whom is the Chair). The student submits the form, “Appointment of Doctoral Committee.” The Graduate School appoints the 5th member. The five members of the dissertation committee will serve as the student’s committee for the refinement of the dissertation topic, the development and defense of the dissertation proposal, the development of the dissertation, and dissertation defense.
  3. The Chair of the dissertation committee and the student together select the dissertation topic. The Chair is responsible to ensure that all members of the committee are actively involved and agree to the direction and the specifics of the proposal (e.g., data, methods). Ensuring this involvement and agreement is a major goal of the Topic Approval Meeting. When the Chair approves the topic and approach to the dissertation, the student schedules the Topic Approval Meeting with the Dissertation Committee. The student submits a 2-3 page description of the dissertation plan to the Dissertation Committee at least 2 weeks prior to the Topic Approval Meeting. This single-spaced description of the topic includes the following sections: (1) Specific Aims, (2) Background and Significance, (3) Research Design and Methods. The topic approval meeting is not typically open to visitors. Students will present a brief oral summary of: the dissertation topic, the context of related research literature, data and methods, and implications for policy and practice, followed by questions and discussion among the committee and the student. The topic approval meeting may be repeated as needed.
  1. Following the Topic Approval, the student writes the dissertation proposal and preparesfor the Oral Proposal Defense. The proposal is written in the form of a grant proposal. The student is expected to use NIH PHS398 format, except that she or he is not required to use the NIH forms, and that the proposal does not require preliminary data, biographical sketches, letters of collaboration, or budgets. Thus, the proposal includes the following standard NIH sections:
  1. Specific Aims
  2. Background and Significance
  3. Research Design and Methods
  4. Human Subjects

The entire proposal (not including the Literature Cited section) is limited to 15 single-spaced pages (12 point font). At the discretion of the Chair, additional material may be included in appendices, such as additional details about the analysis, table shells, and so forth. However, it is the expectation of the HSR Ph.D. program that the central elements of the dissertation proposal should be embodied in the 15 page maximum. This requirement is designed to ensure that students have experience writing the dense prose required for a successful grant narrative. It also provides a narrative that is appropriate for submission for funding the dissertation work. All members of the committee must receive the full proposal at least 2 weeks before the Proposal Defense.

Oral Defense of the Dissertation Proposal

  1. The submission of the proposal is followed by the Oral Proposal Defense. In the HSR Ph.D. program, the Oral Proposal Defense is open to HSR Ph.D. faculty and HSR Ph.D. students. The student must provide the title of the proposed dissertation, and the date, time, and location of the Oral Proposal Defense to the Program Director no later than two weeks prior to the Oral Proposal Defense.

The student should prepare a PowerPoint presentation approximately 20 minutes in length summarizing the research proposal. Following the student’s presentation, the committee will ask questions about the research plan. The student will be excused from the meeting to permit the committee to discuss the merits of the proposal, after which the student will return to the meeting to receive the committee’s comments and required modifications to the research plan. After successful completion of the Oral Proposal Defense, the student submits two forms, “Graduate School Petition for Topic Approval” and “Application for Admission to Candidacy.”

Advancement to Candidacy

A doctoral student advances to candidacy after the dissertation topic and approach has been approved by the student’s advisory committee and the Dean of the Graduate School. NOTE: Completing Step 3 above, the topic approval meeting, does not constitute advancement to candidacy. Advancement to candidacy requires approval of both the topic and the detailed dissertation plan at the time of the oral proposal defense, including any required plan for the protection of human subjects. If Human Subjects are involved, the Petition for Topic Approval requires the attachment of the IRB approval.

In addition to the oral examination on the dissertation proposal, the Qualifying Examination includes an oral examination on the HSR Ph.D. student’s doctoral portfolio. The doctoral portfolio presents all work completed by the student in the program, including:

  • A detailed cover letter.
  • Current curriculum vitae.
  • Papers completed during courses taken in the HSR Ph.D. program.
  • Research papers published or in press since admission to the program.
  • Abstracts representing research presented at professional conferences since admission to the program.
  • A professional personal statement (typically 2 to 3 pages) covering, at a minimum, the student’s research focus area(s), and the student’s 2- to 3-year research plan.
  • Additional manuscripts under development.
  • Syllabi developed by the student since admission to the program (where relevant).
  • Student and faculty evaluations of the HSR Ph.D. student’s teaching (where relevant).
  • A statement of teaching philosophy (where relevant to the student’s career plan).

Retake of the Qualifying Examination

A student who fails to complete the Oral Proposal Defense / Qualifying Examination satisfactorily may be given the opportunity to revise components of the research proposal and/or the doctoral portfolio under the direction of the Chair and/or to repeat the Oral Proposal Defense, at the discretion of the Dissertation Committee; a second failure results in dismissal from the Ph.D. program.

HSRD 8801: Dissertation Research (18 Credits)

Completion of the dissertation is the final component of the doctoral degree. A doctoral dissertation must demonstrate the candidate’s ability to conceive, design, conduct, and interpret independent, original, and creative research, and must make a unique contribution to knowledge in the field of health services research. Under the direct supervision of the Dissertation Committee Chairs, students are encouraged to consult regularly with their Dissertation Committee members during the planning, conducting, and writing of the dissertation. The dissertation defense is a public defense. Notice of the location and time will go to the campus community.

Following the approval of the dissertation topic and advancement to doctoral candidacy, students are required to maintain continuous enrollment in HSRD 8801for dissertation study until work is completed. Continuous enrollment begins in the semester after the dissertation topic is approved.

Evaluation

A student must maintain a cumulative average of 3.0 in all course work taken in the program. The seminars will be graded on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis and therefore will not be included in the cumulative average. An accumulation of two C grades will result in termination of the student’s enrollment in the doctoral program. Students will be allowed to repeat the Candidacy Exam, proposal defense, dissertation defense only once. A second failure of the candidacy examination, the dissertation proposal defense, or the final dissertation defense will result in dismissal from the program. If a student makes a grade of Uor NC on any course, enrollment will be terminated. A doctoral student whose enrollment has been terminated due to inadequate grades is ineligible to register in any semester or summer session. Please also see the section of the Graduate Catalog on Academic Regulations.

UNC Charlotte Residency Requirement

The student must satisfy the UNC Charlotte residency requirement for the program by completing 21 credit hours. Residence is considered to be continuous if the student is enrolled in one or more courses in successive semesters until 21 hours are earned.

Time Limits for Completion

All requirements for the degree must be completed within 8 years after the first registration as a doctoral student or the registration for any course transferred into the program toward degree requirements. The student must receive admission to candidacy within 6 years after admission to the program and complete all requirements within 6 years of admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. These time limits are maximums; students will be typically expected to complete the degree requirements within 5 years.

Course in Health Services Research

HSRD 8000. Topics in Health Services Research. (1-4) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Health Services Research program or permission of the instructor. Study of selected topics in health services research. May be repeated for credit. (Offered on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis only). (On demand)

HSRD 8001. Introduction to Health Services Research. (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. (Fall)

HSRD 8002. Health Care Systems and Delivery. (3) Prerequisite: Enrollment in the Ph.D. in Health Services Research program or permission of the instructor. 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. (Fall)

HSRD 8003/PPOL 8665. Analytic Epidemiology. (3) Cross-listed as HLTH 6260. Pre- or corequisite: 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.(Alternate Years)

HSRD 8004/PPOL 8667. Economics of Health and Health Care. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6090. Prerequisite: Enrollment in the interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Health Services Research program or the Ph.D. in Public Policy program, or permission of the instructor. 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. (Alternate Years)

HSRD 8005/PPOL 8663. 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. (Alternate Spring)

HSRD 8101. Design of Health Services Research. (3) Prerequisite: Master�s 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 Ph.D. program in Health Services Research or permission of instructor. (Fall)

HSRD 8102. Advanced Design of Health Services Research. (3) Prerequisites: HSRD 8101, Design of Health Services Research. Corequisite: HSRD 8110/STAT 8110 ,Applied Biostatistics: Regression. 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 Ph.D. Health Services Research program or permission of the instructor. (Spring)

HSRD 8103. Large Data Sets and Health Services Research. (3) Prerequisites: HSRD 8102 and HSRD 8111/STAT 8111; enrollment in the Ph.D. in Health Services Research program or permission of the instructor. 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. (Spring)

HSRD 8104. Healthcare Program Evaluation, Outcomes, and Quality. (3) Corequisites: STAT 8110/HSRD 8110 or permission of the instructor; enrollment in the Ph.D. in Health Services Research program 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. (Alternate Years)

HSRD 8106. Advanced Data Analysis for Health Services Research. (3) This course provides students with skills that will enable them to efficiently conduct advanced health services research with complex and multiple health-related databases. Open only to students admitted to the PhD program in Health Services Research or permission of instructor. (Alternate Years)

HSRD 8110/STAT 8110. Applied Biostatistics: Regression. (3) Prerequisites:Graduate level Introduction to Biostatistics or approved Statistics course; basic knowledge of statistical software; or permission of the instructor. To understand and apply concepts and principles of regression based statistical methods (regression, linear models, logistic regression, Poisson regression) to health related studies. Selection of appropriate methods for analysis, development of skills to conduct the analysis of the data and capability to write in scientific language the results of the study will be studied. (Spring)

HSRD 8111/STAT 8111. Applied Biostatistics: Multivariate Methods. (3) Prerequisites: HSRD 8110/STAT 8110 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. (Fall)

HSRD 8612. Seminar in Grant Proposal Writing. (3)Seminar to develop a grant proposal using existing funding mechanisms from governmental or private funding agencies. This course uses a step-wise approach to writing all major sections of a grant proposal. Proposal development will also familiarize students with governmental guidelines, grant submissions and the peer review process. Open only to students admitted to the PhD program in Health Services Research or permission of instructor.

HSRD 8800. Independent Study in Health Services Research. (1-6) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Health Services Research program or permission of the instructor. Offered on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis only. (On demand)

HSRD 8801. Dissertation Research.(1-9) Prerequisite: Passage of comprehensive examination and approval of dissertation topic by student�s advisory committee. Investigation of a topic in health services research which makes a substantial addition to the field. Maximum of 18 hours allowed under this course designation. Offered on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis only. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

HSRD 8881. Seminar in Research Ethics. (1) Examination of ethical issues related to human subjects research with an emphasis on health services research including review of prominent scientific misconduct cases; federal and local (IRB) regulations, processes and procedures; and possible ethical issues with specific types of research (clinical trials, international research, research with existing data, collaborative research). Offered on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis only. Open only to student admitted to the Health Services Research Ph.D. Program.(Alternate Years)

HSRD 9999. Doctoral Degree Graduate Residency Credit. Prerequisite: Completed enrollment in the maximum 18 hours of HSRD 8801. This course is to allow a student who has taken all permissible credits toward dissertation research to finish work on the dissertation. This course does not count toward the 64 credits for the degree. Offered on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis only.