Jen Yaros - Economics of Health Professions Education

Profound changes in the healthcare system and a growing, global shortage of healthcare workers are driving the demand to update and scale-up health professional education. However, due to rising costs and falling budgets, institutes of health professions education (HPE) are operating in a deepening environment of resource scarcity. These concurrent conditions have sparked interest in utilizing cost-effectiveness analysis to guide resource allocation decisions in HPE.

Currently, high-quality cost evidence pertaining to HPE is sparse as economic methodology has yet to be fully adapted to this unique environment. One of the most persistent and fundamental limitations cited in HPE literature is the incomplete identification of costs, which leads to erroneous cost estimates and unreliable evidence. To address these concerns and improve rigor in economic evidence of HPE, this PhD project aims to explore the costs and cost identification methods associated with HPE.

Work on this project began in 2022 through an exploratory review of the literature to identify all known costs, cost perspectives and cost identification methods represented in HPE literature. Results from the initial investigation, will be utilized to develop future investigations designed to validate and prioritize a research agenda and standardize HPE costing theory and methodology.

Yaros J, de Mortier C, oude Egbrink MGA, et al. Identifying costs in health professions education: a scoping review protocol. BMJ Open 2023;13:e074410. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2023-074410