Population Health Management

Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the principles and purpose of Population Health Management.

• Understand how population health needs, inequalities and wider determinants can influence outcomes.

• Recognise the role of linked information and intelligence in understanding populations and supporting decision-making.

• Understand the distinction between population segmentation, risk stratification and cohort identification.

• Identify opportunities for targeted intervention within different populations.

• Consider impactability alongside need and risk when prioritising activity.

• Understand how predictive and statistical modelling can contribute to PHM.

• Recognise the importance of data quality, analytical interpretation and appropriate model selection.

• Develop appropriate outcomes and measures for PHM interventions.

• Understand the principles of intervention design and implementation.

• Consider how interventions can be evaluated using appropriate baselines and measures.

• Understand how health inequalities and equity can be incorporated throughout the PHM process.

• Translate population health intelligence into practical priorities and actions.

• Understand the importance of evaluation, learning, adaptation and sustainability.

Training Methodology

The course combines tutor-led explanation with discussion, examples, case studies and practical group work. Rather than treating Population Health Management as a purely analytical discipline, participants will consider how intelligence, professional knowledge, stakeholder involvement and practical delivery need to work together.

A case-study approach is used to bring the elements of PHM together. The existing course materials use cardiometabolic disease to explore demographics, risk factors, segmentation, cohort selection, intervention design, outcomes, predictive modelling and evaluation. This can be adapted to other population health challenges according to the needs of the participants or commissioning organisation. [

Participants will have opportunities to consider their own populations and services throughout the course. Group activities encourage them to move beyond describing a problem towards identifying who could benefit from intervention, what might be done differently and how they would know whether it had worked.

The three-day format allows concepts to be developed progressively while providing time for participants to reflect on how they could apply them within their own organisations.

Organisational Impact

Population Health Management can help organisations move from describing demand and activity towards understanding need, variation, inequality, risk and opportunities for intervention.

The course supports a more systematic approach to using data and intelligence to determine where resources and interventions could have the greatest impact. It encourages participants to consider not only who has the greatest need or risk, but where intervention may realistically change outcomes.

Participants will also consider how PHM can support collaboration across organisational and professional boundaries. The materials emphasise multidisciplinary working, linked information and the combination of analytical insights with local health and care expertise when developing interventions.

Importantly, the course does not end with identifying a target population. Participants consider the complete journey from defining the problem through intervention design, implementation, evaluation, learning and the potential embedding of successful approaches into routine practice

Personal Impact

Participants will develop greater confidence in understanding and applying Population Health Management rather than viewing it simply as a collection of datasets, dashboards or analytical techniques.

They will develop a clearer understanding of how segmentation, risk stratification and predictive approaches can contribute to decision-making, together with their limitations. The course will also help participants ask more useful questions of population health data, particularly around what action should follow from an analytical finding.

For analysts, the course provides a broader understanding of how analytical work fits into the commissioning, intervention and improvement cycle. For managers, clinicians and other professionals, it provides a practical understanding of what analytical approaches can contribute and how they can work effectively with analytical colleagues.

Who Should Attend?

This course is suitable for anyone involved in understanding populations, planning services, commissioning interventions or improving population outcomes, including:

• Population health analysts

• Public health professionals

• Business intelligence and information professionals

• Commissioners

• Clinicians and healthcare professionals

• Service managers

• Integrated care and system teams

• Strategy and planning staff

• Improvement teams

• Researchers

• Local authority professionals

• Programme and project staff

• Professionals working across health, care, employment and community services

The course is particularly useful for multidisciplinary groups, as the PHM approach in the course explicitly combines analytical evidence with professional expertise, stakeholder involvement and local knowledge.

Course Outline

Across the three days, the course will explore areas including:

• Principles and approaches to Population Health Management

• Understanding populations and population health needs

• Population health inequalities and wider determinants

• Data and intelligence for Population Health Management

• Population segmentation and cohort identification

• Risk stratification and impactability

• Identifying opportunities for intervention

• Prioritising populations and interventions

• Designing targeted interventions

• Outcome measurement and appropriate indicators

• Predictive modelling and analytical approaches

• Interpreting and using analytical outputs

• Data quality and the limitations of modelling

• Evaluation and measuring impact

• Understanding costs, benefits and wider outcomes

• Continuous improvement and learning

• Collaboration and stakeholder involvement

• Sustainability and embedding successful interventions

• Translating PHM intelligence into practical action

• Practical application through case studies, discussion and group exercises

Duration:

3 days

The course can be delivered as three linked workshops, allowing participants to apply learning between sessions and progressively develop their approach to a population health challenge. 

Pre-requisites:

Previous statistical training is not required, although the course contains analytical and statistical concepts. These are considered primarily in terms of their interpretation and application within Population Health Management rather than mathematical calculation.