A hospital administrator who cannot read a policy proposal critically will implement it anyway — and live with whatever consequences follow. As healthcare systems grow more complex and policy environments shift faster than ever, the professionals who can actually analyze, question, and shape health policy are the ones who end up influencing outcomes rather than just absorbing them.

The Evidence-Based Health Policy Analysis training course from the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy builds that analytical capacity directly. Participants learn to evaluate health policies using structured frameworks, understand the economics behind policy decisions, and translate complex policy questions into recommendations that hold up under scrutiny.

Through case studies and practical exercises, the course connects policy analysis to real outcomes — health financing, health equity, and system reform — turning participants into more credible advocates for change.

Course Objectives

• Build the ability to critically analyze health policies and craft actionable, evidence-based recommendations.
• Understand how policy analysis shapes decisions on healthcare delivery, health systems strengthening, and reform.
• Grasp the economic dimensions of health policy, including financing and healthcare budgeting.
• Evaluate existing policies for effectiveness and propose reforms that improve healthcare delivery.
• Explore global policy issues — Universal Health Coverage, access, and inequality — and translate them into practical local recommendations.

Who Should Attend?

• Healthcare providers and practitioners who want to understand and influence how policy shapes their practice.
• Healthcare administrators, managers, and policy advisors responsible for organizational decisions.
• Health economists, analysts, and public health professionals engaged in policy advocacy.
• Policymakers, educators, researchers, and international health professionals shaping policy at any level.

The course opens with why policy fluency matters for practitioners, before moving into the tools, the economics, and the advocacy that turn analysis into influence.

Module 1: Why Healthcare Professionals Need Policy Skills

• How healthcare providers, administrators, and managers can contribute to and influence policy-making.
• The policy-making process, from agenda setting to implementation and evaluation.
• Why policy fluency is now a core professional skill, not an optional extra.

Module 2: Reading the Policy Landscape — Core Analysis Tools

• Key frameworks and approaches used in health policy analysis.
• Tools for assessing policy impact on healthcare access, equity, and health systems strengthening.
• Practical exercises applying these tools to real policy questions.

Module 3: The Economics Behind Every Health Policy

• Health financing, cost-effectiveness analysis, and budget allocation.
• Core economic principles underpinning health policy — supply, demand, and incentives.
• How economic policy shapes healthcare delivery and resource distribution.

Module 4: From Evaluation to Reform — What Works and What Changes

• Methods and frameworks for evaluating policy effectiveness, including HIA and cost-benefit analysis.
• Real-world case studies of healthcare policies and the lessons they offer.
• Key challenges in health system reform, from disparities to Universal Health Coverage.

Module 5: Policy Without Borders — Global Perspectives

• Global health challenges and how policy responds to infectious and non-communicable disease.
• The role of WHO, UNICEF, and other international organizations in shaping global health governance.
• Addressing global health inequalities through cross-border policy.

Module 6: Making Your Case — Advocacy and Communication

• Techniques for engaging in health policy advocacy and influencing decision-makers.
• Communicating complex policy issues clearly to policymakers, stakeholders, and the public.
• The value of cross-sectoral collaboration in building sustainable health policy.