Background: During the quarter we have examined a number of methodologies and tools to help us better understand and explain complex health care systems and to guide associated decision processes. Although we have built a few limited scope models and gained some experience with analytical approaches to decision making, our primary objective has been to recognize when we can use formal modeling and analysis to support future developments or explore the consequences of changes to current operations. Therefore, the final project should demonstrate your ability to apply knowledge and information from class, exercises and reading assignments to a practical health care situation.
Process: You have developed a healthcare topic/problem for your final project (or you were assigned a topic by the instructors). In this final component of the project, you should carefully describe the explicit objectives, problem or issue you will address, and then collection of models and analytical methods you would use to support the problem/design/opportunity. Assume that you will manage/direct the development and use of the models (you will NOT be required to construct the computational models you characterize). However, to obtain funding and other resources necessary to develop and use them, you must a) justify the use of the methods selected and b) clearly identify the parameters and data required and from where you would obtain the data and parameter values needed.
What the slides should answer: Clear definition of the modeling/analysis process you plan to use that is motivated by the problem context. This plan would identify the specific collection of models and methods to be employed and the points in the project during which each would be used.
Justification for the use of each model and analysis method (i.e., how they will be used to address important questions and the associated project planning/design issues).