title: International Master's Program in health technology assessment and management: assessment of the first edition (2001--2003).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite a clear call for greater input from health technology assessment (HTA) in the areas of clinical practice and policy making, there are currently very few formal training programs. The objectives of our Consortium were to (i) develop a master's level program in HTA, (ii) test its content with a group of Canadian and European students, and (iii) evaluate the Program's strengths and weaknesses.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study presents the results of our evaluation of the first edition of the Master's Program (2001--2003).
  
  
  METHODS
  The evaluation relied on (i) a self-administered student questionnaire for each course (n = 142), (ii) interviews with students (n = 10), and (iii) interviews with internship supervisors (n = 5).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A vast majority of students were satisfied with the course content and particularly appreciated the exercises and materials presented in an intensive format. However, they needed more systematic feedback from faculty members and recommended increasing the methodology content. The six key characteristics of the program are (i) flexible format adapted to the needs of skilled professionals, (ii) continuous interaction between HTA users and producers, (iii) international academic and professional collaboration, (iv) partnership with HTA agencies, (v) global approach to evidence-based methods and practices, and (vi) multidisciplinary approach.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the numerous organizational barriers inherent to creating an international program and several areas for improvement in the Program itself, the Ulysses Project was successful in attaining its objectives. Because there is a growing need for human resources with special training in HTA, further efforts need to be devoted to strengthening the international research capacity in HTA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Administration, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Pascale.Lehoux@umontreal.ca
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lehoux
authors.forename: Renaldo N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Battista
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Granados
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tailliez
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Coyle
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marchetti
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borgia
authors.forename: Gualtiero
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ricciardi
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D003479:Curriculum; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007393:International Educational Exchange; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical