Program Overview

New Zealand Health Data Landscape (Online)

The New Zealand Health Data Landscape (Online) is a course designed to advance understanding of how routinely collected data can support healthcare decision-making.

Course Description

This 15-point credit-bearing course comprises 12 weekly modules, providing an overview of key issues to support the appropriate and effective use of large volumes of routinely collected data to drive improvements in the delivery of healthcare.

Recommended Background

Students will have a relevant degree or health qualification, and University Entrance (or equivalent) is required for admission.

Duration

The course duration is 12 weeks.

Next Start Dates

The next start date for Semester Two is 20 July 2026. Applications close one week before the course starts.

Domestic Fees

The estimated domestic fee for this course is $1,443.15, which includes 15% GST but does not include the Student Services Fee, course books, travel, and health insurance, or living costs.

Course Structure

The course covers various topics, including:

• Sources and limitations of routinely collected data and analyses for the New Zealand health sector
• Data life cycle and quality issues
• Population health perspective and burden of disease
• Equity
• Study quality and reporting
• Risk of bias
• Ethics and social licence
• NZ health data strategy and data sovereignty
• Optimising current data and collecting new data
• Indicators
• Dashboards and other visual representations of data
• Analytic methods

Course Benefits

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to critically evaluate strengths and limitations in the quality of routinely collected New Zealand health data and interrogate potential benefits and harms from routinely collected data outputs in relation to population health and inequities. Students will be awarded 15 credit points from the University of Auckland and may have the option to take their credit into the Postgraduate Diploma in Health Sciences (PGDipHSc) in Digital Health, subject to entry criteria and time limits.

Assessment

Learners will be assessed through four assignments that address the learning objectives from each of the modules in the course.

Entry Requirements

This course is for students with a relevant degree or health qualification. Relevant subjects include health sciences, nursing, medicine & surgery, pharmacy, optometry, physiotherapy, dental surgery, medical laboratory science, and clinical psychology. Students must meet the requirements to study at a New Zealand University (e.g., through University Entrance or an alternative entrance pathway).

Studying

The course is designed for working professionals and can be studied at a time that suits the student, within the allocated course dates. The course will run over 12 weeks, with a break in the middle, and will comprise 12 weekly modules.

Certificate of Proficiency

A Certificate of Proficiency (CoP) is a course-only study option that allows students to take a course at the University of Auckland without studying a full programme. It is a good option for those who want to study short-term or to test whether a subject is something they wish to pursue more of in the future. Upon completion of the course, students will not receive a graduation certificate, but their results will be recorded on their official academic transcript, providing evidence of their study.