D.2. Skills building seminar: Which school gets the “healthy youth” program funding? Skills building for value-informed decisions
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Public health professionals working at both service and system levels face increasing pressure to integrate evidence from a wide range of disciplines while taking decisions related to public health interventions. The challenge lies not only in understanding the diverse evidence but in combining it effectively to take decisions that are efficient, equitable, and environmentally responsible. As health systems grow more complex and resource constraints intensify, the ability to make informed decisions becomes a critical competency for public health decision-makers. This skills-building session is designed to strengthen participants’ capacity for value-informed decision-making in public health contexts. It emphasizes the importance of balancing multiple, and often competing, criteria such as cost-effectiveness, health outcomes, social equity, and environmental sustainability. Participants will explore how different types of evidence can be systematically assessed and integrated into decision processes that are transparent, structured, and aligned with broader societal goals. At the core of the session is an interactive simulation assignment. In this exercise, participants work collaboratively to conduct a multi-criteria assessment of future intervention alternatives. Participants will be required to identify relevant criteria, weigh their importance, and evaluate the potential impacts of each alternative. This process mirrors real-world decision-making, where trade-offs should be explicitly considered. The simulation encourages critical thinking, multi-criteria decisions and teamwork. Participants will be asked to justify their choices and reconcile differing perspectives within their groups. By engaging in this structured decision-making exercise, participants will gain practical experience in approaching complex public health challenges. They will also develop a deeper understanding of how values influence decisions, and how to make these values explicit in professional practice. Ultimately, the objective of the session is to equip participants with skills and confidence to make more informed, balanced, and accountable decisions. By strengthening these competencies, public health professionals can better contribute to informing policies and interventions that improve health and well-being at the population level, while also addressing issues of fairness and sustainability. Key messages • Strengthening the capacity for making informed, value-based decisions is a critical competency of public health professionals to deal with uncertainty. • By strengthening value-informed decision-making skills, public health professionals can better contribute to fair allocation of public health resources and health improvements. Speakers/Panellists Emilia Aragón De León WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark Kasia Czabanowska Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands Desislava Vankova Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,181
OpenAlex ID: W7223659627