Developing methods for benefit measurement in health-related economic analyses and their use in selecting public health promotional programs. The program involves the creation, validation and use of a suite of instruments for evaluating outcomes of health promotional programs, including adult and childhood obesity, depression and smoking - areas that are universally recognised as being of importance for the Australian community. The program will provide multiple scoring algorithms for each of th ....Developing methods for benefit measurement in health-related economic analyses and their use in selecting public health promotional programs. The program involves the creation, validation and use of a suite of instruments for evaluating outcomes of health promotional programs, including adult and childhood obesity, depression and smoking - areas that are universally recognised as being of importance for the Australian community. The program will provide multiple scoring algorithms for each of the instruments in order to test the sensitivity of results to assumptions made about social values, and will produce Australian estimates of the person trade-off weights used in the Australian and Victorian Burden of Disease studies (which presently use Dutch PTO weights). Read moreRead less
Competition in medical labour markets. A sharp increase in the supply of medical practitioners has occurred in Australia. This is expensive and has uncertain effects on population health, earnings, and the distribution of medical practitioners. The aim of this project is to examine the impact of competition and increased supply on the prices charged, the quality of care provided, and the health status of patients. The research also aims to examine the location choices of medical practitioners an ....Competition in medical labour markets. A sharp increase in the supply of medical practitioners has occurred in Australia. This is expensive and has uncertain effects on population health, earnings, and the distribution of medical practitioners. The aim of this project is to examine the impact of competition and increased supply on the prices charged, the quality of care provided, and the health status of patients. The research also aims to examine the location choices of medical practitioners and is expected to generate new and important evidence using unique longitudinal data.Read moreRead less
A new quality of life instrument with older people for economic evaluation. This project aims to develop and validate a new preference-based quality-of-life instrument with applications in aged-care. The new instrument will be developed with older people receiving aged care services, and will focus upon incorporating their values into the measurement and valuation of quality of life for economic evaluation. The new instrument will have immediate applications in quality assessment and economic ev ....A new quality of life instrument with older people for economic evaluation. This project aims to develop and validate a new preference-based quality-of-life instrument with applications in aged-care. The new instrument will be developed with older people receiving aged care services, and will focus upon incorporating their values into the measurement and valuation of quality of life for economic evaluation. The new instrument will have immediate applications in quality assessment and economic evaluation, improving the quality of life and wellbeing of older Australians, and will assist in determining the relative cost effectiveness of new and existing services.
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The identification and measurement of equity and other health sector objectives. The project will investigate public expectations and values about the health system. The results will: (i) challenge the recent WHO evaluation of health systems in which 75 percent of the total score came from objectives other than population health; (ii) provide policy makers with numerical scores to indicate the relative importance of different broad objectives (such as access and the distribution of health servic ....The identification and measurement of equity and other health sector objectives. The project will investigate public expectations and values about the health system. The results will: (i) challenge the recent WHO evaluation of health systems in which 75 percent of the total score came from objectives other than population health; (ii) provide policy makers with numerical scores to indicate the relative importance of different broad objectives (such as access and the distribution of health services and the question of access to services); (iii) provide health service researchers with numerical scores to indicate where there are higher priority services or recipients: for example, the young or those with long term disabilities.Read moreRead less
The effect of competition and doctor heterogeneity on prices charged by doctors. Prices charged by doctors can have important effects on health care costs, access to health care and health status. This research will examine the determinants of prices charged by doctors. The results will be important in understanding the pricing practices of doctors and their impact on health care costs.
COst-effectiveness analyses of improved adherence to Management PLans among AustralIANS (COMPLIANS). Chronic diseases are the leading cause of disability in the community and over $34billion is spent each year on health services in Australia treating these diseases. It is hoped that the project will lead to identification of opportunities for cost-effective prevention and treatment of lung and other chronic diseases and that this will lead to more cost-effective deployment of healthcare resourc ....COst-effectiveness analyses of improved adherence to Management PLans among AustralIANS (COMPLIANS). Chronic diseases are the leading cause of disability in the community and over $34billion is spent each year on health services in Australia treating these diseases. It is hoped that the project will lead to identification of opportunities for cost-effective prevention and treatment of lung and other chronic diseases and that this will lead to more cost-effective deployment of healthcare resources. Improvements in the management and treatment of these diseases will result in an improvement in the quality of life of Australian patients, and their active and productive participation in society for as long as possible.Read moreRead less
Bargaining and the price of new pharmaceuticals in Australia: An empirical analysis. The proposed research will consider whether there is a trade-off between price and access and will identify features of the regulatory framework that contribute to delays in securing access to drugs for diseases with no alternative therapy. It will provide decision makers with the necessary information to negotiate the lowest achievable price for drugs, freeing up resources for use elsewhere in the health sector ....Bargaining and the price of new pharmaceuticals in Australia: An empirical analysis. The proposed research will consider whether there is a trade-off between price and access and will identify features of the regulatory framework that contribute to delays in securing access to drugs for diseases with no alternative therapy. It will provide decision makers with the necessary information to negotiate the lowest achievable price for drugs, freeing up resources for use elsewhere in the health sector or slowing the growth in healthcare expenditure.Read moreRead less
The role of taxes and subsidies in promoting healthy lifestyles: an economic analysis. This project will look at two critically important policy relevant questions in public health terms - obesity prevention and changing consumption patterns with respect to drinks consumption, including alcohol.
Economic Modelling of the Nurses' Labour Market in Australia. Nurses play an important role in the health system and help to ensure individuals lead healthier, happier and more productive lives. Devising cost-effective policies to ensure an adequate supply of motivated and productive nurses is crucial in achieving efficiency and equity in the health care system. The results will be used by government to help set optimal pay and conditions for nurses, and to ensure that these are competitive with ....Economic Modelling of the Nurses' Labour Market in Australia. Nurses play an important role in the health system and help to ensure individuals lead healthier, happier and more productive lives. Devising cost-effective policies to ensure an adequate supply of motivated and productive nurses is crucial in achieving efficiency and equity in the health care system. The results will be used by government to help set optimal pay and conditions for nurses, and to ensure that these are competitive with other nurse employers. This will provide a firm evidence-base to reduce nurse shortages and therefore increase the quality of patient care in Australia.Read moreRead less
Mis-reporting, adaptation and anchoring: the implications for self assessed health. In terms of targeting scarce public health resources, information concerning the true health status of different social groups is important. This project will provide more accurate information on the health of the Australian population using data already collected on a routine basis. Resources can then be targeted to reduce health inequalities.