This proposal aims to build research capacity and methodological sophistication in economic evaluation and priority setting in health. An unprecedented critical mass of Australian experts in economic evaluation will be created who can then train a new generation of researchers. The proposal covers the following topics: Assessing the impact of economic evaluation and priority setting methods on resource allocation in Australia to better understand the methodological, conceptual, practical and pol ....This proposal aims to build research capacity and methodological sophistication in economic evaluation and priority setting in health. An unprecedented critical mass of Australian experts in economic evaluation will be created who can then train a new generation of researchers. The proposal covers the following topics: Assessing the impact of economic evaluation and priority setting methods on resource allocation in Australia to better understand the methodological, conceptual, practical and political barriers to its use ('policy analysis'); Developing appropriate, valid and reliable utility measures that are culturally appropriate for Indigenous populations, children and carers ('utility measures'); Developing methods and tools for measuring non-health sector costs and benefits from a social perspective ('cost benefit'); Refining methods for adjusting cost-effectiveness results to reflect other values such as equity, applicability and feasibility ('second filter'); Exploring the usefulness and appropriateness of different modeling approaches used in economic evaluation ('modeling'); and Developing techniques to measure gains in overall health system efficiency from the adoption of cost-effective interventions ('efficiency'). The proposed outcomes are: An increased number of independent researchers with expertise in economic evaluation-priority setting who develop their own research programs; Establish a critical mass of researchers who can improve the standard and acceptance of economic evaluation and priority setting methods in health, including priority setting for Indigenous Australians and other groups with special needs; Value-adding to existing priority setting and economic evaluation projects by validating methods and developing new approaches; Effective linkages between researchers and policy makers, advocates and other stakeholders to increase appreciation of the use of economic evaluation and priority setting in health policy and clinical practice; and Research transfer through workshops, presentations and peer-reviewed publications.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100637
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$322,534.00
Summary
Finding the Path: Service access and navigation for serious mental illness. This project aims to inform health system change to ensure people with serious mental illness can access quality services. While improved access to quality mental health services has been a key target in Australian health policy for over 20 years, people with mental illness continue to report problems accessing and navigating the complex service system. The project aims to study consumers' mental health service experienc ....Finding the Path: Service access and navigation for serious mental illness. This project aims to inform health system change to ensure people with serious mental illness can access quality services. While improved access to quality mental health services has been a key target in Australian health policy for over 20 years, people with mental illness continue to report problems accessing and navigating the complex service system. The project aims to study consumers' mental health service experiences using policy, qualitative, quantitative and geographic analysis to identify systemic problems. Mental health consumers and service providers will be actively involved in developing final policy recommendations to ensure system change reflects their knowledge.Read moreRead less
Resolving patients' complaints about hospitals: Responsive regulation by health ombudsmen. Ombudsmen help ensure integrity and accountability in societal institutions. This study of patients' complaints about hospitals to health ombudsmen in two states, and the responses of hospitals, will produce evidence on strategies for making hospitals more responsive to the public and more accountable for the quality of their care. Australia was a world leader in establishing health ombudsmen and this stud ....Resolving patients' complaints about hospitals: Responsive regulation by health ombudsmen. Ombudsmen help ensure integrity and accountability in societal institutions. This study of patients' complaints about hospitals to health ombudsmen in two states, and the responses of hospitals, will produce evidence on strategies for making hospitals more responsive to the public and more accountable for the quality of their care. Australia was a world leader in establishing health ombudsmen and this study will explore their impact upon the hospital system. Evidence-based strategies are needed to improve the accountability of service providers and regulators. Social and economic benefits flow from empowering patients and from improving hospital performance.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100307
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$330,290.00
Summary
Food policies for population health: evidence, influence and accountability. The project aims to investigate ways to improve the development and implementation of policies to create healthy food environments in Australia. Currently, Australian food environments are dominated by cheap, heavily promoted, unhealthy food, and governments are seeking ways to reduce the economic and social burden of diet-related ill-health. Policy changes are needed to create environments that encourage healthy food c ....Food policies for population health: evidence, influence and accountability. The project aims to investigate ways to improve the development and implementation of policies to create healthy food environments in Australia. Currently, Australian food environments are dominated by cheap, heavily promoted, unhealthy food, and governments are seeking ways to reduce the economic and social burden of diet-related ill-health. Policy changes are needed to create environments that encourage healthy food consumption. The project aims to generate new evidence of the economic case for implementation of priority policy options, provide critical insight into the policy process, and identify levers for increasing the accountability of governments for creating healthier food environments. The project intends to identify strategies to improve population health.Read moreRead less
National registration of health practitioners: a comparative study of the complaints and notification system under the national system and in NSW. This project will compare the NSW healthcare complaints system with that of the new Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to provide insight into complaints handling and notification at a state and national level. It will determine best practice in government assessment and resolution methods and reveal complainant experiences.
Clinical networks are a widely used strategy to engage clinicians and hospitals to implement quality improvement initiatives. So what makes some networks successful? This application will identify factors associated with successful networks by studying the 20 clinical networks of the NSW Greater Metropolitan Clinical Taskforce. The results from this study will inform the establishment and maintenance of clinical networks that effectively improve the quality of care
Improving management decisions in mental health care through applications of advanced simulation modelling. Evidence to inform management decisions about the best way to structure mental health care services is currently lacking. This project will develop a simulation modelling tool that will allow managers to explore various service configurations in virtual reality, enabling predictions to be made about the cost and quality of care.
An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. This project aims to assess the effect of 2.00am cease of alcohol service for licensed venues across Queensland, identify modifiable elements and develop policy advice. Alcohol-related harm is a major social order issue which requires evidence-based policy. Using the most sophisticated models to date—including outlet density, enforcement, demographic variables and other ....An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. This project aims to assess the effect of 2.00am cease of alcohol service for licensed venues across Queensland, identify modifiable elements and develop policy advice. Alcohol-related harm is a major social order issue which requires evidence-based policy. Using the most sophisticated models to date—including outlet density, enforcement, demographic variables and other variables—this project will build unique datasets, including archival data, foot-traffic counting, key stakeholder and patron interviews, to evaluate the effect of alcohol restrictions and identify policy lessons for other jurisdictions in Australia and internationally.Read moreRead less
Does risk-based licensing of alcohol sales reduce alcohol-related harm? Alcohol-related harm is a major public health and social order issue which requires sophisticated evidence-based policy. This project capitalises on a unique window of policy adoption across Australia to investigate the introduction of risk-based licensing schemes for the sale of alcohol, assessing their impacts, identifying modifiable elements and developing policy advice. There is an urgent need for evidence about which in ....Does risk-based licensing of alcohol sales reduce alcohol-related harm? Alcohol-related harm is a major public health and social order issue which requires sophisticated evidence-based policy. This project capitalises on a unique window of policy adoption across Australia to investigate the introduction of risk-based licensing schemes for the sale of alcohol, assessing their impacts, identifying modifiable elements and developing policy advice. There is an urgent need for evidence about which interventions are effective, and which of these can survive the political process. It builds on the team’s extensive work and unique datasets around alcohol policy and licensed venues to analyse archival data, key stakeholder interviews and venue observations in three states, using the most up-to-date and reliable methods.Read moreRead less