Modelling The Cost-effectiveness Of Therapeutic Strategies For Invasive Candidiasis Among The ICU Population
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$282,733.00
Summary
ICU patients are vulnerable to fungal infections during their stay in hospital. These infections are costly to treat and pose real dangers to the patient with up to 1270 lives lost each year. The best way to diagnose and treat these infections is currently not known. Making an early and accurate diagnosis is difficult but important if the infection is to be managed appropriately. This research will show which management strategies are optimal for patients and health services.
Explaining Social Preferences For Priority Setting In The Health Sector
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$235,218.00
Summary
This project looks at whether the views of the public regarding the allocation of society's limited health care resources are well-informed and carefully considered. A series of focus groups will be conducted where members of the public can think about the ethical issues involved, discuss them with others, and ask questions. This approach has the potential to improve the legitimacy of health policy decisions by contributing to a better understanding of the values of the public.
Developing A Common Outcome Measure For Priority Setting In Health: Validation Of The 'Transfer To Utility' Technique
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,100.00
Summary
The economic evaluation of health programs is a common requirement of funders and purchasers seeking to get the best value from the health dollar. But researchers employ a wide range of disease specific and generic health status instruments to describe trial outcomes, making comparison between diverse interventions difficult. In response to this problem a 'Transfer to Utility' or TTU technique was developed by Dr Segal and colleagues, to translate diverse outcomes reported in clinical trials, in ....The economic evaluation of health programs is a common requirement of funders and purchasers seeking to get the best value from the health dollar. But researchers employ a wide range of disease specific and generic health status instruments to describe trial outcomes, making comparison between diverse interventions difficult. In response to this problem a 'Transfer to Utility' or TTU technique was developed by Dr Segal and colleagues, to translate diverse outcomes reported in clinical trials, into a utility score, so the performance of diverse health interventions can be expressed in cost-QALY and compared. The technique establishes a statistical transformation between instruments commonly used in clinical trials and a utility value. While the technique appears highly useful, based on a priority setting exercise in osteoarthritis enabling 20 disparate interventions to be compared its validity and applicability in other contexts is not established. The purpose of the grant is to explore the TTU technique to i) establish the best method for estimating the regression equation between common health outcome measures and a utility score and validating that method; ii) test generalisability to other disease areas, for which quality of life is the primary objective of management (in stroke, drug dependence and depression), iii) develop and validate a method for translating the most commonly used measure of general health status, the SF-36, into a utility score and iv) illustrate the application of the TTU in comparing intervensions for the prevention and management of depression. The results of the research will be of value to i) decision makers who must compare the performance of medical-health care interventions across a range of diseases and modalities and ii) to clinicians who want to practice evidenced based health care. The potential health gains for the community are substantial, in supporting the redirection of resources to more effective and cost-effectiveRead moreRead less
Modelling The Economics Of The Australian Health Care System For Policy Analysis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,500,000.00
Summary
The program will build a suite of economic models capable of providing timely relevant analysis of almost any major health policy option or issue, providing expertise in government and academia to use the kind of sophisticated quantitative tools of analysis common in sectors of the economy of an equivalent size to health. Through a PhD and postdoctoral program, it will increase capacity in quantitative health economics in Australia to answer key questions in health services, health promotion and ....The program will build a suite of economic models capable of providing timely relevant analysis of almost any major health policy option or issue, providing expertise in government and academia to use the kind of sophisticated quantitative tools of analysis common in sectors of the economy of an equivalent size to health. Through a PhD and postdoctoral program, it will increase capacity in quantitative health economics in Australia to answer key questions in health services, health promotion and illness prevention, developed with partners in government, clinicians and industry.Read moreRead less
Social And Decision Maker Preferences For Priority Setting In Health Care Resource Allocation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$273,051.00
Summary
All countries face the question of how best to allocate scarce health care resources. This leads to questions such as do we value health gains to different people (e.g. young versus old) differently, or different types of health gain (improved quality of life or life extension) differently? Survey methods will be used to investigate how members of society and “decision makers” prioritise different types of health gain. Results will help Australia to make informed resource allocation decisions.
Ensuring The Sustainability Of Care For People With Dementia Now And Into The Future
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$717,063.00
Summary
Ensuring adequate the funding of appropriate and timely care is available for people living with dementia is a key concern for the public and for governments. This research will develop new methods of measuring the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of treatments and care packages for people with dementia. This will help ensure the sustainability of our health and social care system into the future by directing scarce resources into programs most likely to be of benefit.
Centre For Research Excellence In Medical Workforce Dynamics.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,496,646.00
Summary
The Centre for Research Excellence in Medical Workforce Dynamics will grow new capacity in health services research, with high potential for policy impact, providing much needed evidence on the factors that influence doctors' decisions on how many hours to work, their location of work, including working in rural and remote areas, and decisions to leave the medical workforce and retire. These decisions influence the population’s access to health care, costs and health outcomes.
Factors which influence the preferences of GPs and women for contraceptive products. This research will provide valuable information to manufacturers, providers and consumers of contraceptive products, that will assist consumers in making the best choice of contraception given the complex array of alternatives available. Manufactuers will be able to use the information to advise their clients about the risks and benefits of various products. Consumers will be able to use this enhanced knowledge ....Factors which influence the preferences of GPs and women for contraceptive products. This research will provide valuable information to manufacturers, providers and consumers of contraceptive products, that will assist consumers in making the best choice of contraception given the complex array of alternatives available. Manufactuers will be able to use the information to advise their clients about the risks and benefits of various products. Consumers will be able to use this enhanced knowledge for better family planning, thus improving the health of parents and children.Read moreRead less
Development And Valuation Of Cancer-specific Multi-attribute Health States For Use In Economic Evaluation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$707,671.00
Summary
Economic evaluation is used by the Australian government in deciding which medical services and pharmaceuticals should be funded. This study will develop quality of life utility measures for use in economic evaluation of cancer interventions in Australia and internationally. This represents a significant methodological contribution to the assessment of quality of life, effectiveness and efficiency in cancer, in one of Australia's national health priority areas.
Rural General Practitioners in Australia: Costs, Returns and Relative Work Value of Rural Compared with Urban Private General Practitioners. Aims:
* To conduct a rurally focused study of GPs in Australia, to address rural GPs' concerns about remuneration, and consumers' concerns about access to rural GPs.
* To examine costs, prices, returns and work value differentials between rural and urban GPs.
Significance:
* The first systematic economic evaluation of rural GP remuneration and work valu ....Rural General Practitioners in Australia: Costs, Returns and Relative Work Value of Rural Compared with Urban Private General Practitioners. Aims:
* To conduct a rurally focused study of GPs in Australia, to address rural GPs' concerns about remuneration, and consumers' concerns about access to rural GPs.
* To examine costs, prices, returns and work value differentials between rural and urban GPs.
Significance:
* The first systematic economic evaluation of rural GP remuneration and work value in Australia.
* Reflection of the profession's geographical heterogeneity in policy recommendations.
Expected outcomes:
* Improved measurements of effects of geographcial location on costs, remuneration and relative work value of rural GPs.
* Improved understanding of effects of differential rates of GP bulk-billing.Read moreRead less