Improving external validity of stated choice experiments. This project aims to deliver more accurate estimates of choice behaviour by reducing biases due to choice task complexity in surveys as well as design artefacts. Extracting 'true' preferences is challenging, not only due to possible hypothetical bias, but also due to increasingly complex choice tasks and the existence of design artefacts. This project will investigate the latter two in the context of marketing, transport, health, and envi ....Improving external validity of stated choice experiments. This project aims to deliver more accurate estimates of choice behaviour by reducing biases due to choice task complexity in surveys as well as design artefacts. Extracting 'true' preferences is challenging, not only due to possible hypothetical bias, but also due to increasingly complex choice tasks and the existence of design artefacts. This project will investigate the latter two in the context of marketing, transport, health, and environmental economics, and proposes new methodologies to extract preferences that more closely reflect true behaviour in real markets.Read moreRead less
Physician Preferences for Medical Innovation. This project aims to identify the causes and consequences of medical practice variations by providing new evidence on the process through which physicians adopt and use new medical technology. This project expects to generate new knowledge on how physicians' human and social capital determine their preferences for taking up new medical technology and the economic consequences of such decisions. Expected outcomes of this project include a greater unde ....Physician Preferences for Medical Innovation. This project aims to identify the causes and consequences of medical practice variations by providing new evidence on the process through which physicians adopt and use new medical technology. This project expects to generate new knowledge on how physicians' human and social capital determine their preferences for taking up new medical technology and the economic consequences of such decisions. Expected outcomes of this project include a greater understanding of the sources for and costs of inappropriate use of healthcare, such as low-value care. This should provide significant benefits, such as contributing to the construction of effective policies for improving efficiency and equity of the healthcare system.Read moreRead less
Incentives and performance in the health care system. Changes in financial incentives for health care providers will have direct effects on their behaviour, which in turn influences patients' health outcomes, quality of care, and access to health care for the population. The research will provide a richer understanding of the effects of incentives, and will influence policy on the design of incentives for health care providers in Australia. Changes in incentives will ensure patients receive mo ....Incentives and performance in the health care system. Changes in financial incentives for health care providers will have direct effects on their behaviour, which in turn influences patients' health outcomes, quality of care, and access to health care for the population. The research will provide a richer understanding of the effects of incentives, and will influence policy on the design of incentives for health care providers in Australia. Changes in incentives will ensure patients receive more appropriate, higher quality, and less costly health care, in the most appropriate settings, and delivered by the most appropriate health care providers. This will have direct effects on population health and well-being and the capacity of individuals to lead healthy and productive lives.Read moreRead less
Social and health inequalities related to changes in drinking water in rural Victoria. This project will add significantly to knowledge about the role of water in health. Dental caries (decay) experience over an individual's life time is influenced by dental health in early childhood. Obesity and overweight in early childhood is also a predictor of later life obesity. Both these conditions reduce life chances and wellbeing for Australians and are costly for communities. Understanding why and how ....Social and health inequalities related to changes in drinking water in rural Victoria. This project will add significantly to knowledge about the role of water in health. Dental caries (decay) experience over an individual's life time is influenced by dental health in early childhood. Obesity and overweight in early childhood is also a predictor of later life obesity. Both these conditions reduce life chances and wellbeing for Australians and are costly for communities. Understanding why and how choices about drinks for children are made by parents using a longitudinal design will help to develop interventions and policies that support the use of water in preference to sweetened and acidic beverages. Read moreRead less
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
Epidemiological modelling of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in Australia. With Australia's population ageing and becoming increasingly obese, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are predicted to be a massive burden on our already stretched health system. Preventing the onset of disease is clearly the best management strategy, but we also need effective treatment strategies for those with these diseases, and we need to ensure that we are spending our healthcare dollars in the most effectiv ....Epidemiological modelling of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in Australia. With Australia's population ageing and becoming increasingly obese, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are predicted to be a massive burden on our already stretched health system. Preventing the onset of disease is clearly the best management strategy, but we also need effective treatment strategies for those with these diseases, and we need to ensure that we are spending our healthcare dollars in the most effective and cost-effective manner to achieve these aims. This research will evaluate how best to do this in a specifically Australian context.Read moreRead less
Working while breastfeeding: best practice strategies for workplaces and childcare centres. By generating new knowledge on how to strengthen community and policy support for breastfeeding, the proposed research will contribute to National Research Priority goals regarding promoting and maintaining good health. Assisting employed mothers to continue breastfeeding will reduce adverse impacts of genetic, social and environmental factors predisposing infants and children to ill health and reducing t ....Working while breastfeeding: best practice strategies for workplaces and childcare centres. By generating new knowledge on how to strengthen community and policy support for breastfeeding, the proposed research will contribute to National Research Priority goals regarding promoting and maintaining good health. Assisting employed mothers to continue breastfeeding will reduce adverse impacts of genetic, social and environmental factors predisposing infants and children to ill health and reducing their life potential. It will also help prevent disease, and help mothers reconcile labour force participation with protecting their own and their children's health. Read moreRead less
Harm-minimisation policies and the economics of controlling illicit drug use. The use of illicit drugs and its consequences are of major concern in Australia. Policies seeking to directly curb illicit drug use have met with mixed success and, over time, pressure has been placed on policymakers to switch toward increased reliance on harm-minimisation policies. This switch can generate adverse incentive effects by reducing the user costs of illicit drug use which acts to increase illicit drug use. ....Harm-minimisation policies and the economics of controlling illicit drug use. The use of illicit drugs and its consequences are of major concern in Australia. Policies seeking to directly curb illicit drug use have met with mixed success and, over time, pressure has been placed on policymakers to switch toward increased reliance on harm-minimisation policies. This switch can generate adverse incentive effects by reducing the user costs of illicit drug use which acts to increase illicit drug use. Cost-effectively mitigating these adverse incentive effects can improve the effectiveness of policy by promoting harm- minimisation without seriously sacrificing drug use abstinence objectives. Read moreRead less
Development of a Value of Life Framework to Assist Priority Setting Decision Making Across Sectors. The techniques used to evaluate life-saving interventions differ between health and other sectors. In health cost-effectiveness or cost-utility anlaysis is common, avoiding specification of a value for life. In contrast the transport and environment sectors use cost-benefit analysis and value life in monetary terms. This duality of approaches has resulted in a lower implicit value of life in th ....Development of a Value of Life Framework to Assist Priority Setting Decision Making Across Sectors. The techniques used to evaluate life-saving interventions differ between health and other sectors. In health cost-effectiveness or cost-utility anlaysis is common, avoiding specification of a value for life. In contrast the transport and environment sectors use cost-benefit analysis and value life in monetary terms. This duality of approaches has resulted in a lower implicit value of life in the health sector. The research will explore these differences and attempt to identify key attributes that influence how life is valued, to provide a framework for a single approach to the valuation of life, and the more efficient allocation of resources cross-sectorally.Read moreRead less
Policy-Related Lessons from the Econometric Analysis of Life Satisfaction Data in Australia. Our analyses will provide important information to policy-makers aiming to design policies that improve Australia's economic and social fabric. In particular, we will inform on the response of Australians to major life-events such as unemployment, ill-health or marital dissolution, but also exogenous shocks including drought and terrorism. Major focus will be on differentiating the determinants of life s ....Policy-Related Lessons from the Econometric Analysis of Life Satisfaction Data in Australia. Our analyses will provide important information to policy-makers aiming to design policies that improve Australia's economic and social fabric. In particular, we will inform on the response of Australians to major life-events such as unemployment, ill-health or marital dissolution, but also exogenous shocks including drought and terrorism. Major focus will be on differentiating the determinants of life satisfaction between rural and urban communities in Australia, and investigating the response of these communities to drought conditions. Moreover, we believe that a detailed international comparison using German and UK data will provide unique evidence on the relative quality of life in Australia and the role of culture and institutions. Read moreRead less