Health Economics

THE HEALTH ECONOMICS TEAM EVALUATES THE RESOURCE AND SERVICE USE, COSTS, AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, INTERVENTIONS, TREATMENTS, AND SERVICES FOR A WIDE RANGE OF CHILDHOOD BRAIN-BASED DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES. WE ALSO EVALUATE THE HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE OF CHILDREN AND THEIR CAREGIVERS.

Our team provides ongoing support for the development and implementation of economic evaluations for CHILD-BRIGHT research projects by:

 

“It is very powerful to see the common quality of life and socioeconomic information provided by youth and families across Canadian provinces who are participating in different CHILD-BRIGHT projects. In addition to providing information about the cost-effectiveness of CHILD-BRIGHT interventions, this information can provide better context around out-of-pocket cost and caregiving time.”
– Jennifer Zwicker, Health Economics Co-Lead

 

  • Designing and adapting tools for measuring the resources used by families for the care of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. These tools are based on the Resource Use Questionnaire, a validated health economic tool.

  • Supporting the incorporation of tools for measuring the health-related quality of life for children and caregivers, such as the Health Utilities Index.

  • Engaging undergraduate and graduate trainees as part of the Health Economics core team.

  • Retrieving and assigning costs to all resources reported using provincial sources.

  • Working with members across CHILD-BRIGHT to facilitate cooperation between platforms and users, including the Data Coordinating Centre.

  • Developing and conducting network-wide webinars on heath economics.

  • Examining key emerging issues and challenges for economic evaluation in the field of childhood disability.

In 2021-22:

  • We began to transfer data from completed network studies to start analyzing economic data. We will continue our cost-effectiveness analysis as data and resources become available.

  • Our team helped four CHILD-BRIGHT research projects collect common quality-of-life outcome measures for children and caregivers.

  • We assisted five projects in collecting common resource utilization and cost data.

  • We helped five projects collect health economic data.

  • We engaged five trainees as part of the Health Economics team.

  • Health Economics Co-Lead Jennifer Zwicker led a working group advising the CHILD-BRIGHT executive team on policy-related considerations for the network.

“Despite the many challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, project teams were able to generate and share vital health economic data which is currently under analysis for multiple studies. These analyses will constitute vital evidence to inform the funding and delivery of services and programs for children with a brain disorder.” – Wendy Ungar, Health Economics Lead

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