Health Economics Group
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About us
The Health Economics Group, led by Professor Anne Spencer, conducts high-quality policy-relevant research and education to advance the use of health economics to improve population health. Our aim is to contribute to improvements in health and healthcare in the UK and internationally, through education and research on economic aspects of health and disease, including research to inform decisions on the design, evaluation, and delivery of health interventions and systems.
Our current work covers a wide range of applied and methodological projects, across many disease areas. We have a wide range of collaborations across Exeter, the South-West and beyond, including the Economics Dept, Psychology, Sports & Health Sciences, Primary Care, Child Health.
We have a strong programme of research in the area of health outcomes, health valuation/preference elicitation, and a broad programme of work in neurodegenerative diseases (multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinsons disease), involving applied methodological research and economic evaluation. The Health Economics Group works closely with the Exeter Clinical Trials Unit (ExeCTU), and has close links with applied methodologists (e.g. statistics, qualitative research, operational research/modelling).
The Health Economics Group has researchers based in the Health Sciences and Community Sciences Department and in the Public Health and Sports Science Department. The Health Economics Group leads the Health Economics Module for undergraduates and leads the Health Economics Module for postgraduates. We also lead the undergraduate module 'Introduction to Health Research', co-lead the MSc independent research module, and lead two Special Study Units on inequalities. Additionally, the Group leads a short-course in Public and Patient Involvement for Health Economics Research and has also delivers a number of workshops, with future short courses in development.
Research themes
- Economic evaluation of health technologies (design, conduct and analysis of applied economic evaluations), and methodology for the conduct of economic evaluation;
- Economic evaluation of complex interventions delivered outside the healthcare sector, including social care and social prescribing initiatives;
- Public and patient involvement and engagement in health economics research;
- Evidence syntheses, using review methods and economic modelling;
- Measurement and valuation of health and wellbeing outcomes;
- Economics of population health (e.g. obesity, development & ageing, mental health, determinants of health & wellbeing);
- Equity in health and health care;
- Research on 'risk' and 'ambiguity' in health and health care
| Member of staff | Position |
|---|---|
| Anne Spencer | Professor of Health Economics, Head of Health Economics Group |
| Bandar Almatrafi | PhD Student |
| Aymen Alzehr | PhD Student |
| Daniel Derbyshire | Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Public Health Economics |
| Elizabeth Goodwin | Research Fellow in Health Economics |
| Colin Green | Honorary Professor of Health Economics |
| Annie Hawton | Associate Professor in Health Economics |
| Sophie Hearn | PhD student |
| Claire Hulme | Professor of Health Economics |
| Abigail Lloyd | PhD Student |
| Amber Yuwen Li | PhD Student |
| Antonieta Medina-Lara | Professor of Public Health Economics |
| Nia Morrish | Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Public Health Economics |
| Francis Okello | PhD student |
| Bethany Parkes | PhD student |
| Louise Proud | PhD Student |
| Richard Smith |
Professor of Public Health Economics |
| Tristan Snowsill |
Senior Lecturer in Health Economics |
| Daim Syukriyah | Research Fellow in Health Economics |
| Tim Taylor | Associate Professor in Environmental and Public Health Economics |
| Karen Ullian | PhD student |
| Tom Ward | PhD Student (ERiCA) |
| Chen Yixuan | PhD Student |
| Leala Watson | PA to Professor Spencer, Professor Claire Hulme, and Administrator for The Health Economics Group |
We have close links with the Public Health Economics team, and PenTAG Health Technology Assessment in Public Health and Sport Sciences Department.
University of Exeter Medical School,
South Cloisters,
St Luke's Campus,
Exeter EX1 2LU
View directions to St Luke's
Email: Health-Economics@exeter.ac.uk
Contact: Associate Professor Anne Spencer, Head of Health Economics Group: a.e.spencer@exeter.ac.uk
Contact: Leala Watson, PA and Secretary to the Health Economics Group: l.k.watson@exeter.ac.uk
Learning Opportunities
There are opportunities to learn with the Health Economics Group and the Group has successfully hosted MSc students seeking placements.
1 day online course. **New dates coming soon**
Public involvement (PPI) in Health Economics Research: what, why and how?
Keen to learn more?
Join us for our course delivered by health economists, public collaborators, and health and care researchers funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in the South West Peninsula and the Health Economics Group, University of Exeter.
About the course
Public involvement means people have a say in research and can make decisions about and shape research which might affect them. PPI can make research more meaningful, relevant and impactful. It has never been more recognised or more important in health and care research. Yet, to date PPIE has not been so explicitly prominent in health economics research. This is changing, and consideration of PPI in health economics research is growing, including the exciting development that it is now included in the international checklist for reporting health economic evaluations.
This course goes beyond the rhetoric around PPI to discuss particulars and practicalities of public involvement in health economics research. The course provides information on the value of PPI in health economics research, and gives unique insights into the experiences and learnings of those involved.
What will you learn?
- Why PPI in health economics research?
- What PPI can offer health economics research
- How PPI can happen ‘well’ in the sometimes technical, jargon-laden, emotive discipline of health economics research
- Realities of PPI in health economics research, with concrete examples
- Where to learn more
Who is it for?
The course is relevant to researchers working in health economics in its broadest sense, including PhD students, and people in PPI facilitator roles.
Please contact Annie Hawton, Health Economics Group, University of Exeter
We regularly supervise Masters dissertations relating to health economics, with students from the University of Exeter and further afield.
University of Exeter students
We have supported students on the Independent Research Project (HPDM148) module, from MSc Healthcare Leadership and Management, MSc Health Research Methods, and other programmes. If you are a current student interested in health economics, please contact Tristan Snowsill.
University of York MSc Health Economics
We a track record in hosting summer research placements for University of York MSc Health Economics Students. These placements typically take place for three months from June – September each year.
University of Bristol MSc
We offer an MSc dissertation project for students on the Population Health Sciences MSc Programme at the University of Bristol.
We have a strong track record of supervising PhD students in health economics, as well as participating in supervisory teams for students in related disciplines.
Funded studentships
Occasionally we are able to offer funded PhDs. This will be advertised through the University of Exeter's Funding database, and via our Twitter/X account.
Self-funding
Are you in a position (e.g., through a government support scheme in your country) to self-fund a PhD? Please get in touch to enquire. The project can be a proposal of your own or one of our suggested projects listed below.
If you have already identified someone within the group whose experience and interests closely align, you can contact them directly; for general enquiries, please contact our administrator, Leala Watson.
Suggested projects
|
Accelerating value of information analyses in health economic models Primary supervisor: Tristan Snowsill Key skills for a student considering this project:
|
Value of information (VOI) analyses help us to know whether we should make a permanent policy decision now, or invest further time and money gathering more information. Though valuable, these analyses can be time-consuming. This PhD will explore the potential for acceleration of these analyses through mathematical approximations and advanced programming techniques. |
|
Public and Patient Involvement in Health Economics Research Primary supervisor: Annie Hawton |
Public and patient involvement (PPI) in research refers to research being carried out ‘with’ or ‘by’ members of the public rather than ‘to’, ‘about’ or ‘for’ them. PPI can make research more meaningful, relevant and impactful, and it has never been more recognised in health and care research. Yet, to date PPI has not been so explicitly prominent in health economics research. This is changing, and consideration of PPI in health economics research is growing. This PhD will explore PPI in Health Economics research to date, and where PPI might go next in the sometimes technical, jargon-laden, and emotive discipline of Health Economics. |
|
Evaluating policy change using Health Service Databases Primary supervisor: Anne Spencer
Key skills for a student considering this project:
|
Routine administrative Health Service databases contain a wealth of information about service use and treatment costs. They can also be used to evaluate policy change. This PhD will aim to evaluate policy change using one or two data bases drawn from the UK or overseas. |
Hosting doctoral fellows
We are keen to hear from you if you are considering applying for a doctoral fellowship and are looking for a host organisation and supervisors. We can provide advice and support with your application, including refining your research question and methods, and identifying and resourcing your training needs.
Further information
Further information about funding postgraduate study at the University of Exeter can be found here.
Health Economists’ Study Group (HESG) Internship 2024
The Health Economics Group joint with the Public Health Economics Group are hosting a HESG Summer Internship in 2024, with applications open until 20th June 2024. The project is based around using the Understanding Society, UK household longitudinal study dataset which is open access through the UK data service. For further details please contact the supervisory team: Prof. Antonieta Medina-Lara, Ms Nia Morrish, and Prof. Anne Spencer, Professor of Health Economics
Summer Research Skills Training Internships
The Health Economics Group typically offers two Summer Research Skills Training Internships for second year undergraduates from the BSc. Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sport and Exercise Medical Sciences. These internships run during June for four weeks and typically cover:
Week 1:
Introduction to Health Economics
Introduction to feasibility trials
Week 2:
Review of the project
Look at data sets of project and exploratory analysis
Week 3:
Data analysis summary
Prepare draft presentation
Week 4:
Practice draft presentation
Prepare piece for biweekly HEG bulletin and HEG website.
Projects for Final Year Students
We offer research projects suitable for our Final Year BSc Medical Sciences students (CSC3028/3029), starting in September each academic year. The project types you will be supervising can be any of the following:
- Secondary data analysis
- Qualitative or quantitative primary research
- Systematic review and Meta-analysis
- Critical Review
