A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Teaching and Learning Technology in a Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

To conduct a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of investment in teaching and learning technology (TLT) by a college of pharmacy in a large, research-intensive university in Canada. Document analysis was used to determine the goals and objectives of the university and college for TLT use. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with faculty members to understand their perspectives on the value of technology for teaching and learning, their metrics to assess value, and an estimate of social value using a willingness to pay (WTP) exercise.

Is utility-based quality of life associated with overweight in children? Evidence from the UK WAVES randomised controlled study.

Background: Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) are often used to make judgements about the relative cost-effectiveness of competing interventions and require an understanding of the relationship between health and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) when measured in utility terms. There is a dearth of information in the literature concerning how childhood overweight is associated with quality of life when this is measured using utilities. This study explores how weight is associated with utility-based HRQOL in 5-6 year olds and examines the psychometric properties of a newly developed pediatric utility measure - the CHU9D instrument.

Using programme budgeting and marginal analysis (PBMA) to set priorities: reflections from a qualitative assessment in an English Primary Care Trust.

In England from 2002 to 2013, Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) were responsible for commissioning healthcare for their local populations. The NHS has recently undergone rapid organisational change whereby clinicians have assumed responsibility for local commissioning decisions. This change in commissioning arrangements alongside the current financial pressures facing the NHS provides an impetus for considering the use of technical prioritisation methods to enable the identification of savings without having a detrimental effect on the health of the population.

Cost-effectiveness of a community-based physical activity programme for adults (Be Active) in the UK: an economic analysis within a natural experiment.

Objective: To determine the cost-effectiveness of a physical activity programme (Be Active) aimed at city-dwelling adults living in Birmingham, UK.

Methods: Very little is known about the cost-effectiveness of public health programmes to improve city-wide physical activity rates. This paper presents a cost-effectiveness analysis that compares a physical activity intervention (Be Active) with no intervention (usual care) using an economic model to quantify the reduction in disease risk over a lifetime.

Measuring preference-based quality of life in children aged 6-7 years: a comparison of the performance of the CHU-9D and EQ-5D-Y--the WAVES pilot study.

Purpose: To examine the performance of the child health utility 9D (CHU-9D) and EuroQol 5D-youth (EQ-5D-Y) in children aged 6–7 years.

Method: The CHU-9D and EQ-5D-Y were interviewer-administered to 160 children aged 6–7 years at six schools across the West Midlands. Missing values, time taken to complete instruments and interviewer ratings were recorded to assess feasibility/acceptability.

The cost-effectiveness of newer drugs as add-on therapy for children with focal epilepsies.

Purpose: Epilepsies in children are complex diseases. Guidelines are needed on the appropriate use of newer versus older anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs). This paper presents an individual patient-sampling model to assess the cost-effectiveness of using newer AEDs as add-on therapy in line with UK prescribing guidance.

Willingness-to-pay and demand curves: a comparison of results obtained using different elicitation formats.

Health economists use "willingness-to-pay" to assess the prospective value of novel interventions. The technique remains controversial, not least with respect to the formats under which values are elicited. The paper analyses the results of a series of studies of the same intervention valued by the same population, in which different elicitation formats were employed.

Comparing willingness-to-pay: bidding game format versus open-ended and payment scale formats.

The willingness-to-pay technique is being used increasingly in the economic evaluation of new health care technologies. Clinical trials of two methods of screening for colorectal cancer are currently being conducted in the UK and willingness-to-pay for screening has already been estimated by means of a questionnaire survey, using open-ended (OE) and payment scale (PS) formats. This paper addresses the same medical issue, although it elicits willingness-to-pay values by means of a bidding game in an interview setting.

Costs of flexible sigmoidoscopy screening for colorectal cancer in the United Kingdom.

Objectives: Colorectal cancer is one of the most commonly occurring cancers in industrialized countries, yet appears to be amenable to screening. Amongst the many possible protocols is once-only screening by means of flexible sigmoidoscopy. This protocol is currently being investigated in a UK multicenter trial and the study provides estimates of the expected resource costs.

Eliciting willingness to pay: comparing closed-ended with open-ended and payment scale formats.

Willingness to pay (WTP) is increasingly being used as a measure of valuation in health technology assessment. A variety of formats for eliciting values are available, although the relative virtues of each remain the subject of methodological controversy. This article compares valuation results obtained using a WTP survey instrument in a closed-ended format with those obtained from instruments using open-ended and payment scale formats.