Publications by authors named "Ruvini Hettiarachchi"

Purpose: To identify the key attributes of breast cancer follow-up care models preferred by cancer survivors in Australia.

Methods: A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted to elicit preferences for attributes of breast cancer follow-up care. Respondents were presented with two hypothetical scenarios, known as choice sets, and asked to select a preference.

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Objective: Accurate assessment of child oral health is important for guiding economic evaluations and informing healthcare decision-making. Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS-4D) is a preference-based instrument that measures the oral health-related quality of life of young children. The aim of this study was to compare the utility scores of ECOHIS-4D and Child Health Utility Index (CHU-9D), against an oral health indicator to evaluate which utility score corresponds better with the oral health indicator.

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Purpose: To evaluate the impact of removable partial dentures (RPDs) on masticatory performance (MP) of partially edentulous subjects.

Materials And Methods: Electronic database and hand searches were conducted to explore clinical trials reporting the evidence of the effect of metal- and acrylic-based RPDs on mastication. The validated objective and subjective measures of assessment of mastication were included.

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Introduction: The Dental Caries Utility Index (DCUI) is a new oral health-specific health state classification system for adolescents, consisting of 5 domains: pain/discomfort, difficulty eating food/drinking, worried, ability to participate in activities, and appearance. Each domain has 4 response levels. This study aims to generate an Australian-specific utility algorithm for the DCUI.

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Background: In Australia, the overall prevalence of liver disease is increasing. Maximising uptake of community screening programmes by understanding patient preferences is integral to developing consumer-centred care models for liver disease. Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are widely used to elicit preferences for various healthcare services.

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Background And Objective: It is critical to evaluate cancer survivors' preferences when developing follow-up care models to better address the needs of cancer survivors. This study was conducted to understand the key attributes of breast cancer follow-up care for use in a future discrete choice experiment (DCE) survey.

Methods: Key attributes of breast cancer follow-up care models were generated using a multi-stage, mixed-methods approach.

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Background: A new preference-based measure (MacNew-7D) has recently been developed to allow condition-specific data to be used to capture the quality of life in health economic evaluations in cardiology; however, a general population value set has not yet been developed. This study developed a population utility value set for the MacNew-7D heart disease-specific instrument.

Methods: The discrete choice experiments (DCE) technique was chosen as the preference-elicitation method.

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Purpose: Preference-based quality of life measures (PBMs) are used to generate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) in economic evaluations. A PBM consists of (1) a health state classification system and (2) a utility value set that allows the instrument responses to be converted to QALYs. A new, oral health-specific classification system, the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale-4D (ECOHIS-4D) has recently been developed.

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Mental health disorders among children and youth are causing significant burden on health care systems. Hence, identifying cost-effective interventions is important for effective mental health care allocation. Although model-based economic evaluations are an essential component of assessing cost-effectiveness, evidence are limited in the context of child and youth mental health care.

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Objectives: Preference-based quality-of-life measures (PBMs) have been developed in many clinical areas to aid estimation of more accurate utility values for economic evaluations. Existing oral health-related quality-of-life (OHRQoL) instruments are non-PBM and hence, cannot be used to generate utility values. The objective of this study was to develop a classification system for a new PBM (dental caries utility index-DCUI) for the most prevalent childhood oral health condition: dental caries.

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Introduction: A new health state classification system has been developed for dental caries Dental Caries Utility Index (DCUI) to facilitate the assessment of oral health interventions in the cost-utility analysis (CUA). This paper reports the protocol for a valuation study, which aims to generate a preference-based algorithm for the classification system for the DCUI.

Methods And Analysis: Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) will be conducted to value health states generated by the DCUI classification system and preferences for these health states will be modelled to develop a utility algorithm.

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Objectives: The aims of this study were to: identify the evidence on cost-effectiveness of school-based interventions for caries prevention globally up to 2019; summarize key characteristics of interventions applied within this setting; summarize the reporting quality of previous studies; and to identify and analyse knowledge gaps.

Methods: A scoping review of published literature on the cost-effectiveness of school-based interventions to prevent child tooth decay was conducted. A search in Medline, Cinahl and Embase was performed with no date restriction.

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Objectives: To identify patient-reported experience measures (PREMs), assess their validity and reliability, and assess any bias in the study design of PREM validity and reliability testing.

Data Sources/study Setting: Articles reporting on PREM development and testing sourced from MEDLINE, CINAHL and Scopus databases up to March 13, 2018.

Study Design: Systematic review.

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Objective: To identify the generic or disease-specific pediatric quality of life (QoL) instruments used in oral health research among children and adolescents and to provide an overview of these QoL instruments.

Methods: A systematic literature search was performed with multiple databases to identify the pediatric QoL instruments used in oral health research.

Results: The literature search yielded 872 records; from these, 16 pediatric QoL instruments were identified that had been used among children and adolescents in oral health research.

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Objectives: To assess the usage of cost-utility analysis (CUA) in oral health interventions and to evaluate the methods used and the reporting quality of CUA in publications on oral health interventions.

Methods: A systematic review was performed on literature published between 2000 and 2016 where cost-utility analyses of oral health interventions were included. The reporting quality of these oral health CUAs was assessed against the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) checklist.

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Aim: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a common, chronic inflammatory disease of the oral mucosa. Although several studies have shown the efficacy of different treatment modalities, a definitive cure has not yet been established. The present trial compares the effectiveness of topically-applied clobetasol and tacrolimus in the symptomatic management of OLP.

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