Health Economics and Decision Science (HEDS)
HEDS is one of three academic groups within the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield. The other groups are Public Health and Health Services Research. Sitting within the Faculty of Medicine, ScHARR is akin to Schools of Public Health seen in continental Europe and North America. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise undertaken in the UK, ScHARR was assessed as being the most powerful health services research grouping in the country.
HEDS covers a broad range of disciplines, but its work is split into five main areas. Our information scientists lead our work in identifying literature and alternative information sources. Our systematic reviewers lead in the critical appraisal and synthesis of qualitative and quantitative research evidence. Our statisticians lead in the application of complex methods, Bayesian methods and network meta-analyses. Our economists lead in outcome measurement and clinical trial work. Our mathematical modellers lead in the problem structuring, model development and optimisation problems. These five groups are in many ways nominal, as researchers from the groups routinely work together.
HEDS has several national research programmes:
- Since the inception of NICE, ScHARR has been one of the largest technology appraisal groups that provides the key research findings to the appraisal groups.
- ScHARR has led the NICE Decision Support Unit (DSU) that provides expert advice, reserach and training to NICE in support of the technology appraisal process. The DSU is run in collaboration with the Universities of York, Leicester and Bristol.
- HEDS is part of the Centre for Bayesian Statistics in Health Economics (CHEBS), which is a collaboration with the Department of Probability and Statistics that is developing Bayesian methods for applications in health economics and related research.
- HEDS is part of the Centre for Health and Wellbeing in Public Policy (CwiPP), which is an interdisciplinary centre that focuses on how people´s health and well-being can be defined, measured and improved.
- HEDS works in collaboration with the Centre for Health Economics in the form of the Department of Health’s Policy Research Unit in Economic Evaluation of Health and Care Interventions which was created to assist policy makers in the Department of Health to improve the allocation of resources in health and social care.
In addition to these programmes, HEDS leads a variety of individual research projects, collaborates with local, national and international organsiations, and maintains a vigorous consultancy programme.
In terms of teaching, HEDS runs, either jointly or fully, three Master’s Programmes – MSc Health Economics and Decision Science, MSc Economic and Health Economics, and the MSc International Health Technology Assessment, Pricing and Reimbursement. We also contribute to the Masters in Public Health programme run by ScHARR, the University’s medical undergraduate programme and several other courses both within and outside the University.
If you want to know more about HEDS, but can’t find it on the website, please contact the Unit Administrator, Kathryn Aleixos (k.m.aleixos@sheffield.ac.uk).