What we do

… to the advancement of applied health economics. In order to promote policy-relevant health economic research, the Division explicitly endorses an approach that is characterized by theoretical and methodological pluralism, i.e., by including the development of novel models and methods for the valuation of health and health care, and for the analysis of social expectations as well as specific issues associated with contexts and institutions

… to our understanding of the economics of cancer care. The Division contributes to the understanding of the factors that influence the costs of cancer as a whole, as well as the economic consequences of particular cancer types and interventions aiming at their prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Additionally, particular consideration is given to factors that affect the burden and cost of cancer care and are related to socioeconomic, gender, and age group specific aspects.

… to improvements of the effectiveness and efficiency of medical care for cancer patients. The Division aims at improving the effectiveness and the efficiency of medical care for cancer patients, primarily by providing health care policy makers with robust information on the incremental costs and benefits of medical technologies. This may imply contributing to the development of new analytical methods, as the currently prevailing logic of cost-effectiveness does not capture the full value of health, health gains, and health care from a citizens’ perspective.

• Burden of disease studies,
  addressing cancer related burden of disease, attributable cost of illness, and budget impact of interventions, from the perspectives of society as a whole as well as those of payers and patients;
• Cost value analyses,
  i.e., (1) cost effectiveness, (2) cost utility, (3) cost benefit, and (4) social cost value studies of intervention strategies in cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and care;
• Research into the conceptual and empirical underpinnings of economic analyses,
  such as further development of health economic evaluation methods that more adequately capture citizens’ social norms and preferences

... Outreach activities

• Health Economics Summer School
• Open Seminars
• Other outreach activities