Quality of life – and how to measure it from the cradle to grave is the core of the research by Associate Professor Brendan Mulhern at the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE).
Associate Professor
Brendan Mulhern
His research is innovative as he is one of the few health economists internationally with expertise in both how to measure health, and the methods used to value different types of health.
The outputs of his research are the quality-of-life tools and valuation methods that are used in clinical and health policy decision making.
“They directly contribute to decisions about which health interventions and treatments should be funded,” Brendan said.
As part of his work with children, he is co-leading the largest ever international study (more than 6,000 respondents) collecting health and quality of life data from young people with diverse health concerns.
This study will provide comprehensive insights into how quality of life should be measured and will result in tools used by the Australian government to allocate health care resources to paediatric health conditions.
Associate Professor Brendan Mulhern
His work with Indigenous Australians and for patients at the end of their life looks at how clinicians can more accurately balance the trade-off between medical and social demands.
“The problem this work addresses is that current measures of quality-of-life focus on a narrow set of dimensions likely to be relevant for medicine, but not for interventions involving social or community aspects,” he said.
“The result is that certain populations are marginalised.” Under Brendan’s leadership, his team has been awarded the Cancer Australia QOL National Technical Service, establishing UTS as the national authority for excellence in quality-of-life research in cancer clinical trials.
“This is research of critical importance to the health system so that funds are allocated equitably in the health system, and resources provide value for money,” Brendan said.
Find out more
For more information about our research impact in the Faculty of Health or for collaboration opportunities, contact:
Professor Angela Dawson
Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Health
E: Angela.Dawson@uts.edu.au
T: +61 (02) 9514 4892
PO Box 123 Broadway NSW 2007 Australia
