Assoc Prof Paula Lorgelly - Researcher Profile

Paula Lorgelly

Address

Centre for Health Economics
Building 75, Clayton

Contact Details

Tel: +61 3 990 58411

Email: Paula.Lorgelly@monash.edu


Biography

Capabilities and choices help measure health success

Far from being a dry numbers game, economics can save lives. Assoc Prof Paula Lorgelly is a leading member of the Centre for Health Economics, which develops new ways to measure the potential outcomes of health policies. Her work helps governments and health administrators decide how best to use scarce resources to prevent illness and treat the sick.

Paula, a health economist, says the health system of each state and country must constantly evaluate its resources. Each will have different policies that work best for its citizens.

“Our government-funded health system can’t afford everything,” she says. “We need to understand the influences on our health, the outcomes and the costs. This helps us to make more informed decisions.”

She focuses on public health, a discipline that looks for ways to prevent, control and manage prevalent diseases such as diabetes and HIV through community interventions, rather than in medical settings.

“In a developed country like Australia, the work of a health economist will primarily improve quality of life. In a developing country, an intervention of the same magnitude can save somebody’s life,” Paula says.

Recently she helped the Papua New Guinea Government evaluate what health clinics and services it could establish with the help of a development loan and whether it could afford to pay off such a loan.

This potential to make an impact in places with serious health challenges is also why she wants to work with our Indigenous communities, where life expectancies are dramatically lower than for other Australians.

“The most exciting part of my work is the output, and the confidence that we can gain in making a particular decision through a broader understanding of the problem,” she says.

Methods for measuring the outcomes of public health interventions are still quite unrefined. There are proven ways for measuring the health effects of pharmaceutical, prosthetic and even counselling treatments. But public health policies have a broader task, not just health but also broader wellbeing. Some programs might try to improve access to health care, reduce levels of crime, or promote social inclusion.

Paula is working with international collaborators on a project funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC). The research aims to create clearer benchmarks for self-assessment surveys – a common diagnostic and research tool used by public health specialists.

If a person is asked to assess their own fitness, their perception could be distorted because, for instance, they live in a house full of Olympic swimmers, she says. “We need to understand self-reporting behaviour and the factors that might influence misreporting.”

At the heart of Paula’s research is how health economists can measure ‘capabilities’. This is a holistic approach that tries to identify the choices and pathways that are available to people at any given time. She says these give better insight than ‘material’ measures such as income, level of education and overall health.

Capabilities give essential information on what kinds of public health interventions could work. For example, a government trying to tackle obesity needs to know why its citizens do not walk to the supermarket. It might be because they lack motivation, or maybe they want to but cannot because the path is too dangerous.

“Measurement is the first step to figuring out what’s going to work to ensure that people have more options for their health and wellbeing and to ensure that these options offer value for money.”

Keywords

determinants of health and healthcare, economics evaluation, health economics, outcome measurement

Qualifications

POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN ACADEMIC PRACTICE
Institution: University of Nottingham / United Kingdom
Year awarded: 2002
PH.D
Institution: University of Otago / New Zealand
Year awarded: 2000
B.SC (HONS)
Institution: University of Canterbury / New Zealand
Year awarded: 1996

Publications

Books

Neil, E., Cossar, J., Jones, C., Lorgelly, P., Young, J., 2011, Supporting Direct Contact after Adoption, British Association for Adoption and Fostering, London UK.

Neil, E., Cossar, J., Lorgelly, P., Young, J., 2010, Helping Birth Families: Services, Costs and Outcomes, British Association for Adoption & Fostering, London UK.

Book Chapters

Lorgelly, P., 2006, Gender inequalities in health and health care: What do we know so far?, in Naturbilder und Lebensgrundlagen: Konstrucktionen von Geschlecht, eds Waltraud Ernst and Ulrike Bohle, Lit Verlag, Hamburg Germany, pp. 120-141.

Journal Articles

Ferguson, J., Docherty, G., Bauld, L., Lewis, S., Lorgelly, P.K., Boyd, K., McEwen, A., Coleman, T., 2012, Effect of offering different levels of support and free nicotine replacement therapy via an English national telephone quitline: Randomised controlled trial, British Medical Journal [P], vol 344, issue 7854, BMJ Group, London UK, pp. 1-13.

Hendry, G.J., Turner, D.E., Lorgelly, P.K., Woodburn, J., 2012, Room for improvement: Patient, parent and practitioners' perceptions of food problems and foot care in juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Archives Of Physical Medicine And Rehabilitation [P], vol 93, issue 11, W B Saunders Co, Maryland Heights USA, pp. 2062-2067.

Geue, C., Lewsey, J., Lorgelly, P.K., Govan, L., Hart, C., Briggs, A.H., 2012, Spoilt for choice: Implications of using alternative methods of costing hospital episode statistics, Health Economics [P], vol 21, issue 10, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester UK, pp. 1201-1216.

McKenna, C., Burch, J., Suekarran, S., Walker, S., Bakhai, A., Witte, K., Harden, M., Wright, K., Woolacott, N., Lorgelly, P.K., Fenwick, L., Palmer, S., 2010, A systematic review and economic evaluation of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of aldosterone antagonists for postmyocardial infarction heart failure, Health Technology Assessment [P], vol 14, issue 24, Health Technology Assessment, Southampton, UK, pp. 1-161.

Lorgelly, P., Briggs, A., Wedel, H., Dunselman, P., Hjalmarson, A., Kjekshus, J., Waagstein, F., Wikstrand, J., Janosi, A., Van Veldhuisen, D., Barrios, V., Fonseca, C., McMurray, J., 2010, An economic evaluation of rosuvastatin treatment in systolic heart failure: Evidence from the CORONA trial, European Journal of Heart Failure [P], vol 12, issue 1, Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, pp. 66-74.

Davies, C., Lorgelly, P., Shemilt, I., Mugford, M., Tucker, K., MacGregor, A., 2010, Can choices between alternative hip prostheses be evidence based? A review of the economic evaluation literature, Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation [P], vol 8, issue 20, BioMed Central Ltd, UK, pp. 1-10.

Owen, M., Lorgelly, P., Serpell, M., 2010, Chronic pain following donor nephrectomy - A study of the incidence, nature and impact of chronic post-nephrectomy pain, European Journal of Pain [P], vol 14, issue 7, Elsevier BV, United Kingdom, pp. 732-734.

Lambert, R., Lorgelly, P., Harvey, I., Poland, F., 2010, Cost-effectiveness analysis of an occupational therapy-led lifestyle approach and routine general practitioner's care for panic disorder, Social Psychiatry And Psychiatric Epidemiology [P], vol 45, issue 7, Dr Dietrich Steinkopff Verlag, Germany, pp. 741-750.

Gray, E., Lorgelly, P.K., 2010, Health economics education in undergraduate medical degrees: An assessment of curricula content and student knowledge, Medical Teacher [P], vol 32, issue 5, Informa Healthcare, UK, pp. 392-399.

Lorgelly, P., Atkinson, M., Lakhanpaul, M., Smyth, A., Vyas, H., Weston, V., Stephenson, T., 2010, Oral versus i.v. antibiotics for community-acquired pneumonia in children: A cost-minimisation analysis, European Respiratory Journal [P], vol 35, issue 4, European Respiratory Society, Switzerland, pp. 858-864.

Lorgelly, P.K., Lawson, K.D., Fenwick, L., Briggs, A.H., 2010, Outcome measurement in economic evaluations of public health interventions: A role for the capability approach?, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [E], vol 7, issue 5, Molecular Diversity Preservation International (M D P I), Switzerland, pp. 2274-2289.

Bachmann, M., O'Brien, M., Husbands, C., Shreeve, A., Jones, N., Watson, J., Reading, R., Thoburn, J., Mugford, M., Brandon, M., Franklin, A., Harvey, I., Haynes, R., Lanyon, C., Lorgelly, P., Lu, Y., Norris, N., Sinclair, R., Sykes, I., Walker, R., 2009, Integrating children's services in England: National evaluation of children's trusts, Child Care Health And Development [P], vol 35, issue 2, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, United Kingdom, pp. 257-265.

Lorgelly, P., Bachmann, M., Shreeve, A., Reading, R., Thoburn, J., Mugford, M., O'Brien, M., Husbands, C., 2009, Is it feasible to pool funds for local children's services in England? Evidence from the national evaluation of children's trust pathfinders, Journal of Health Services Research and Policy [P], vol 14, issue 1, Royal Society of Medicine Press Ltd, United Kingdom, pp. 27-34.

Hendry, G., Turner, D., McColl, J., Lorgelly, P., Sturrock, R., Watt, G., Browne, M., Gardner-Medwin, J., Friel, L., Woodburn, J., 2009, Protocol for the Foot in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis trial (FiJIA): A randomised controlled trial of an integrated foot care programme for foot problems in JIA, Journal of Foot and Ankle Research [E], vol 2, BioMed Central Ltd, United Kingdom, pp. 1-10.

Coleman, T., McEwen, A., Bauld, L., Ferguson, J., Lorgelly, P., Lewis, S., 2009, Protocol for the Proactive Or Reactive Telephone Smoking CeSsation Support (PORTSSS) trial, Trials [P], vol 10, BioMed Central Ltd, United Kingdom, pp. 1-12.

Lorgelly, P., Joshi, D., Gomara, M., Gray, J., Mugford, M., 2008, Exploring the cost effectiveness of an immunization programme for rotavirus gastroenteritis in the United Kingdom, Epidemiology And Infection [P], vol 136, issue 1, Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom, pp. 44-55.

Lorgelly, P., Joshi, D., Gomara, M., Flood, C., Hughes, C., Dalrymple, J., Gray, J., Mugford, M., 2008, Infantile gastroenteritis in the community: A cost-of-illness study, Epidemiology And Infection [P], vol 136, issue 1, Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom, pp. 34-43.

Gomara, M., Simpson, R., Perault, A., Redpath, C., Lorgelly, P., Joshi, D., Mugford, M., Hughes, C., Dalrymple, J., Desselberger, U., Gray, J., 2008, Structured surveillance of infantile gastroenteritis in East Anglia, UK: Incidence of infection with common viral gastroenteric pathogens, Epidemiology And Infection [P], vol 136, issue 1, Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom, pp. 23-33.

Coast, J., Smith, R., Lorgelly, P., 2008, Welfarism, extra-welfarism and capability: The spread of ideas in health economics, Social Science and Medicine [P], vol 67, issue 7, Pergamon, United Kingdom, pp. 1190-1198.

Lorgelly, P., Lindley, J., 2008, What is the relationship between income inequality and health? Evidence from the BHPS, Health Economics [P], vol 17, issue 2, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, United Kingdom, pp. 249-265.

Mota, R., Lorgelly, P., Mugford, M., Toroyan, T., Oakley, A., Laing, G., Roberts, I., 2006, Out-of-home day care for families living in a disadvantaged area of London: Economic evaluation alongside a RCT, Child Care Health And Development [P], vol 32, issue 3, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, United Kingdom, pp. 287-302.

Van Damme, P., Van der Wielen, M., Ansaldi, F., Desgrandchamps, D., Domingo, J., Gray, J., Haditsch, M., Johansen, K., Lorgelly, P., Lorrot, M., Parez, N., Reschke, V., Rose, M., 2006, Rotavirus vaccines: Considerations for successful implementation in Europe, Lancet Infectious Diseases [P], vol 6, issue 12, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, United Kingdom, pp. 805-812.

Bachmann, M., Reading, R., Husbands, C., O'Brien, M., Thoburn, J., Shemilt, I., Watson, J., Jones, N., Haynes, R., Mugford, M., Brandon, M., Harvey, I., Lorgelly, P., Lu, Y., Norris, N., Shreeve, A., Sinclair, R., Sykes, I., Walker, R., 2006, What are children's trusts? Early findings from a national survey, Child Care Health And Development [P], vol 32, issue 2, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, United Kingdom, pp. 137-146.

Lorgelly, P., Dias, J., Bradley, M., Burke, F., 2005, Carpal tunnel syndrome, the search for a cost-effective surgical intervention: A randomised controlled trial, Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England [P], vol 87, issue 1, The Royal College of Surgeons of England, United Kingdom, pp. 36-40.

Teaching Commitment

ECX9750 Principles of health economics for developing countries

http://monash.edu/pubs/handbooks/units/ECX9750.html

 

Grants

Title:
A brief couple-focussed psychoeducational intervention to prevent postnatal mental health problems in women: a cluster randomised trial.
Investigators:
Fisher, J, Rowe, H, Lorgelly, P, Ranasinha, S, Proimos, J
Funding:
(2012 - 2016). National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
(2013 - 2017). National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Title:
Mis-Reporting, Adaptation and Anchoring: The implications for Self Assessed Health.
Investigators:
Lorgelly, P, Hollingsworth, B, Harris, M, Greene, W, Wildman, J, Rice, N
Funding:
(2011 - 2014). Australian Research Council (ARC).
(2011 - 2014). Monash University.
(2011 - 2015). Australian Research Council (ARC).
(2011 - 2015). Curtin University of Technology.
Title:
Cancer 2015: Translating discovery into cures.
Investigators:
Lorgelly, P, Sambrook, J
Funding:
(2011 - 2015). Victorian Cancer Agency.

Postgraduate Research Supervisions

Current Supervision

Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Are the urban poor vulnerable to non-communicable diseases? A survey of risk factors for non-communi.
Supervisors:
Renzaho, A (Main), Lorgelly, P (Associate), Oldroyd, J (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Comparing generic preference-weighted quality of life instruments.
Supervisors:
Lorgelly, P (Main).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Determining the value of personalised medicine in oncology.
Supervisors:
Lorgelly, P (Main), Harris, A (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Economic modelling of chronic diseases in a multiple morbidity environment.
Supervisors:
Harris, A (Main), Lorgelly, P (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Economics of sleep health in quadriplegia.
Supervisors:
Mortimer, D (Main), Lorgelly, P (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Efficiency and equity of perinatal mental health services.
Supervisors:
Lancsar, E (Joint-co), Lorgelly, P (Associate), Fisher, J (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Expanding the knowledge base of rural and remote health workforce of Australia.
Supervisors:
Oldenburg, B (Main), Lorgelly, P (Associate), Oldroyd, J (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Self assessed health: an analysis of the influence of question wording and response options.
Supervisors:
Poskitt, D (Main), Harris, M (Associate), Lorgelly, P (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Three essays on the relationship between economic factors and alcohol purchasing.
Supervisors:
Lorgelly, P (Main), Sharma, A (Associate).