In this symposium, organised as in celebration of the EsCHER Eddy Van Doorslaer award 2023, the pivotal findings of the paper awarded set the stage for a discussion on inequalities during mental health treatment. Bringing research, policy and practice together the panelists will discuss potential causes and solutions
Eddy Van Doorslaer Research Excellence Award recognizes excellent research in the broad field of Health Economics. The publication awarded for 2023 edition, by Francisca Vargas Lopes and co-authors in The Lancet Psychiatry, describes how inequalities favouring patients with higher income persist through the different stages of mental health treatment, beyond the point of access, widening the mental health gap. These findings, pivotal in quantifying the problem at the international level, bring in new questions about the causes and solutions of the uncovered disparities.
Following the brief presentation of the findings from 'Income inequalities beyond access to mental health care: a Dutch nationwide record-linkage cohort study of baseline disease severity, treatment intensity, and mental health outcomes', three panelists with vast experience in mental health research, policy and practice will embark on a discussion about the hypotheses behind the findings, and how these results can be followed up by more investigation and/or action. There will be time for questions by the audience.
Programme
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 12:30 | Coffee and Welcome - EsCHER |
| 12.40 | Award - Eddy Van Doorslaer, ESHPM |
| 12.50 | Presentation of the study findings – Francisca Vargas Lopes, ESHPM |
| 13.10 | Roundtable bringing research, policy and practice together to find solutions
|
Registration
'This article builds on the strong Rotterdam tradition of pathbreaking research on equity in healthcare that was initiated by Eddy Van Doorslaer. It is well written and is relevant for both the health economics literature and mental health care policy, in the Netherlands and beyond. It takes three leaps that advance the literature. First, it harnesses the power of linked administrative data that provide population coverage and detailed control for need, while reducing measurement error. Second, it delivers rare evidence on socioeconomic inequity in the underexplored area of mental healthcare. Third, it goes beyond the mere measurement of inequity in access to that care to provide detailed evidence of socioeconomic disparities, not only in the extent of treatment but also in the change in mental health following treatment. And last but not least: the results are startling. Poorer patients obtain less mental health care after adjusting for their greater need, and their mental health improves much less than that of richer patients.'
- More information
Physical event only. No fee but registration required and limited capacity. For queries contact vargaslopes@eshpm.eur.nl
