PhD – The incorporation of equity considerations in health economic evaluations

Introduction

You are invited to apply for a fully- funded, four-year PhD position, at the department of Health Economics of Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM).

Job description

We are recruiting a PhD candidate for a project on broadening the incorporation of equity considerations in economic evaluations of new health interventions.

Economic evaluations of new health interventions are used to inform decisions on reimbursement from public funding. Equity considerations are increasingly incorporated into these evaluations to increase the likelihood that the outcomes of such reimbursement decisions contribute to both an efficient and equitable distribution of health and healthcare in society. There are different views about what constitutes an equitable distribution of health and healthcare. For example, equity considerations can be associated with characteristics of the patients (e.g., their age and lifestyle), diseases (e.g., their prevalence and severity), and health interventions (e.g., the type and size of health gains they generate).

In the Netherlands, as in several other countries, equity considerations associated with the severity of a disease are incorporated in economic evaluations. This is done by evaluating the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of a health intervention against a higher monetary threshold in case patients are more severely ill. This approach increases the likelihood that such interventions are deemed cost-effective, and hence reimbursed.

Against this background, two recent developments are relevant for this PhD project. Firstly, economic evaluations have, so far, predominantly been applied to assess the cost-effectiveness of new pharmaceuticals in the Netherlands. The abovementioned approach will be extended to other types of interventions, including mental health interventions. However, scientific evidence is currently lacking regarding the extent to which the approach is suitable in the context of such other health interventions. Secondly, there is increased attention paid to including health gains in informal carers—in addition to health gains in patients—in economic evaluations. How and whether health gains in informal caregivers can be aggregated with those of patients remains unclear, as well as whether existing equity weights should be applied to health gains in informal caregivers.

As a PhD candidate working on this project, you will use qualitative and quantitative research methods to provide insight into these research gaps. The (research) skills you will develop during your PhD trajectory are of value for a future career in academia, government, or the health industry.

The PhD position is offered within the department of Health Economics at Erasmus School of

Health Policy & Management (ESHPM). Your supervisors are Dr. Vivian Reckers-Droog and Prof. dr. Werner Brouwer and. Your supervisors give guidance on your research and on various opportunities to present your work in scientific articles and at conferences, to take and teach

courses, to arrange a research visit abroad, and to liaise with policymakers. As such, this PhD position enables you to establish a broad network in health economics and policy.

Finally, you will teach courses offered within the bachelor and master programmes of Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (about 15% of your time).

Job requirements

You are expected to have a (research) master’s degree in health economics, health care policy or management, economics, econometrics, or another relevant master’s degree. The position requires qualitative and quantitative research skills. Therefore, you need to have experience with qualitative and quantitative/statistical research software (e.g., Atlas.ti and Stata, or R). Moreover, you have excellent English communication and writing skills.

Employment conditions and benefits

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

We offer a full-time position as PhD student at Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR).

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The start date of this position is 02-SEP-2024 and you will be based at  Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM). This position is for 1 fte. The salary ranges from a minimum of € 2.770 to a maximum of € 3.539 gross per month Scale PhD on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. We offer a 1.5-year position with the possibility of extension to 4 years based on performance. Starting date of this PhD appointment is as soon as possible and no later than January 1, 2025.

Everything else we offer you, you can find below!

-        Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!

-        Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME or QuEUR.

-        Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget and free access to our university library.

-        Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.

-        Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare (daycare not paid for by EUR).

-        Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Employer

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4.100 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Faculty / Institute / Central service

Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM)

ESHPM is leading within the Netherlands with its teaching and research activities, focusing on economics, policy and management topics in healthcare. ESHPM offers a bachelor programme, five master programmes, a transition programme for lateral entrants and postgraduate education.

Since its foundation in 1982, ESHPM has closely linked research and education. Knowledge and experience from various scientific disciplines such as economics, law, socio-medical sciences, organizational studies and public administration are brought together and applied to healthcare. This multidisciplinary approach to education and research is unique.

ESHPM is housed in the Bayle (J) Building on EUR's Woudestein campus in Rotterdam. More than 1500 students study and 160 employees work at ESHPM. Internationalization is highly valued at ESHPM. The number of students, faculty and researchers from abroad has increased significantly over the past years and have enriched our programmes.

Applying

Please submit your application, consisting of a motivation letter and CV, before the vacancy closing date.

The selection procedure consists of two interviews and

an assessment. Interviews are expected to be held in week 35 and 36 of 2024. You can find more information about the EUR on our website www.eur.nl. For more information about this vacancy, please contact Vivian Reckers-Droog via reckers@eshpm.eur.nl.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Persons of all gender identities or expressions, sexual orientations, religions, ethnicities, ages, neurodiversities, functional impairments, citizenships, or any other characteristic are welcome to apply and join the EUR community.