prof.dr. L (Leona) Hakkaart - van Roijen

Biography

My aim is to contribute to the improvement of health and well-being of patients, with a particular focus on those with mental health problems. Good mental health is crucial for individuals to function well in society. To this end, I use Health Technology Assessment (HTA) as a process for evaluating the safety, efficacy, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of medical interventions, including those related to mental health care. Conducting economic evaluations is a component of HTA that specifically examines the costs and benefits of an intervention to determine its value for money.

My goal is to make significant contributions to the establishment of effective prevention and treatment measures, improve the accuracy and timeliness of selecting optimal treatments for patients, promote cost-effective treatments, and develop sustainable healthcare policies from a societal perspective. Additionally, my aim is to bridge the gap between scientific research and practical application, with a focus on generating meaningful impact through collaboration across multiple disciplines. This includes working closely with scientists, students, practitioners, policymakers, and patients to develop, validate, disseminate, and implement knowledge that promotes mental health and well-being for all.

Already during my study (micro-) economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, I developed a strong interest in studying parts of the economy that were less visible, however of high value for society, such as economics of the household sector and informal caregiving. I further developed this socio-economic interest during my doctorate in Health Economics. My research contributed to the development of methods and instruments to measure and value benefits and costs from a societal perspective. These methods and tools are used for informed decision making by policymakers in health care on macro and micro level. My research has provided both important methodological insights and practical tools for economic evaluations in health care in general and mental health in particular.  My PhD thesis was devoted to measuring and valuing cost from a societal perspective including the innovative and promising Friction Cost Methods (FCM) and the Short-Form Health and Labour Questionnaire (SF-HLQ), the forerunner of the iMTA Productivity Cost Questionnaire (iPCQ).  Currently, the iPCQ is translated in 15 Languages, and applied in international studies for economic evaluations. 

Moreover, as author of the ‘Costing Manual for Economic Evaluations’ I contributed to the harmonization and standardization of costing economic evaluations in health care. This manual is still the leading example for countries that lack guidelines for costing studies. 

Inefficiency in mental health care is reflected, among others, in long waiting lists and over and undertreatment. To support clinicians in daily practice to provide adequate treatment to the right patient at the right time and in the right setting, I developed four diagnosis-specific Decision Tools (DT), namely personality disorders, eating disorders, unipolar depression, and anxiety disorders. Based on these decision tools, I developed a transdiagnostic decision tool for the early identification of patients for highly specialized care (TDDT). For the development of the decision tools, I developed an approach using a mixed method, combining literature search in cocreation with experts using concept mapping. In absence of sensitive Quality of Life outcome measures for moderate to severe mental health patients, I played an important role in the development of a new preference based mental health-related quality of life instrument, the Mental Health Quality of Life Questionnaire (MHQoL) to assess quality of life in people with mental health. In the field of mental health care, the MHQoL is a well-respected and established tool, validated by rigorous scientific research and offering valuable insights into patients' quality of life.