Health Organisation, Policy & Economics (HOPE)

This interdisciplinary group undertakes research on the determinants of health, health inequalities, and the organisation and financing of health and care services.

Our expertise encompasses rigorous econometric analysis and a wide range of qualitative social scientific methods, including particular experience in the use of ethnographic approaches to understand organisational processes.

We use mixed methods to study the important challenges facing health and care systems, including:

care organisation, delivery and integration;
payment and incentive systems;
determinants of health and health inequalities;
working conditions and labour supply.

HOPE provides a vibrant research community, with weekly internal or external seminars, a reading group, and frequent international visitors. The group compromises over 50 staff and PhD students, including economists, clinicians, social scientists, health service and policy researchers.

We are part of the NIHR Global Health Research Group on Sustainable Treatment of Anxiety and Depression in Indonesia (STAND Indonesia), contributing to international efforts to improve mental health systems in low- and middle-income countries.

We also help to manage the Special Interest Group on Financing for Universal Health Coverage of the International Health Economics Association (IHEA) (IHEA FUHC SIG), promoting dialogue and research around sustainable and equitable health financing globally.

We aim to inform the development of future health and care policy, and communicate our findings to government, policy-makers, practitioners and academics.

Led by: Professor Kath Checkland and Professor Matt Sutton.