Objective: To explore the advantages and disadvantages of different retraction devices used for laparoscopic surgery. The main focus was on its impact on operation time, length of stay, use of staff, complications or negative outcomes (such as pain, liver functioning or damage, blood loss),...

With the economic downturn inflicting austerity on the British National Health Service, the issue of efficiency is of paramount importance for health care policy makers who are called upon to identify where efficiency savings can be made without hindering the quality of care. Research exploring...

The arrival of personalized medicine in the clinic means that treatment decisions will increasingly rely on test results. The challenge of limited health care resources means that the dissemination of these technologies will be dependent on their value in relation to their cost; i.e. their cost...

The methodology used when estimating utilities assumes that the best health state in a health-related quality of life (HrQoL) measure is equivalent to perfect health, with both valued at one. In this paper we explore the impact of relaxing this assumption by treating measured utilities as...

Background - There are now a variety of preference based health related quality of life measures available. These instruments describe health in different terms and also use different methods for measuring individual preferences for health. Whilst these instruments have been shown to have...

Pathology services are increasingly recognised as key to effective healthcare delivery - underpinning diagnosis, long-term disease management and research. To the extent that pathology services affect a patient’s treatment pathway, significant healthcare costs are influenced directly by the...

Purpose: To describe the economic burden of cancer survivorship for disease-free breast, colorectal and prostate cancer patients in the UK, one year post-diagnosis. Methods: Patient-level data were collected over a three months period 12-15 months post diagnosis to estimate the monthly societal...

Aim: Pressure Ulcers are an important health care problem, recognized as ‘Never Events’ by the US Government. To date, there is no instrument to capture their health utility impact, or the value of treatments and prevention strategies. The Pressure Ulcer Quality of Life Utility Instrument...

Purpose: To provide insights on the relationship between health and employment in older age. Design/methodology: Qualitative methods are used with some additional quantitative analysis to explore generalisations. The qualitative analysis is based on interviews with 56 men and women between the...