Whither economic evaluation in the case of COVID-19: What can the field of mental health economics contribute within the Australian context?

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

COVID-19 has resulted in broad impacts on the economy and aspects of daily life including our collective mental health and well-being. The Australian health care system already faces limitations in its ability to treat people with mental health diagnoses. Australia has responded to the COVID-19 outbreak by, among other initiatives, providing reimbursement for telehealth services. However, it is unclear if these measures will be enough to manage the psychological distress, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic distress shown to accompany infectious disease outbreaks and economic shocks. Decision making has focused on the physical health ramifications of COVID-19, the avoidance of over-burdening the health care system and saving lives. We propose an alternative framework for decision making that combines life years saved with impacts on quality of life. A framework that simultaneously includes mental health and broader economic impacts into a single decision-making process would facilitate transparent and accountable decision making that can improve the overall welfare of Australian society as we continue to address the considerable challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic is creating.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1157-1161
Number of pages5
JournalAustralian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
Volume54
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • Economic evaluation
  • health economics

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