Bente Verhaegen
Doctoral fellow – Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases Research Unit - Department of Public Health and Primary Care (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UGent)
Principal investigator: prof. Delphine De Smedt (PhD)
Research focus
Given that the healthcare sector, whose primary mission is to protect public health, accounts for roughly 4.4% of global net emissions and thereby contributes to climate-related health risks, integrating environmental sustainability into health technology assessments (HTAs) is essential to ensure that public health objectives align with environmentally sustainable development. By assessing the social, economic, and environmental impacts from a care pathway perspective in holistic sustainability assessments, decision-makers have a broader view to support the development of more resilient, eco-friendly healthcare systems.
This PhD research aims to apply this approach by performing an integrated sustainability assessment of the Flemish population-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening program. To achieve this, health economic methods, typically used in HTAs to assess health outcomes and healthcare costs, will be combined with life cycle assessments (LCA) which quantify the environmental impact across all stages of a product or service. The assessment will adopt a system perspective, including the whole patient care pathway from screening to treatment and follow-up. In addition, various methods for integrating social, economic, and environmental indicators will be reviewed in literature and applied to the case study where appropriate.
Biography
- Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (Major Cancer)
- Master of Science in Health Care Management and Policy
Contact & links
- Lab address: Campus UZ Gent, entrance 42, 4K3, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, B-9000 Gent
- Bente Verhaegen is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks