The Centre for Health Policy (CHP) strives to identify, critique, co-design, implement and evaluate policy options that protect the health of populations; to formulate, with partners, strategies that improve access, organisation, and delivery of health services or programs, particularly as they affect the most vulnerable; and to identify strategies for enhancing the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of health care systems in addressing the most pressing health and care challenges.
We offer a leading independent voice on health policy, generating new evidence and insights to inform debates and strengthen health care decision making. The Centre boasts a diverse, interdisciplinary group of scholars including health economists, evaluation and implementation scientists, clinicians, social scientists, legal scholars, policy analysts, sociologists, political scientists, demographers and executive managers. In 2021 the Centre comprised 60 academic and professional staff, as well as 35 honorary staff representing a diverse group of experts from industry, government and NGO sectors. Many staff members serve as advisors to federal, state, and international organisations.
The Centre for Health Policy has six broad streams:
- Cancer Health Services Research
- Demography and Ageing
- Evaluation and Implementation Science
- Health Economics
- Healthy Housing
- Law and Public Health
The Centre is also the coordinating home to M-VAC, the Melbourne Health Technology and Value Assessment Collaborative, established in 2021 and contracted to conduct value-based assessments and evaluations of pharmaceuticals, health services and technologies, preventive and curative programs, and digital health applications. M-VAC provides a comprehensive stream of research, consultancy and advisory services to underpin value-based health care agendas, and reforms.
The Centre for Health Policy runs a number of short courses in Health Program Evaluation and Health Economics:
- Designing Economic Evaluation Alongside Clinical Studies
- Evaluating Public Health Interventions using Economic and Epidemiologic Methods
- Health Program Evaluation: Scoping the Evaluation
- Introduction to Cost Effectiveness Analysis in Health
- Measuring Inequality and Mobility in Health and Income
- Practical methods for Health Economic Evaluation
In addition we contribute to teaching within the Master of Public Health and from 2022 we will offer a Graduate Certificate in Health Economics.