14th International Society for Priorities in Health Conference

Ms Marie-Anne Boujaoude, along with Associate Professor Natalie Carvalho from the University of Melbourne, Mr Sarin KC and Ms Chittawan Ponsiri from HITAP, Dr Kyoko Shimamoto from Keio University, Dr Matthew Robson from Erasmus University, Dr Anita Lal from Deakin University, Professor Sitanshu Sekar Khar from JIPMER, Dr Gunjeet Kaur from the National University of Singapore, and Dr Xianong He from Tianjin University, organized and participated in a session on “Equity in Health Technology Assessment (HTA)” at the 14th International Society for Priorities in Health Conference held in Bangkok from May 8th to 10th, 2024.

The session focused on Distributional Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (DCEA) and its building blocks. It was divided into three parts: an introduction to key concepts of health equity and DCEA, presentations on essential building blocks for DCEA, and insights into how different countries are working on generating the evidence needed to incorporate equity in their HTA processes. The session aimed to enhance participants' understanding of equity in HTA, learn from global advancements, and discuss challenges and solutions.

Additionally, Ms Marie-Anne Boujaoude, who was funded by SPECTRUM Modelling Consortium, presented her work in an oral presentation titled "Equity-Centred Analysis of Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefit Advisory Committee (PBAC) Vaccine Funding Recommendations: A Critical Review of Public Summary Documents," emphasizing the role of equity in the evidence currently used in decision-making.

The conference facilitated valuable discussions and collaborations among academics, advancing the field of health equity in HTA. Ms Marie-Anne will also be organizing an online meeting for researchers working on DCEA and health inequality aversion in the Asia-Pacific and Europe regions who met at the conference. This meeting will create opportunities for collaboration and support among the researchers.