Health Economics
Health economics looks at the costs and effectiveness of different types of health care programmes, considering the full cost to the health system, in order to inform decision making.
Key project: Costs of Breast Cancer in New Zealand
Dr Chunhuan Lao has been working with hospital clinicians to quantify the cost of breast cancer in New Zealand, examining the national and individual costs of breast cancer over time, comparing the costs by age, ethnicity, stage, and mode of detection.
The results of this project will inform healthcare planning such as decisions to introduce new treatment regimens for breast cancer. It will also guide healthcare planners for better resource allocation to reduce inequities in breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and health outcomes.
Project partners
The project was funded by the Health Research Council. Breast Cancer Foundation.
Other projects include the costs for patients living with arthritis, the costs of orthopaedic hip and knee replacements, and the cost effectiveness of day surgery for Ear Nose and Throat treatments.
Recent publications
- . Oetzel, J. G., Lao, C., Morley, M., Penman, K., Child, M., Scott, N., & Karalus, M. (2019). BMC Public Health, 19(1), 11 pages. doi:10.1186/s12889-019-6695-3
- . Lao C, Lees D, Patel S, White D, Lawrenson R. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019; mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/23/4789.
- . Lao C, Lees D, Patel S, White D, Lawrenson R. BMJ Open. 2019; DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032993
- . Lao C, Lawrenson R, Edwards M, Campbell I. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2019 Sep;177(2):497-505. DOI:
- r. Lawrenson R, Lao C, Ali A, Campbell I. J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2019 Apr;63(2):250-256. DOI: 10.1111/1754-9485.12838
- . Lawrenson R, Lao C, Jacobson G, Seneviratne S, Scott N, Sarfati D, Elwood M, Campbell I. J Med Screen. 2019 May 8:969141319844801. DOI: 10.1177/0969141319844801
- . Blackmore T, Lawrenson R, Lao C, Edwards M, Kuper-Hommel M, Elwood M, Campbell I. Maturitas. 2018 Jun;112:64-70. DOI: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2018.03.018
- r. Lawrenson, R., Lao, C., Campbell, I., Harvey, V., Brown, C., Seneviratne, S, Elwood, M. and Kuper-Hommel, M., 2018. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, April, 2018: 14(2), pp.e152-e160. Epub 2017 Aug 30. DOI:
- . Lawrenson R, Lao C, Campbell I, Harvey V, Seneviratne S, Elwood M, Sarfati D, Kuper-Hommel M. N Z Med J. 2018 May 18;131(1475):51-60. PMID: 29771902
- . Campbell I, Lao C, Blackmore T, Edwards M, Hayes L, Ng A, Lawrenson R. ANZ J Surg. 2018 Sep 25. DOI: 10.1111/ans.14840
- . Ooi C, Solanki K, Lao C, Frampton C, White D. Int J Rheum Dis. 2018 Jan;21(1):253-260. Epub 2017 Jun. DOI: 10.1111/1756-185X.13111