Adelina Comas Herrera has recently worked on a project analysing the costs of long term care and insurance solutions that supplement public systems to meet rising costs of long term care. This has become a very pertinent issue as the costs of long term care are set to double in most developing countries over the next 20 years. This project funded by the AXA Research Fund explored how private health insurance can support a public system in an efficient and equitable way that prevents people facing catastrophic costs of care. Results found that private long term insurance contributes successfully in countries where there is a universal system that covers part of the costs of care.

Annette Bauer conducts research into the economics in social care, with a particular interest in the wellbeing and preventative side. One of the projects she is involved with is assessing the economic consequences of community capacity building projects - this looks at third sector run, community based projects which offer person centred interventions; previous research carried out by us indicated that they have the potential to achieve cost savings to the public sector. These projects are small and often unable to collect relevant cost and outcome data; this project aims to address some of the gaps and assess their economic value. Another area of research that Annette has been working on is on maternal mental health and the cost effectiveness of interventions; she also now is involved in research that looks at the longer term economic consequences on children that occur when mothers are exposed to depression during or following pregnancy.

Contributor(s): David McDaid | David McDaid conducts research in the economic case for promotion and prevention of mental health rather than focusing on the effectiveness of treatments. The promotion of better mental health and prevention of mental health problems is a very important area for research in England following the new Mental Health Strategy in 2011. He is currently working on the Optimising Suicide Prevention Implementation (OSPI) project which is looking at a number of interventions and strategies in place in Ireland, Portugal, Germany and Hungary to see how effective these are at raising awareness. The economic climate has resulted in a push for strategies on prevention that may lead to reduced need of services for many people. Other projects David is involved in includes interventions to reduce financial debt that can lead to stress and depression, and early interventions in first years of life particularly in education settings.

Many of the projects that Derek King has been involved in for the PSSRU has been quantitative analysis particularly in the topic of mental health and long term care. This work has looked at both the costs and outcomes of various interventions and particular characteristics of individuals in the studies. This work has aimed to show whether interventions in health and social care are cost-effective. A recent project has involved looking at people providing informal care for those with dementia, and in particular has tested whether a new measure that looks at the dependence of the individual with dementia is sensitive to costs in terms of medical services used, medication, social care services received and informal care.

Francesco D’Amico has worked with the PSSRU for 5 years and has been involved in many projects which seek to estimate trends in long term care services. In this video, he talks about a recent project that estimated the consequences of mental health problems. This included a longitudinal study on the long term costs of ADHD and conduct disorders in a lifetime based on contact with social care and other services.

Contributor(s): Marya Saidi | Marya Saidi is a PHD Candidate at PSSRU whose research interests are in mental health and mental health services. Her thesis looks at the housing services for people with mental health problems. Her research has included semi-structured interviews of people with mental health problems living in care homes and supported housing regarding their quality of life, choices and preferences, as well as referral pathways. She also focussed on social inclusion as well as participation in terms of employment and involvement in community activities. Marya is also a member of the LSE Health and Social Care Blog Team.

Valentina Zigante works on economic analysis of the financing and provision of long term care. She is currently involved in two research streams funded by the Department of Health; the Economics of Social and Health Care Research Unit (ESHCRU ) and the Quality and Outcomes of Person Centred Care (QORU ). In the video she discusses a current research project which is focused on informal caregivers. The project looks at how caregiving affects carers longevity and health, relative to the intensity of care provided.