Whither economic evaluation in the case of COVID-19: What can the field of mental health economics contribute within the Australian context?
Aust N Z J Psychiatry
; 54(12): 1157-1161, 2020 12.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-810541
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has resulted in broad impacts on the economy and aspects of daily life including our collective mental health and well-being. The Australian health care system already faces limitations in its ability to treat people with mental health diagnoses. Australia has responded to the COVID-19 outbreak by, among other initiatives, providing reimbursement for telehealth services. However, it is unclear if these measures will be enough to manage the psychological distress, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic distress shown to accompany infectious disease outbreaks and economic shocks. Decision making has focused on the physical health ramifications of COVID-19, the avoidance of over-burdening the health care system and saving lives. We propose an alternative framework for decision making that combines life years saved with impacts on quality of life. A framework that simultaneously includes mental health and broader economic impacts into a single decision-making process would facilitate transparent and accountable decision making that can improve the overall welfare of Australian society as we continue to address the considerable challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic is creating.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Quality of Life
/
Mental Health
/
COVID-19
/
Mental Disorders
/
Mental Health Services
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Oceania
Language:
English
Journal:
Aust N Z J Psychiatry
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
0004867420963724
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