Specialised Paediatric PAlliativE CaRe: Assessing Economic and health system outcomes in a multi-site context of various care settings (SPhAERA-E)

Globally, the number of children and adolescents suffering from life-limiting conditions potentially in need of specialised paediatric palliative care (SPPC) is rising. SPPC focuses on the support of patients and their entire families through a multi-professional team of specialised experts. Evidence on the effectiveness of SPPC, however, is scarce. Particularly, information on its economic and financial impact remains limited. As part of the larger SPhAERA study, SPhAERA-E aims at investigating the economic and financial impact of providing SPPC. The specific objectives are to determine whether or not SPPC reduces the utilisation of healthcare resources and costs as well as direct and indirect health-related household expenditures. In designing family friendly, sustainable and efficient healthcare systems, decision-maker, clinical professionals and academics profit from an enhanced understanding of the economic and financial effects of operating SPPC programmes. SPhAERA-E adds to the existing knowledge by improving the understanding of the economic and financial consequences of providing SPPC, on both the healthcare system and the family level.

Keywords: Paediatrics, palliative care, health economics, cost of illness, family burden, cost analysis

Short Biography

Stefan Mitterer has a bachelor’s degree in Applied Economics from the Applied University of Osnabrück, Germany and a master’s degree in Health Economics, Policy and Management from the University of Oslo, Norway. During his master studies he worked as an intern at the HTA Department of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Stefan Mitterer is currently serving as a PhD-Candidate at the Institute of Nursing Science at the University of Basel, Switzerland. As a health economist, he is part of the Specialised Paediatric PAlliativE CaRe: Assessing family, healthcare professionals and health system outcomes in a multi-site context of various care settings (SPhAERA) project led by Dr. Karin Zimmermann.

Stefan Johannes Mitterer
Institute of Nursing Science (INS)
University of Basel

Personal Website
stefan.mitterer@unibas.ch

Supervisor: Michael Simon
Co-Supervisor: Günther Fink