Meet the Researcher

Dr Julie Campbell

Menzies Institute for Medical Research, TAS

Dr Julie Campbell is a Senior Research Fellow at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania.

As an economist and MS health economist, Dr Campbell is very interested in the broader societal perspective when calculating health economic impact and says it is not just about the direct medical costs.

Dr Campbell enjoys everything about working collaboratively with MS Australia and the Menzies MS Research flagship team in her home state of Tasmania.

About Dr Julie Campbell

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself
When I'm not working on MS health economics, I spend my time caring for my son and with family and friends. I enjoy listening to my son play a variety of musical instruments and I try to keep up with him by playing piano. I enjoy cooking and spending time in the garden. Travel is also something I enjoy if I can find the time!
What inspired you to get involved in MS research?
This is my sixth year in working as a MS health economist and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue my work in the field. I've learnt a lot over that time about where we do things well in calculating health economic burden of MS, but also about where the gaps are. As an economist and health economist I'm very interested in the broader societal perspective when calculating health economic impact. It's not just about the direct medical costs. Flow on effects to families and carers should be included in health economics analysis. Also, the flow on effects to people living with MS and their families and carers in the years preceding diagnosis are crucially important to be understood and included. Additionally, we have a lot to learn about the National Disability Insurance Scheme and how access and equity to the scheme can be improved for people living with MS.
What do you think has been the most exciting development in MS research?
The science inspires me every day; this science is working towards curing MS, or halting or slowing disability severity to improve the lives of people living with MS and their families and supporters. As a health economist I calculate the cost saved if we can halt or slow MS related disability severity, or even the cost saved if we can cure or stop MS. In the Menzies MS Research Flagship team I am surrounded by global leaders in MS science and epidemiology, and their work inspires me to provide support from a health economics perspective.
Tell us about your current research project
My first project of postdoctoral work on the cost estimates of MS in Australia were based on traditional health economic methods where the total direct and indirect cost (productivity) was estimated to be $2.5 billion in 2021. My vision is to build on this work to adopt modern health economics thinking and methods regarding novel elements of value and appropriately measure and incorporate these new elements of value into this health economics analysis. These novel elements of value include elements that are broader (and more difficult to value from an economics standpoint; but this does not mean they should not be valued!) and important for people living with MS. These elements include the impacts on families and their supporters, the value of hope, broader productivity impacts, equity impacts and the value of scientific advances (form the perspective of the people living with MS). This will help us estimate the broader societal economic burden of MS; and assess the health economic impact of programs, interventions and systems that aim to improve the lives of people with MS and reduce the societal burden of MS.
Why is your research important and how will it influence the understanding and treatment of MS?
Health economics analysis is important because it is a necessary component for reimbursement decisions such as medications decisions with the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) for disease modifying therapies. My next program of work will include, for example, the impacts that increasing MS-related disability severity has on families and supporters, and the value of hope and productivity. In turn, including these impacts will likely render an intervention cost-effective because increased disability severity means increased health economic impact (including costs and quality of life).
What do you enjoy most about working in the lab and what are some of the challenges you face?
I enjoy everything about working collaboratively with MS Australia and the Menzies MS Research flagship team. I also enjoy work collaboratively with other MS researchers both within Australia and internationally. Working on the health economic impact of MS enables me to work with my scientific colleagues when they require an economics perspective to their work. This is another rewarding component of my role - when I'm called upon to provide health economics analysis to a project that is strong from a scientific of epidemiological perspective to provide a broader perspective to the analysis. An example is the MS Nurses report where I provided the health economics analysis to an already excellent report. I was able to draw on my building knowledge and skills in MS health economics to show that employing more MS Nurses would be cost saving to Australian society. I am now thoroughly enjoying contributing as a member of the MS Nurses Working Group.
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Julie Campbell