practice that will improve the health and well-being of all , not only in South Africa but also in other countries .
What are recent trends or emerging topics in health economics research ?
In conversation with ...
Prof . Frikkie Booysen
Prof . Frikkie Booysen is a professor of economics at the University of the Witwatersrand . He holds the PPS Chair in Health Economics and co-founded the Lelapa Consortium for research on Family Health and Development , a collaboration with the Institute for Global Health at University College London .
Behavioural health economics and experimental economics have become very prominent . Behavioural health economics is where psychology is integrated into economics in studying health and healthcare . Experimental economics focuses on employing laboratory and field experiments to explain and understand health-related human behaviour . Apart from these , the economic evaluation of programmes and , of course , looking at the bigger picture , examining the role of healthcare financing in achieving universal health coverage , remain focus areas .
What sparked your interest in health economics and how did it become a career focus ?
I was first introduced to health economics when I joined the University of the Free State ( UFS ) in 1999 . At a faculty retreat , I met a health sociologist , Prof Van Rensburg , who at the time was the Director of the Centre for Health Systems Research and Development at UFS . He was the one who invited me to collaborate on the centre ’ s health research and bring an economic lens to their work . If I had not met him , I would not be where I am today .
What does the PPS Chair in Health Economics at Wits University entail ? How does it contribute to both academic research and practical applications in the field of health economics ?
In this Chair , I aim to conduct cutting-edge research with a view to informing policy and
How do you see the role of the Chair ’ s research in informing local and global healthcare policies and decision-making , especially considering the proposed NHI ?
Our research on local and global healthcare policies , especially regarding the proposed national health insurance or NHI , is guided by four key principles : relevance , being evidence-based , independence and public engagement . These principles underpin our approach
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