Research focus
With increasing number of people with Alzheimer disease (AD) and other dementias, with associated societal costs, it is important to analyse costs and cost effectiveness of care. In our group we synthesize competence in health economics, pharmacoeconomics, epidemiology, clinical trials and clinical work. Cost of illness studies are descriptive but are important in identifying the distribution of resource and costs between different payers of care, as well as changes over time. Members of the group are involved in national, regional and global cost of illness estimates of dementia, in collaboration with Alzheimer Disease International (ADI) and WHO. The link to epidemiology and population based databases and registries give us a unique possibility to analyse costs and effects of care on a societal level. The worldwide used instrument RUD (Resource Utilization in Dementia) was developed by members in this group.
Since people with AD live with their disease during many years, it is difficult to study the long term effects in traditional trials. Therefore, economic simulations are needed and in our group we have a great competence in this field. By close collaboration to ARC (Aging Research Center) we also have access to population based data (including resource use data) from the Kungsholmen Project and SNAC (Swedish National study on Aging and Care). Members of the group are also active in EADC (European Alzheimer´s Disease Consortium) and also in many EU projects as well as in SveDem, a Swedish quality registry on dementia. Most members of the group are involved in organizing IPECAD (International Pharmacoeconomic Conferences on Alzheimer's disease) and its focus on methodological aspects of the health economics of dementia.