David Winspear

Department, Institution: Department of Health Services Research Policy, LSHTM

UBEL Pathway: Health and Wellbeing

Supervisor: Dr Suping Ling, Professor Luke Vale, Dr Isobel Ward

About Me

I have a background in Occupational Psychology, where I worked for the Department for Work and Pensions, supporting individuals with health issues and disabilities in finding or returning to work. During this time, I developed a strong interest in the quantitative aspects of my role, which led me to pursue a career change to become a Medical Statistician. To facilitate this transition, I completed a BSc in Mathematics and Statistics with the Open University, followed by an MSc in Medical Statistics at the University of Leicester.

In my spare time I enjoy mountain biking, running and motorcycling.

My Research

My project title is: Productivity costs in health economic evaluations: an application in women diagnosed with gynaecological cancers at working age.

The project will use population-level linked data, including data on earnings and employment, census, hospital inpatient, cancer registry, cancer waiting time, and radiotherapy and systemic anti-cancer treatment to address the following research questions:

• How may labour market participation change by time and differ by socio-demographic factors in women diagnosed with gynaecological cancers?

• What are the productivity costs associate with gynaecological cancers in the short, medium, and long-term by different characteristics of women?

• How may reducing cancer waiting times affect cost-of-illness including productivity costs associated with gynaecological cancer?

Impact of My Research

The goal of this research is to explore the impact of the new government agenda on reducing waiting times and its potential effects on the cost of illness, including productivity costs, for women with gynaecological cancers. The findings will be presented to senior policymakers through collaborations with the Office for National Statistics, aiming to influence policies that target resources to improve the working lives and labour market participation of women of working age affected by gynaecological cancers.

Additionally, the research will contribute to advancing both epidemiological and economic analyses of productivity costs, providing valuable insights for future studies on similar topics.