All News A–Z

A collaborative review co-authored by Professor Rhiannon Tudor Edwards explores the Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) at 50.

A review co-authored by Professor Rhiannon Tudor Edwards explores the Quality Adjusted Life Year 50 years on.

Publication date: 24 February 2022

Assessing the value of dementia support groups

New ageing and dementia research at Bangor University will soon be underway, with a team from the Bangor Institute of Health and Medical Research in the School of Health Sciences being the only university in Wales to be awarded funding as part of the ESRC-NIHR Dementia Research Initiative 2018 . This programme of work, led by partners at University College London, centres around people living with rare dementias, and will involve the first major study of the value of support groups for people living with or caring for someone with a rare form of dementia.

Publication date: 10 January 2019

Bangor Academics elected Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales

Four Bangor University academics have been elected Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales.

Publication date: 23 April 2015

Bangor University Health Academics appointed to new National body

Four leading health academics at Bangor University are among the first to be appointed Senior Faculty members of Wales’ new National Institute for Social Care and Health Research (NISCHR). Their appointments were announced by Health Minister Mark Drakeford AM recently.

Publication date: 2 May 2013

Bangor University receives funding to build health and social care research infrastructure 2018-2020

Research Groups in the Bangor Institute of Health and Medical Research (BIHMR) have been awarded significant amounts of further funding from the Welsh Government.

Publication date: 18 December 2017

Bangor University to launch new Social Value Hub

On Tuesday 11 June at Bangor University’s Reichel Conference Centre, the School of Health Sciences will launch a new Social Value Hub.

Publication date: 9 May 2019

Bilingual Prescription labels can now be introduced

A Welsh language or bilingual service is vital for the welfare of Welsh speaking patients, according to an enquiry by the Welsh Language Commissioner. A recommendation endorsed by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Wales is for bilingual labels on prescription medicines to be made available to patients. A team comprising language specialists and pharmacists at Bangor University and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has made the first step by translating 30 cautionary instructions given to patients on prescription medicines.

Publication date: 24 February 2016

Codi’r To music project brings harmony to homes and social value to schools and communites

An economic evaluation of the value of Sistema Cymru - Codi’r To , a musical initiative in two schools in Gwynedd, reveals that the value of the project extends far beyond the playing of musical instruments and has brought a greater harmony to many of the households involved. The Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis conducted by Bangor University’s Centre for Health Economics & Medicines Evaluation (CHEME) placed monetary values on all aspects of the benefits deriving from Codi’r To activities with pupils in the two schools and found that every £1 spent generates a social value return of £6.69.

Publication date: 10 July 2018

Cost-effectiveness of treatments in neurological diseases

Professor Dyfrig Hughes and colleagues at the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation, School of Health Sciences, have recently published the results of three clinical trials of interventions in epilepsy and sciatica.

Publication date: 21 April 2021

Costs of adverse drug reactions

Bangor University’s Professor Dyfrig Hughes, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Liverpool, has estimated the costs of hospital admissions resulting from harms caused by medicines.

Publication date: 3 October 2022

Developing health economics methods for evaluating dental health interventions as part of preventative public health

A seminar: “ Developing a range of methods for economic evaluation of dental services: widening the perspective ” organised by the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME) took place recently at Bangor University. Understanding that most dental caries is preventable, particularly in young children, means that the costs are also largely preventable. In the financial year of 2015 -2016, Public Health England reports the cost of tooth extraction topped £50.5 million in children aged 0 to 19 years.

Publication date: 11 February 2019

Double success at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research conference

Emily Holmes and Dr Paul Parham of the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME) at Bangor University were awarded best podium presentation overall and best podium presentation for new investigators, respectively, at the 16th annual European congress of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) in Dublin on the 6th November.

Publication date: 8 November 2013

End of study briefing report for Warm Homes for Health project

Dr Nathan Bray and Professor Rhiannon Tudor Edwards from the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME) Public Health Stream, Bangor University, collaborated with Gentoo housing association and Nottingham City Homes to evaluate the costs and outcomes associated with social housing improvements, such as new boilers and double glazed windows; the project was titled Warm Homes for Health and ended in January 2016.

Publication date: 4 March 2016

Entrepreneurial graduate through to Santander regional semi-finals

A Bangor University PhD graduate and entrepreneur has reached the Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards 2017 regional semi-finals.

Publication date: 26 May 2017

Exercise: we calculated its true value for older people and society

Taking up exercise is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions for people wanting to improve their health. But our research shows that the benefits of older people going to exercise groups go beyond self-improvement and provide good value for society, too. This article by Carys Jones , Research Fellow in Health Economics at the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .

Publication date: 9 January 2020

Exploring the economics of sight-saving technology

Over two million people in the UK are living with sight loss. This will double to nearly four million people by 2050 as the population ages and underlying causes like obesity and diabetes increase. This places huge pressure on NHS eye care services. The 2016 Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) report highlighted that sight loss is estimated to cost over £28 billion to the UK economy. Research into new sight-saving technology could improve the lives of people at risk of sight loss and provide saving to the NHS and wider economy. Two researchers from Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation CHEME, are co-investigators on the optical coherence tomography (OCT) study, which has been awarded £1.3 million of funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme.

Publication date: 23 November 2017

First UK short course in Health Economics for Public Health Practice and Research

The Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME), within the new Schools of Healthcare and Medical Sciences, is offering the first UK short course in Health Economics for Public Health Practice and Research at The Management Centre, April 15 – 17.

Publication date: 4 March 2014

Funded PhD studentship opportunity in Health Economics for two Ukrainian students

Bangor University, Wales, UK would like to welcome two Ukrainian students.

Publication date: 25 March 2022

Funding to develop dementia researchers

In Wales there at 45,000 people living with dementia and the cost of illness has been estimated at £1.4 billion per year. The highest part of this cost is unpaid care by family and friends. Support services can be fragmented and difficult for people to access across health and social care sectors. Poor transport links and the risk of carers feeling more isolated and unsupported are particular challenges for rural areas. Researchers at Bangor University’s School of Healthcare Sciences have been awarded over half a million pounds in funding to undertake fellowships in dementia research. These fellowships, funded by Welsh Government through Health and Care Research Wales , aim to build capacity in health and social care research by supporting individuals to become independent researchers and to undertake high-quality research projects’.

Publication date: 30 August 2017

Funding to develop dementia researchers

In Wales there at 45,000 people living with dementia and the cost of illness has been estimated at £1.4 billion per year. The highest part of this cost is unpaid care by family and friends. Support services can be fragmented and difficult for people to access across health and social care sectors. Poor transport links and the risk of carers feeling more isolated and unsupported are particular challenges for rural areas. Researchers at Bangor University’s School of Healthcare Sciences have been awarded over half a million pounds in funding to undertake fellowships in dementia research. These fellowships, funded by Welsh Government through Health and Care Research Wales , aim to build capacity in health and social care research by supporting individuals to become independent researchers and to undertake high-quality research projects’.

Publication date: 30 August 2017

Graduate hopes to ease the pain of a bad back

Back Care Awareness Week 2016 3rd – 8th October 2016 A Bangor University PhD graduate in Health Economics, Ned Hartfiel, hopes to reduce back pain and sickness absences in the UK through a ‘ Healthy Back Programme ’ which is being rolled out by his recently established company.

Publication date: 3 October 2016

MRC-funded PhD studentship at the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation

Applications are invited for a Medical Research Council funded PhD studentship at the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation, Bangor University.

Publication date: 29 September 2014

Major boost to train the next generation of trials methodologists

A partnership to train the next generation of trials methodologists has been awarded funding by the Medical Research Council through their Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) competition.

Publication date: 12 July 2021

New book published September 2024: Health Economics of Well-being and Well-becoming across the Life-course

Publication date: 26 September 2024

Older people helping to grow the Welsh economy

With more people living and working in Wales past the age of 65 years, the contribution that they make to the Welsh economy is growing. So say health economists from the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME) at Bangor University in their report Living well for longer: The economic argument for investing in the health and wellbeing of older people in Wales launched today (30 July 2018).

Publication date: 30 July 2018

Participants sought for 12-month study of coaching approach for improving emotional wellbeing

In January 2021 more than one-in-five individuals aged 16 and over in the UK were experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety, significantly more than in 2020 (www.ons.gov.uk ).

Publication date: 22 July 2021

PhD studentship at the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation

Publication date: 27 March 2019

Pharmaceutical companies are profiting from rare diseases

Incentives intended to stimulate the development of more treatments for rare diseases are being exploited to boost the profits of pharmaceutical companies, new research led by Bangor University shows.

Publication date: 22 October 2016

Poorer children priced out of learning instruments but school music programmes benefit the wider community

Years of austerity in the UK have bitten away at school budgets, and the arts have suffered heavily. Schools can no longer afford to employ teaching assistants , so it is little wonder that local authorities have cut school music funding . Schools are responsible for their own budgets, and musical instrument lessons that were traditionally subsidised by councils have been cut down in some districts . Now, the Musicians’ Union has found that children living in the poorest areas are no longer getting the exposure to music and the arts that they so often only get in school. With parents being asked to subside instrument lessons, 41% of low-income families have said that they cannot do so due to their limited household budget. This article by Eira Winrow , PhD Research Candidate and Research Project Support Officer and Rhiannon Tudor Edwards , Professor of Health Economics, at the Centre for Health Economics and Medicinces Evaluation is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .

Publication date: 13 November 2018

Poster award for CHEME at International Society for Pharmaco Economic and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) conference

Members of the pharmacoeconomics and medicines evaluation section of the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME) attended the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Annual European Congress at Glasgow on the 6 th -8 th November.

Publication date: 15 November 2017

Professor Dyfrig Hughes listed among world’s experts

Based on research published during 2004-14, Professor Dyfrig Hughes of the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation is ranked 9th in the world by Expertscape for expertise in Pharmaceutical Economics, and 8th in the UK for expertise in Health Economics.

Publication date: 13 April 2015

Research involving Bangor University with relevance full recovery for Covid-19 patients cited by European Parliament

Research by Professor Dyfrig Hughes of the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation in School of Health Sciences into the economic impact of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) - also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) – was published recently in the journal Healthcare.

Publication date: 7 May 2020

Services to Bilingual Healthcare Awarded

A project to provide Welsh cautionary labels has won the prize for Services to Bilingual Healthcare in the inaugural Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board Achievement Awards. The partners in the project were the Language Technologies Unit (LTU) at Canolfan Bedwyr and the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME) at Bangor University, together with the pharmacy team at Ysbyty Gwynedd.

Publication date: 23 November 2016

Six from Bangor University appointed Health and Care Research Wales Senior Research Leaders

Six health and social care researchers at Bangor University have been appointed Health and Care Research Wales Senior Research Leaders by Health Care Research Wales.

Publication date: 25 March 2016

Taxing twilight: the health economics of North Wales

Promoting resilience in North Wales – The economy, our health and our well-being and well-becoming

Publication date: 21 April 2022

Treatment of chloroquine poisoning

Research by Bangor University’s Professor Dyfrig Hughes has provided important evidence on the safety of treatments that are being tested for use in COVID-19.

Publication date: 28 May 2020

Trial to answer dilemma of treating childhood epilepsy

One of the largest ever clinical trials in children with epilepsy, which has just been launched, aims to find out which treatment approach works best for children and their families. The nationwide CASTLE trial, led by Professor Deb Pal from King’s College London and Professor Paul Gringras from the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, and in collaboration with Professor Dyfrig Hughes from Bangor University, is one of the only trials to compare antiepileptic drugs against active monitoring with no medication.

Publication date: 28 March 2019

Wales could save billions of pounds a year through investing in a healthier workforce

A new report by the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation ( CHEME ), Bangor University has brought together evidence of the economic arguments for investing in the health and wellbeing of the workforce in Wales.

Publication date: 17 October 2019

Welsh Health Economists Group Research Meeting

This week the Welsh Health Economists Group, funded by NISCHR, is addressing issues of sustainability and health. CHEME, the Bangor University Health Economics research group, is hosting this All Wales research meeting at the Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth.

Publication date: 4 June 2014

Yoga in the workplace can reduce back pain and sickness absence

Back pain is the single leading cause of disability in the world. In the US, four out of every five people experience back pain at some point in their life. In the UK, back pain is one of the most common reasons for visits to the doctor , and missed work . In fact, absence from work due to back problems costs British employers more than £3 billion every year . But there is a potentially easy way to prevent this problem: yoga. Our new research has found that exercises from the ancient Indian practice can have very positive benefits for back problems. Our findings suggest that yoga programmes consisting of stretching, breathing, and relaxation methods can reduce sickness absence due to back pain and musculoskeletal conditions.

Publication date: 8 December 2017