AIES Events 2025

AIES Health Economics Webinar Series

“Navigating Turbulence through Social Innovation in Health and Social Care”

Abstract: Contemporary societies are increasingly shaped by disruptive events—ranging from global pandemics to climate emergencies—that generate socio-economic turbulence and challenge traditional governance models. This seminar explores how society-based responses, particularly social innovation and co-creation, emerge and function under such conditions.
Starting from a systematic literature review of social innovation initiatives during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the seminar will identify key mechanisms and contextual factors that enabled communities to respond to the crisis. Building on these insights, empirical findings from the Horizon Europe-funded ENCASE project will be discussed, which investigates co-creation processes in carbon capture and storage (CCUS) initiatives across five European countries. Using a realist evaluation approach, the analysis focuses on how collaborative governance fosters knowledge exchange, stakeholder engagement, and public value creation in the green transition. By bridging crisis-driven social innovation with climate-focused co-creation, the aim is to reflect on the potential role of social innovation in addressing complex societal challenges and shaping more resilient, inclusive futures.

INVITED SPEAKER: Francesca Calò, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK 

AIES Health Economics Webinar Series

“Cost-utility analysis of the NeuroSAFE versus standard Robotic Assisted Radical Prostatectomy in men with localised prostate cancer in England”

Abstract

Background
Robotic radical prostatectomy (RARP) is a first-line curative treatment option for localized prostate cancer.  Preserving the lateral neurovascular bundles (NS) during RARP improves functional outcomes and in particular erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence that commonly affect patients after surgery. The NeuroSAFE technique (intraoperative frozen section examination of the neurovascular structure adjacent prostate margin) can provide real-time pathological consult to promote optimal NS. NeuroSAFE PROOF is a single-blinded, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial (RCT) in which men are randomly allocated to either NeuroSAFE RARP or standard RARP.

Aims
Aim of this study is to assess the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of NeuroSAFE RARP compared to standard RARP using both the NHS perspective and the societal perspective.

Methods
A within trial economic evaluation has been conducted using data from the NeuroSAFE trial adopting both the NHS and PSS and the societal perspective. The cost of the intervention and control has been assessed using data on the consumption of healthcare resources at patient level collected during the trial at different time points. The costs of resources used have been assessed using the unit cost data available from published sources. Private costs and productivity losses have been estimated using data from the trial. Outcomes have been measured in terms of erectile function, incontinence and quality of life measured through EQ5D5L questionnaires. The results are expressed in terms of Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) and Net Monetary Benefits. Multiple imputation has been used to deal with missing data. Extensive sensitivity analysis has been performed to test the robustness of the results.

Main results
The trial has randomised 407 patients in total, while the modified intention to treat population is 381 patients. Preliminary results show that the NeuroSAFE intervention is more expensive compared to standard treatment but improve outcomes in patients, reducing incontinence and quality of life. NEUROSAFE has an ICER of £27,970 per QALY and £28,176 per QALY when adopting the NHS and the societal perspectives, respectively.  From the NHS perspective the likelihood of being cost-effective and acceptable is 22% and 53.4% according to NICE lower and upper thresholds. The sensitivity analyses confirm the results. A subgroup analysis on patients that were not recommended bilateral nerve sparing before surgery has demonstrated that the intervention is no longer cost-effective.

Conclusions
NeuroSAFE PROOF is the first RCT of intra-operative frozen section during radical prostatectomy in the world. It is properly powered to evaluate a difference in the recovery of EF for men undergoing RARP assessed by patient-reported outcome measures. It will provide evidence to guide the use of the NeuroSAFE technique around the world.

INVITED SPEAKER: Elena Pizzo, University College London 

Riunione Intermedia AIES

“Salute e livelli essenziali delle prestazioni: tra regionalismo differenziato e disuguaglianze territoriali”

La legge 86/2024, recentemente approvata dal Parlamento, disciplina l’attuazione dell’autonomia differenziata prevista dall’articolo 116 della Costituzione in 23 ambiti, tra cui la “tutela della salute”. L’applicazione di questa normativa solleva numerosi interrogativi sugli effetti pratici nel settore sanitario, caratterizzato già oggi da significative differenze nei servizi offerti tra le Regioni.

Le disparità territoriali emergono chiaramente dal monitoraggio dei Livelli Essenziali di Assistenza (LEA), nonostante le Regioni dispongano di risorse sostanzialmente analoghe. Senza meccanismi chiari per garantire standard uniformi, l’espansione dell’autonomia rischia di ampliare le differenze nelle performance sanitarie, incentivando la mobilità sanitaria e ponendo sfide anche per le Regioni più efficienti.

Per approfondire questi temi, AIES organizza la Riunione Intermedia il 27 giugno 2025 alle ore 10:00 presso la Sala Capitolare della Biblioteca del Senato della Repubblica a Roma. Il workshop intende alimentare il dibattito pubblico sull’autonomia differenziata e le sue implicazioni per il Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, con un focus sul ruolo delle Regioni e sulle disuguaglianze nell’accesso alle cure.

🔹Posti limitati: La Sala Capitolare ha una capienza limitata e i posti saranno assegnati fino a esaurimento. Vi invitiamo pertanto a confermare la vostra partecipazione al più presto, e comunque entro il 13 giugno 2025, contattando la segreteria AIES (info@aiesweb.it).

🔹Dress code: Si ricorda che per l’accesso alla sala è richiesto un abbigliamento consono. Per gli uomini è obbligatorio indossare giacca e cravatta.

AIES Health Economics Webinar Series

“Simmelian brokerage, tertius iungens orientation, and idea elaboration”

Abstract: In organizations, idea elaboration calls for employees to work with inner-circle coworkers, who may be embedded in separate network cliques. Theories are inconclusive concerning how brokerage position between separate cliques will affect the elaboration and improvement of embryonic ideas. We explore our research questions through three field studies, including R&D scientists in a pharmaceutical company (Study 1), medical professionals in a multi-specialized outpatient clinic (Study 2), and healthcare workers in the internal medicine department of a public inpatient hospital (Study 3). In these settings, idea elaboration is key to organizational success. We first explored and found that being the sole shared member of separate cliques (i.e., Simmelian brokerage) undermines the quantity and quality of elaborated ideas. To explain this finding, we suggest that the Simmelian brokerage position begets a multi-insider trap: while the idea elaborators benefit from obtaining non-redundant feedback across separate cliques, they also encounter the challenge of selecting, aligning, and integrating potentially conflicting feedback. To investigate a boundary condition, we then explored the role of tertius iungens orientation; i.e., the tendency to bring people together with an inclusive mindset to incorporate divergent perspectives. Prior research suggests that this can reduce both the advantages and disadvantages of brokerage positions. Results show that Simmelian brokerage’s detrimental effect is mitigated for people with a higher level of tertius iungens orientation. Overall, this exploratory research identifies a pitfall for innovators who are the sole shared member of separate network cliques, and illuminates who might best navigate such a pitfall.

INVITED SPEAKER: Stefano Tasselli, University of Exeter and Erasmus University, Rotterdam

AIES Health Economics Webinar Series

“Is caring productive? The effect of Adult Social Care on paid production in England”

Abstract: Long-term care (LTC) provides essential support to service users and informal carers to improve their quality of life. By improving quality of life, LTC can potentially impact economic growth, for example, it may enable service users of working age and their carers to spend more time in paid employment. This study investigates the effect of publicly-funded LTC expenditure on a measure of paid production across local authorities in England. We analyse yearly data from 2014/15 to 2019/20 using a dynamic panel model estimated by the Arellano-Bond estimator. We find that a £1,000 increase in LTC expenditure per client increases paid production per capita by £216 in the short run and by £670 in the long run. These findings may inform policy makers interested in assessing the financial sustainability of LTC policies.

SPEAKER: Francesco Longo, Centre for Health Economics, University of York, UK