Where are They Now? C2E2 Alumni Lidia Engel tells her story

Back in 2012, I conducted a 1-year internship at C2E2 as part of my Master’s program at Maastricht University and was supervised by Drs. David Whitehurst and Stirling Bryan. My Master’s thesis explored the appropriateness of a generic outcome measures, the SF-6D, for use within the context of spinal cord injury. I was always passionate about the methodology we apply in health economics and particularly the way we measure and value benefits of health care interventions. The internship sparked my interest in this area and I decided to stay in Canada to continue with a PhD at Simon Fraser University. Through the support of Drs Whitehurst and Bryan, who agreed to continue further with the supervision, I focused on the measurement of patient benefits that go beyond ‘health-related’ aspects of quality of life for use in economic evaluation. During my PhD studies, I was also lucky to be involved in a number of other research projects, such as the valuation study of the Canadian EQ-5D-5L or the evaluation of the Better at Home program. I have just recently finished my PhD and moved last year to Melbourne, Australia, where I started working as a Research Fellow at Deakin University. In my current role, I am part of the Mental Health Stream at Deakin Health Economics and provide support with the design and analysis of economic evaluations across a number of mental health conditions. My graduate studies and work experience at C2E2 have equipped me with the important skills and knowledge required to build up my own research program. Just recently, I was awarded a grant to validate existing preference-based health-related quality of life measures in individuals with dementia and their carers using a qualitative study design. This work aligns well with the current research activities and priorities of members at the Centre and I see a number of opportunities to continue collaborating with people at C2E2.   

Publications:

Engel L, Mortimer D, Bryan S, Lear SA, Whitehurst DGT. An investigation of the overlap between the ICECAP-A and five preference-based health-related quality of life instruments. PharmacoEconomics 2017; 35(7): 741-753

Michel YA, Engel L, Augestad LA, Rand-Hendriksen K, Whitehurst DGT. “When I saw walking, I just took it as wheeling”: Interpretations of mobility-related items in generic, preference-based health state instruments. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2016; 14; 164

Engel L, Chudyk AM, Ashe MC, McKay HA, Whitehurst DGT, Bryan S (2016): Older adults' quality of life - exploring the role of the built environment and social cohesion in community-dwelling seniors on low income. Social Science & Medicine, 164: 1-11. 

Engel L, Bansback NJ, Bryan S, Doyle-Walters MM, Whitehurst DGT. Exclusion criteria in national health state valuation studies: a systematic review. Medical Decision Making 2016; 36(7): 798-810

Engel L, Bryan S, Evers SMAA, Dirksen CD, Noonan VK, Whitehurst DGT (2014): Exploring the psychometric properties of a preference-based health-related quality of life measure (the SF-6D) in the context of spinal cord injury. Quality of Life Research, 23(8): 2383-93.