Health Economics - Health Impacts of Australians Use of Pokies - Major Essay

Essay titles

(hints: You may focus your answer on a particular country of your interest. Note that some of these titles are topical and there may be non-economic factors which are also relevant however, the focus of your essay here should be on applying economic theory and evidence.)

Topic 1: “The health impacts of Australians’ use of ‘pokies’ can only be addressed through a reduction in the granting of gambling licenses” Discuss.

Topic 2: “It would be efficient and fair to charge patients for a covid-related ICU stay if they had chosen not to get vaccinated” Discuss.   

Topic 3: “Health care which is recommended by a physician is unlikely to be of low value to the patient, but the negative impact on the environment of providing that care should be considered” Discuss.

Topic 4: “There is evidence that pharmaceutical prices are often unfair. Many prices exceed affordability and value for money thresholds and are not justified by research and development costs…Policies that extend intellectual property rights and limit price controls work against universal health and access to necessary medicines.” (Morgan et al, 2020: page 3). Discuss

Topic 5: Open topic of your choice (To be confirmed on request to Tessa – please email with your suggested essay title to [email protected])

Reference:

Morgan SG, Bathula HS, Moon S. Pricing of pharmaceuticals is becoming a major challenge for health systems. BMJ. 2020 Jan 13;368.

2. Due date

• Due date is end of day (59), 12^th June 2022
• Please do not leave it till the very last minute to upload in case it takes a while for the system to allow an upload.

3. Purpose of essay

The main purpose of this major essay is for you to demonstrate your understanding of health economics and your ability to apply health economics theory, empirical evidence and data to health policy issues. Specifically, you will be able to show you can:

• describe a current health policy issue using economic concepts
• interpret and present economic data and evidence
• identify the key problems and economic concepts/theories involved
• analyse the issue from a health economics perspective
• identify and evaluate relevant evidence including empirical studies and secondary data sources
• analyse, critically evaluate and comment on evidence
• develop and clearly present an argument
• apply critical thinking skills
• communicate effectively

3. Presentation guidelines:

• Word limit: 2500 words (+/- 10% - standard UoM policy will apply). The world limit excludes references, tables and figures. Please state the number of words on the front page.
• You are expected to know, and comply with, UoM policy on plagiarism. See https://academicintegrity.unimelb.edu.au/ [This is important so please ask Tessa if you are uncertain if you comply – you should be able to see your Turnitin score when you submit]
• Use formal language as appropriate to an academic essay
• Avoid rhetorical questions
• If you are using acronyms, please show them in full the first time they are used
• Please define key terms in your own words
• Avoid intensifiers like ‘really’ or ‘very’ – keep to the facts as much as possible
• You are encouraged to use headings and sub-headings – this often helps with giving clarity to the structure of your essay
• Try and avoid bullet points unless they are clearly the best way of setting out the information. You can write a paragraph using: Firstly, …. Secondly, … etc.
• Try and lead the reader through the essay. If you are presenting any data make it clear what you want the reader to take away from the data, if you are going to present a number of different points to support an argument tell the reader you are about to do that. The reader should be able to clearly follow the logic in the argument you are making within the essay.
• Assistance on how to write essays can be found here: https://students.unimelb.edu.au/academic-skills/explore-our-resources/essay-writing
• Academic writing typically avoids the first person – however, in this essay there are places where it is appropriate. For example, it reads better to say, ‘In this essay I will argue that….’ – rather than ‘it will be argued that’. In the body of the text using the third person can sound more objective. Although you are presenting your view or opinion– it is not presented as ‘I think…’ rather a case is made for a view based on theoretical and empirical evidence.
• It is OK not to have a definitive answer to the question in the essay – the conclusion may be that there is insufficient evidence
• Please number all tables and figures and ensure all tables and figures have a heading.
• Please use
  • Double spaced
  • Size 12 Times New Roman
  • Student ID at top right-hand corner of each page
  • Page number at centre of bottom of each page
  • Submission file name as “2022_HE1_Topic X _last name_first name” (where X is 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5)
  • Australian English spelling
  • Document formats: pdf or word

4. Referencing

• You should use between 10 and 40 references. [This restriction on the maximum number of references is for your benefit – to ensure you spend your time thinking about and writing up the economics components and not on too much time on reading secondary material]. This is a guide and you will not have marks taken off if you go above this number of references.
• You may use any referencing style so long as it is used consistently
• References do not count as part of the word limit
• Always reference the source of data such that it can be traced – if you cite a website also give the date accessed
• Use “ “ when using a direct quote and include a page number in the reference
• Try and put things in your own words (with citation) unless the way in which the authors say it is so good it is worthy of a direct quotation
• Referencing should be sufficiently clear that the reader can tell when an idea is yours versus when it is being appropriately attributed to someone else
• You do not need to reference core aspects of accepted economic theory – you should not reference lecture slides
• For further advice on how to use referencing appropriately see https://students.unimelb.edu.au/academic-skills/explore-our-resources/referencing
• It is recommended to use a referencing software see https://library.unimelb.edu.au/recite/reference-management-software

5. Content guidelines

• You are expected to use economic theory to frame the issues within the topic you are discussing
• You are expected to integrate your knowledge of public health and health care systems into your answers
• You are expected to look at the advantages and disadvantages of any policy you are discussing. If you are discussing a statement, try and incorporate some balance into your response – include reasons why the statement may be correct and reasons why it may be incorrect.
• You may give an opinion, using the evidence (both theory and empirical evidence) to develop a case or argument to support this view.
• You are not expected to conduct anything beyond simple data analysis
• Your introduction should establish the purpose and scope of your essay, and provide a road map to guide the readers

6. Finding evidence

• You are expected to draw on empirical evidence and data to support your argument.
• You are not conducting a systematic review nor expected to conduct an extensive review of the evidence. Please use no more than 40 references
• In conducting a literature review it is a good idea to use formal databases and think carefully about search terms (Econlit, Medline). Google scholar can be useful e.g. for citation searches of very relevant papers but treat it with caution as it may exclude important work (note it can be useful for your referencing as you can easily identify papers and use the referencing software files e.g. the Endnote file to directly import the reference to Endnote – no typing involved!)
• It is OK to use data which is a few years out of date. This will not impact upon your ability to demonstrate that you can apply economic theory and interpret evidence. Also note that there is a time-delay in data recording. Don’t spend too long looking for the perfect data.
• You are aiming to use the literature to support your argument and critically reflect on the important issues relating to your topic.