Dr Hamed Zandian

Position:

Senior Lecturer in Public Health Economics

Department:

HAS - Health and Social Sciences

Telephone:

+441179656261

Email:

Hamed.Zandian@uwe.ac.uk

Social media:

About me

I am a Senior Lecturer in Public Health Economics at the Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing, University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), with over 15 years’ experience in health economics, public health policy, economic evaluation, applied public health research, teaching and academic leadership.

My current work focuses on the economic evaluation and economic appraisal of complex public health interventions, with a particular interest in Realist Economic Evaluation (REE). I am interested in how economic evidence can help us understand not only whether an intervention represents value for money, but also how, why, for whom, in what contexts, and under what conditions value is created. This is especially important for prevention, health inequalities, community-based interventions and public health programmes delivered within complex real-world systems.

Since moving to the UK, my research has increasingly focused on applied public health evaluation with local authorities, integrated care systems, NHS partners and community organisations. I lead the Public Health Economics and Evaluation theme within the Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing, where I support the development of research, evaluation and collaboration around prevention, health inequalities, return on investment, social return on investment, policy analysis and economic appraisal.

I am involved in several major applied research collaborations. These include the NIHR-funded Somerset Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC), where I contribute to research capacity-building, evidence-informed decision-making and public health evaluation within local government. I am also a Co-Investigator on a major NIHR-funded mixed-methods realist evaluation and economic appraisal of mosque-based health screening, education and prevention interventions for Muslim communities. My role in this project focuses on economic analysis, sustainability, scalability and understanding how value is created across different community and system contexts.

My wider UK-based work includes collaborations with local authorities, integrated care systems and public health partners on prevention, service evaluation and economic evidence for decision-making. I have worked with organisations including BNSSG Integrated Care Board, Somerset Council, the University of Bristol, NHS partners and voluntary/community sector organisations. I am particularly interested in developing pragmatic evaluation frameworks that can be used by commissioners, public health teams and community partners to make better decisions about complex interventions.

Before joining UWE Bristol, I was an Associate Professor in Health Policy and Economics, Dean of the School of Public Health, and Director of the Social Determinants of Health Research Centre at Ardabil University of Medical Sciences. In these roles, I led multidisciplinary research teams, supervised postgraduate researchers, managed large-scale studies and contributed to national and international research on health systems, non-communicable diseases, social determinants of health and health inequalities. My earlier research included extensive analysis of large population health datasets, including the PERSIAN cohort, to examine risk factors, health service utilisation and inequalities in health outcomes.

Across my career, I have contributed to funded research programmes supported by organisations including NIHR, UKRI/MRC, the National Institute for Medical Research Development and other national and international funders. I have authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications in public health, health economics, health policy and population health, including publications in leading international journals. I have also contributed to international public health evidence initiatives and collaborations, including work connected with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

Teaching and supervision are central to my academic role. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and have designed, led and delivered undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in health economics, economic evaluation, global health, public health policy, evidence-informed decision-making and research methods. At UWE, I lead modules including Global Perspectives on Healthcare Policy and Practice and Research Fundamentals, and I supervise students and early-career researchers across public health, health economics and policy evaluation.

I also contribute to research governance and evidence generation beyond UWE, including through my role as a committee member of the NIHR Evidence Synthesis Programme Committee. This reflects my wider commitment to strengthening the quality, relevance and use of evidence in health and public health decision-making.

My long-term aim is to advance the role of health economics in complex public health systems. I want my work to support commissioners, local authorities, integrated care systems, researchers and communities to make more robust decisions about prevention, equity, sustainability and long-term population health value.

Area of expertise

• Research Areas

ü  Global Public Health Policy and Health Economics

ü  Social and Health Policy Evaluation

ü  Health Equity, Social Epidemiology, and Behavioral Sciences

ü  Health System Policy and Equity Analysis

ü  Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Public Health

ü  Health Service Research: Primary care and health systems evaluation

ü  International Public Health Challenges

• Research Methods:

ü  Economic Evaluation: Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA)

ü  Evidence Synthesis: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

ü  Realistic Evaluation of Public Health Interventions

ü  Qualitative Research: Applying social sciences in health systems and wider social contexts

ü  Community-Based Participatory Research

Publications

Publications loading...