Funders:    

NHMRC 

Investigators:

Doctor Barbara de Graaff
Professor Benjamin Cowie 
Doctor Julie Campbell 
Doctor Karen Wills 
Associate Professor Nicola Stephens CIF - Professor Andrew Palmer
Professor Jane Davies
Professor Joshua Davis
Dr Paula Binks

Partner Organisations: 

Menzies Institute for Medical Research (University of Tasmania) – Lead organisation
Burnet Institute
NT Health

Aims:

To generate robust health economic evidence to support the scale-up of the Hep B PAST model of care across the Northern Territory and inform national policy for hepatitis B elimination in First Nations communities.

Objectives: 
  • Quantify the costs of the Hep B PAST model of care compared to the current standard of care
  • Estimate quality of life and health state utility values for hepatitis B health states
  • Develop and validate an Indigenous-specific health economic simulation model
  • Project long-term clinical outcomes (to 2035) under different care models
  • Assess the cost-effectiveness of implementing Hep B PAST as standard care across the NT
  • Support translation of evidence into policy and decision-making
Summary:

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains endemic in many First Nations communities across the Northern Territory, contributing significantly to preventable liver disease, liver cancer, and the life expectancy gap. The Hep B PAST program has demonstrated a highly effective, culturally safe model of care that improves diagnosis, treatment, and engagement in care.

This NHMRC-funded project, led by Menzies Institute for Medical Research (University of Tasmania), demonstrates that success by generating the health economic evidence required to support Territory-wide and national scale-up. It includes five interrelated studies examining cost, quality of life, disease progression, and long-term outcomes.

Menzies School of Health Research is a key partner in this project and has led recruitment for the quality-of-life component, collecting health state utility values for hepatitis B through participant engagement within “one-stop-shop” liver clinics. This work ensures that the model reflects lived experience and community perspectives.

The project will deliver the first Indigenous-specific hepatitis B economic model, providing a critical tool for policy makers to evaluate cost-effectiveness and inform investment in hepatitis B elimination strategies.

Implications for policy and practice:
  • Provides the economic evidence required for government investment in hepatitis B elimination
  • Supports scale-up of the Hep B PAST model across the NT and nationally
  • Ensures policy decisions are informed by culturally relevant, community-derived data
  • Strengthens the case for primary care-led, community-based chronic disease models
  • Contributes to national and WHO hepatitis B elimination targets
Our research has found:  
  • The Hep B PAST model is highly effective in improving the hepatitis B cascade of care
  • Health economic evidence is critical to support translation of successful programs into policy and practice
  • Preliminary findings indicate that the Hep B PAST model delivers substantially improved health outcomes with minimal additional cost compared to standard models of care, supporting its scalability
     
Lead Menzies Investigator:

Prof Jane Davies (Associate Investigator)

Project Manager:

Hannah Reedy

Contact info:

Hannah.reedy@menzies.edu.au 

Project Dates:

January 2022 – December 2026