Table 1.

The embedded Economist Program

An intervention being implemented by [de-indentified]
Overview
In line with the concepts set out above the intervention involves Provision of learning support in the form of an online university course and a community of practice, both focused on economic evaluation and available free of charge to participants from the research sites and Provision of a health economist to work with six health service research sites for three months at a time (each preceded by a long pre-implementation phase) Together, these interventions are known as the “embedded Economist” Program (eE)
Aims of the eE program
To increase health service staff awareness of the benefits of economic evaluation To develop health service staff knowledge and capacity to access and apply economic evaluation principles, methods and tools in decision-making through formal training and extended exposure to an embedded economist To facilitate health service practice change and the routine application of economic evaluation principles in decision making
Aims of the eE evaluation
To evaluate the contextual, procedural and relational aspects of embedding an economist within health service To capture the outcomes and impact of embedding an economist within health services and providing specialist economic evaluation education