Dr William Whittaker

About

I am a Senior Lecturer in Health Economics at the University of Liverpool and hold honorary positions at both University of Queensland and University of Manchester. My training was in economics and econometrics before moving into health research in 2008. My research aims to inform health and care systems on the most effective, efficient and equitable way to provide health and care. As such, I am driven by ensuring access to health and care is needs-based, whether this be in the distribution of resources (budgets, workforce, services), planning future health and care requirements, or in the evaluation of policy initiatives. The variation in my research makes me particularly valuable across most areas of health economics.

It is important to me that my research addresses relevant questions. As part of my research, I work in collaboration with local and national health and care providers to ensure my research addresses the research needs of health and care providers. Recognising that provision is only half of the picture for health and care, I am also passionate about ensuring appropriate patient and community involvement and engagement in my research and in the formation of research questions.

Research interests

• Access to healthcare:

Access to healthcare is a priority area for most health economies worldwide, with most health systems aiming for equitable access to healthcare. There are many factors that impact on access and make research into this complex. A substantial focus of my research lies in the mismatch between need, demand, use, and provision of health and care.

• Rapid evaluation:

Producing research to meet the needs of the health and care system brings with it challenges, particularly around informing policy at a rapid pace. I have an interest in identifying feasible approaches to rapid evaluation that are also capable of producing impactful academic outputs.

• Resource allocation:

Resource allocation is the fundamental focus of the economics discipline (how should we best allocate scarce resources?). My work looks at developing resource allocation funding formulae for healthcare budgets and workforce planning models.

Research impact

I have a sustained production of research that is informed by the needs of, and produced for, local and national health and care systems. My research has directly informed healthcare budget allocations for mental health services and public health in England, informed equitable provision of a national diabetes prevention programme, and helped commissioners plan extended access services in primary care.

My research areas are broad. I have collaborated across many diverse areas of healthcare, across multiple disciplines, academic institutions, and have experience of a wide range of health economic approaches.