Dr James A Hall

• PhD in Health Economics, University of Keele, 2020
• MSc In Health Economics and Health Policy, University of Birmingham, 2016
• BSc (Hons) Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, Open University, 2015
• BA (Hons) Human Geography, University of Wolverhampton, 2002

James was actually a music retail manager initially, winning a place on the HMV graduate scheme back in 2003. As a consequence he has strong interpersonal and leadership skills, with a particular interest in management psychology and colleague development.  

James left HMV in 2010, and travelled around Europe for a while before going back to university in 2011. Having initially studied psychology, James switched to The Open University, graduating with a first class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 2015. This lead to applying to University of Birmingham for the MSc in Health Economics and Policy, where he graduated with a distinction in 2016.

After the MSc, and a long holiday, James began his PhD in Health Economics at the University of Keele. During the three years, James developed strong modelling and quantitative skills, as well as experience with teaching and dissemination which he particularly enjoys.

He is currently working with HEU’s very own Sue Jowett on two exciting projects. The first is a two year NERC funded project, led by Professor William Bloss from School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at The University of Birmingham. The health economic component of the project aims to explore the impact of different air quality policy scenarios on population health outcomes, quality of life and health and social care costs, with the final model made available for policy makers. The second, updating a previously published NIHR HTA funded economic model, assessing the cost-effectiveness of home-based non-invasive ventilation (NIV) for patients with end-stage COPD.

• Health Economics and Health Policy MSc/Diploma

James is interested in the novel application of decision modelling in a variety of research areas. Particularly in exploring and quantifying the impact of different modelling logical assumptions (structural uncertainty) on cost-effectiveness. He is currently investigating the use of decision modelling in air pollution, working with colleagues from Environmental Science, Public Health and the Economics department. The aim being to produce a de-novo model to provide decision makers with high-quality economic evidence on mitigation of the harmful effects of poor air quality. In addition he is working on modelling two COPD trials and updating an existing COPD model.

James is keen on collaboration, with interests in Economics, Behavioural Economics, and Psychology. Hence, he is working on econometric analyses of both health behaviours and loneliness with colleagues in the Economics department. “Exploring the impact of the 2008 economic recession on health behaviours in older adults” was presented at HESG and is being prepared for publication. Having obtained a scholarship to visit the University of Melbourne during his PhD, he is working with colleagues in Melbourne Health Economics, as well as Genomic medicine, investigating quality of life in children with rare genetic diseases.

James has two published systematic reviews, on decision modelling in low back pain, and MSK costing methodologies. The low back pain model has been disseminated across Europe, Australia, and North America.   

• British Lung Foundation Clean Air Champion