Overview
Background
My research expertise mainly focuses on applying advanced data science skills and modelling techniques to prioritize health interventions with best value for money. My research sits at the intersection of oral health and health economics, with a strong focus on developing tools that make dental care more equitable, measurable, and policy relevant. My work centers on creating preference-based instruments, such as the Dental Caries Utility Index (DCUI) and ECOHIS-4D, that capture the real-world impact of oral health conditions on quality of life, especially in children and adolescents. The oral health preference-based measure and the utility algorithm I developed using choice models is one of the first in oral health research in Australia. By translating clinical outcomes into economic terms, these instruments enable more accurate cost-effectiveness evaluations of dental interventions. I have been collaborating widely across multiple disciplines in Australia and internationally in health services research across a range of clinical areas including oral health, heart health hub virtual models, mental health, cardiovascular diseases, occupational violence prevention, cancer follow-up care and emergency services. I’m passionate about in cooperate consumer preferences for the healthcare decision-making process using choice modelling, where I can quantify consumers' preferences for different attributes of healthcare services.
Availability
- Dr Ruvini Manjula Hettiarachchi is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Dentistry, University of Peradeniya
- Masters (Research) of Public Health Dentistry, University of Colombo
- Professional Doctorate of Public Health Dentistry, University of Colombo
- Doctor of Philosophy of Health Economics, Griffith University
Research interests
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Health economics
Identifying health care interventions with the best value for money and measuring the effectiveness of existing and new health interventions.
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Consumer preferences and choice modelling
Consumer preferences and choice modelling Applying choice modelling to understand consumer preferences over different health care characteristics and incorporating choice modelling analysis to design health care based on consumer preferences.
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Patient reported outcome measures and health state valuations
Development of preference-based measures and utility algorithms to facilitate the outcomes measured in health economic evaluations.
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Dental public health and health service research
Economic evaluations of oral health interventions and supports evidence-based policy and resource allocation
Research impacts
I developed the first oral health preference-based measure and the utility algorithm. This instrument and the utility algorithm facilitate economic evaluations of oral health interventions targeted at children and adolescents. Currently, I am working with a Swedish research team undertaking a project to translate and validate the oral health preference-based instrument and inform the development of tariffs. I have prepared evaluation reports for the Medical Services Advisory Committee for a range of medical services including interventional and diagnostic procedures, which has directly influenced policy and practice.
I collaborate with The University of Queensland School of Dentistry and Metro South Hospital and Health Service oral health services on research projects to improve oral health of the vulnerable populations including children and elderly adults living in residential aged care facilities.
Works
Search Professor Ruvini Manjula Hettiarachchi’s works on UQ eSpace
2023
Journal Article
Valuing the Dental Caries Utility Index in Australia
Hettiarachchi, Ruvini M., Kularatna, Sanjeewa, Byrnes, Joshua, Mulhern, Brendan, Chen, Gang and Scuffham, Paul A. (2023). Valuing the Dental Caries Utility Index in Australia. Medical Decision Making, 43 (7-8) 0272989X231197149, 901-913. doi: 10.1177/0272989x231197149
2023
Journal Article
A discrete choice experiment to elicit preferences for a liver screening programme in Queensland, Australia: a mixed methods study to select attributes and levels
Allen, Michelle J, Doran, Rachael, Brain, David, Powell, Elizabeth E, O’Beirne, James, Valery, Patricia C, Barnett, Adrian, Hettiarachchi, Ruvini, Hickman, Ingrid J and Kularatna, Sanjeewa (2023). A discrete choice experiment to elicit preferences for a liver screening programme in Queensland, Australia: a mixed methods study to select attributes and levels. BMC Health Services Research, 23 (1) 950, 1-12. doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-09934-2
2023
Other Outputs
(August 2023), MSAC Application No. 1749 - Insertion of durable ventricular assist device (VAD) for use as destination therapy, Applicant Developed Assessment Report (ADAR). Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
Hettiarachchi, R. and Tuffaha, H. (2023). (August 2023), MSAC Application No. 1749 - Insertion of durable ventricular assist device (VAD) for use as destination therapy, Applicant Developed Assessment Report (ADAR). Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, ACT.. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.
2023
Other Outputs
(August 2023), MSAC Application No. 1749 - Insertion of durable ventricular assist device (VAD) for use as destination therapy, PICO Confirmation. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
Hettiarachchi, R. and Tuffaha, H. (2023). (August 2023), MSAC Application No. 1749 - Insertion of durable ventricular assist device (VAD) for use as destination therapy, PICO Confirmation. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, ACT.. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.
2023
Other Outputs
(August 2023), MSAC Application No. 1734 - Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) for the treatment of moderately or severely calcified peripheral artery disease, Applicant Developed Assessment Report (ADAR). Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
Hettiarachchi, R. and Tuffaha, H. (2023). (August 2023), MSAC Application No. 1734 - Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) for the treatment of moderately or severely calcified peripheral artery disease, Applicant Developed Assessment Report (ADAR). Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, ACT.. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.
2023
Other Outputs
MSAC Application 1749- Insertion of durable ventricular assist device (VAD) for use as destination therapy. PICO confirmation
Hettiarachchi, R. M. and Tuffaha, H. (2023). MSAC Application 1749- Insertion of durable ventricular assist device (VAD) for use as destination therapy. PICO confirmation. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.
2023
Conference Publication
Comparison of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS-4D) and Child Health Utility Index (CHU-9D) in children with dental caries
Weerasooriya, S., Hettiarachchi, R., Kularatna, S., Rohde, A., Arrow, P., Jamieson, L., Tonmukayakul, U. and Senanayake, S. (2023). Comparison of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS-4D) and Child Health Utility Index (CHU-9D) in children with dental caries. 4th Annual Impact Makers conference 2023, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 14 July 2023. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology.
2023
Conference Publication
Health system interventions for the cost containment of drugs used for cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review and exploration of how the results could be adapted to the Sri Lankan context.
Chaminda, J. L. P., Kularatna, S., Dharmagunawardene, D., Hinchcliff, R., Rohde, A., Brain, D., Hettiarachchi, R. M., Weerasuriya, S. R., Yapa, S. S. and Senanayake, S. (2023). Health system interventions for the cost containment of drugs used for cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review and exploration of how the results could be adapted to the Sri Lankan context.. 4th Annual Impact Makers Conference 2023, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 14 July 2023.
2023
Journal Article
Cancer survivor preferences for models of breast cancer follow-up care: selecting attributes for inclusion in a discrete choice experiment
Kularatna, Sanjeewa, Allen, Michelle, Hettiarachchi, Ruvini M., Crawford-Williams, Fiona, Senanayake, Sameera, Brain, David, Hart, Nicolas H., Koczwara, Bogda, Ee, Carolyn and Chan, Raymond J. (2023). Cancer survivor preferences for models of breast cancer follow-up care: selecting attributes for inclusion in a discrete choice experiment. Patient, 16 (4), 371-383. doi: 10.1007/s40271-023-00631-0
2023
Journal Article
Developing an Australian utility value set for MacNew-7D health states
Kularatna, Sanjeewa, Chen, Gang, Norman, Richard, Mukuria, Clara, Rowen, Donna, Senanayake, Sameera, Hettiarachchi, Ruvini, Mulhern, Brendan, Fozzard, Katie, Parsonage, William and MacPhail, Steven M. (2023). Developing an Australian utility value set for MacNew-7D health states. Quality of Life Research, 32 (4), 1151-1163. doi: 10.1007/s11136-022-03325-6
2023
Other Outputs
(April 2023), MSAC Application No. 1734 - Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) for the treatment of moderately or severely calcified peripheral artery disease, PICO Confirmation. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, ACT
Hettiarachchi, R. and Tuffaha, H. (2023). (April 2023), MSAC Application No. 1734 - Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) for the treatment of moderately or severely calcified peripheral artery disease, PICO Confirmation. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, ACT. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.
2023
Other Outputs
MSAC Application 1734- Intravascular lithotripsy for the treatment of moderately or severely calcified peripheral artery disease. PICO confirmation
Hettiarachchi, R. M. and Tuffaha, H. (2023). MSAC Application 1734- Intravascular lithotripsy for the treatment of moderately or severely calcified peripheral artery disease. PICO confirmation. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.
2023
Conference Publication
Cancer survivor preferences for models of breast cancer follow-up care: findings from a discrete choice experiment.
Crawford-Williams, Fiona, Allen, Michelle, Hettiarachchi, Ruvini, Senanayake, Sameera, Brain, David, Koczwara, Bogda, Ee, Carolyn, Hart, Nicolas, Kularatna, Sanjeewa and Chan, Raymond (2023). Cancer survivor preferences for models of breast cancer follow-up care: findings from a discrete choice experiment.. Sixth national Cancer Survivorship Conference, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 9 - 10 March 2023.
2023
Other Outputs
Eliciting hospital staff preferences for an innovative security model of practice to prevent occupational violence in healthcare settings: A qualitative study to select attributes for inclusion in a discrete choice experiment
Hettiarachchi, R. M., Kularatna, S., Allen, M. J., Senanayake, S. J., Brain, D., Griffiths, J., Olsson, L., Duff, J. and Tyack, Z. (2023). Eliciting hospital staff preferences for an innovative security model of practice to prevent occupational violence in healthcare settings: A qualitative study to select attributes for inclusion in a discrete choice experiment.
2022
Journal Article
Developing an Australian utility value set for the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale-4D (ECOHIS-4D) using a discrete choice experiment
Hettiarachchi, Ruvini M., Arrow, Peter, Senanayake, Sameera, Carter, Hannah, Brain, David, Norman, Richard, Tonmukayawul, Utsana, Jamieson, Lisa and Kularatna, Sanjeewa (2022). Developing an Australian utility value set for the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale-4D (ECOHIS-4D) using a discrete choice experiment. European Journal of Health Economics, 24 (8), 1-12. doi: 10.1007/s10198-022-01542-x
2022
Journal Article
Development of a classification (descriptive) system for a preference-based quality of life measure for dental caries (dental caries utility index) among adolescents
Hettiarachchi, Ruvini M., Kularatna, Sanjeewa, Byrnes, Joshua, Chen, Gang, Mulhern, Brendan and Scuffham, Paul A. (2022). Development of a classification (descriptive) system for a preference-based quality of life measure for dental caries (dental caries utility index) among adolescents. Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 82 (3), 253-261. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12490
2022
Journal Article
Cost-effectiveness analysis of paediatric mental health interventions: a systematic review of model-based economic evaluations
Kularatna, Sanjeewa, Hettiarachchi, Ruvini, Senanayake, Sameera, Murphy, Ciara, Donovan, Caroline and March, Sonja (2022). Cost-effectiveness analysis of paediatric mental health interventions: a systematic review of model-based economic evaluations. BMC Health Services Research, 22 (1) 542, 1-17. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-07939-x
2022
Other Outputs
Reducing Emergency Department demand through expanded primary healthcare practice: Full report of the research and findings
Toloo, Sam, Hettiarachchi, Ruvini, Lim, David and Wilson, Katie (2022). Reducing Emergency Department demand through expanded primary healthcare practice: Full report of the research and findings. Queensland University of Technology. doi: 10.5204/rep.eprints.227473
2022
Other Outputs
Surgical Ambassador: Occupational Violence Prevention Program Economic Evaluation
Duff, Jed, Kularatna, Sanjeewa, Brain, David, Tyack, Zephanie, Senanayake, Sameera Jayan, Hettiarachchi, Ruvini, Olsson, Lita and Griffiths, Jo (2022). Surgical Ambassador: Occupational Violence Prevention Program Economic Evaluation. Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia: Queensland University of Technology. doi: 10.5204/rep.eprints.248024
2022
Conference Publication
Australian health utility value set for MacNew-7D heart disease-specific measure
Kularatna, S., Chen, G., Senanayake, S., Hettiarachchi, R., Parsonage, W., Norman, R., Mulhern, B., Mukuria, C., Rowen, D. and McPhail, S. (2022). Australian health utility value set for MacNew-7D heart disease-specific measure. 70th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, Gold Coast, QLD Australia, 11-14 August 2022. Chatswood, NSW Australia: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.hlc.2022.06.063
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Ruvini Manjula Hettiarachchi is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Master Philosophy
A Business Case for Vital Pulp Therapy in Australian Dental Practices
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Unni Kunjukrishna Pillai, Professor Ove Peters
Media
Enquiries
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