LCHE, a new Center for health economics, behavior and policy

The Lausanne Center for Health Economics, Behavior, and Policy (LCHE) of the University of Lausanne (UNIL) promotes research, teaching, and policy advice in the fields of health economics, behavior, and policy.

Recently inaugurated in Lausanne, the LCHE interdisciplinary center brings together researchers from the Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), the Faculty of Biology and Medicine (CHUV-FBM), and the Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC). Its goal is to contribute to the resolution of key societal and policy issues facing health and healthcare systems through research, training, and knowledge transfer to decision makers.

For a few months now, researchers from UNIL and Unisanté working in the fields of economics, public health, epidemiology, actuarial sciences, social and behavioral sciences, law and medicine have been collaborating within the new “Lausanne Center for Health Economics, Behavior, and Policy“. Building on previous successful collaborations, they are now brought together under a common banner.

UNIL, through its Faculty of Biology and Medicine and the Faculty of Business Administration, and Unisanté, wish to strengthen Lausanne’s position as an expert in these fields of research. The official inauguration of the Platform took place on 26 October 2022 at the AGORA center of the CHUV. The event featured international academic speakers as well as health policy experts in a roundtable discussion.

Research, teaching and knowledge transfer activities

Based in the canton of Vaud, at the heart of Western Switzerland’s Health Valley, the new Center aims to become a reference for health economics and policy, with the objective is to inform decision-makers about the impact of policy decisions on public health. The Center will organize conferences, seminars and workshops that will allow scientists to exchange new ideas and contribute to crucial decisions around the health system and health policies.

Furthermore, a special emphasis will be placed on the use of new or hard-to-access data and their application through innovative analytical methods to address challenges such as aging populations, health inequalities and pandemics. Also active in teaching, the LCHE is active on several levels, from Bachelor’s programs to doctoral training.

Among the research themes already addressed are the acceptance of vaccination against Covid-19, the socio-economic gradient in access to care, the health of the elderly, the impact of social policies on health or the health and care trajectories of asylum seekers.