Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment

New Study to Examine How Better Health Supports Employment

A new National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) project led by Dr Daniel Kopasker and Professor S. Vittal Katikireddi will investigate how health interventions for long-term conditions could improve employment outcomes and economic productivity.

The Modelling Employment Supporting Health Interventions (ModESHI) project will use the SimPaths microsimulation framework to quantify and understand the employment impacts of health interventions. Focusing on multiple long-term conditions, including obesity, musculoskeletal, and mental health conditions, the research will combine evidence from randomised controlled trials with nationally representative population data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (Understanding Society) to simulate effects on employment and productivity. The approach will account for differences in individual circumstances, such as caring responsibilities, providing a realistic understanding of how health interventions may influence labour market participation in real-world settings. It will also examine how these effects vary across population groups and contribute to health inequalities, providing valuable evidence to support policy responses to rising levels of health-related economic inactivity across the UK.

The project is a cross-college collaboration with researchers from various schools at the University of Glasgow (Health and Wellbeing; Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health; Medicine, Dentistry, and Nursing; Adam Smith Business School; Centre for Public Policy), plus external researchers at the University of Essex, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, and the University of Aberdeen. It is funded through the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme and will run until August 2029.

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First published: 23 September 2026