Cynthia Iglesias, Professor of Health Economics at the Department of Health Sciences
Cynthia was born in Mexico, where she graduated as an Actuary. She holds an MSc in Health Economics and a PhD in Health Sciences, both from the University of York.
Her core research interests are centred on the use of health economics methods to support the development and evaluation of medical devices using health technology assessment (HTA) principles, and she now has 25 years' experience working with a number of stakeholders in this area, including patients, clinicians, innovators/developers, funders and regulators.
She is co-lead of the Stratified and Person-Centred Research Programme and Lead of the York Technology Specific Evaluation Team.
email: cynthia.iglesias@york.ac.uk
Our 60-second interview with Cynthia:
What do you do in the field of mental health?
I am completing the evaluation of a self-management support intervention based on principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (e.g., I-WOTCH) to help people with strong opioid addiction reduce their dependence. In another study, we used mixed methods to identify and evaluate people’s preferences for services aimed at supporting their efforts towards self-management of their long-term conditions. We used similar methods in a third project, designed to inform the conceptualisation and development of a wearable digital health technology to help people with chronic conditions self-manage their health. This study also included an early HTA evaluation to assess the potential value of this technology from the viewpoint of the NHS.
What do you find most rewarding and inspiring in this work?
The most rewarding aspect of this work is the ability to capture people’s voices as well as gain an increased awareness of the interconnectivity between body, mind, emotions, behaviour and personality, as well as how they manifest and impact on individual health and overall wellbeing.
What is the most challenging or complicated aspect of this work?
Understanding what motivates people’s behaviour and changes to their behaviour.
What impact do you hope your work is having- or can potentially have?
To increase awareness of the importance of co-development, interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity in designing and delivering healthcare interventions that are more likely to support behavioural change. My work has informed the development of the Evidence Framework to Evaluate Digital Health Technologies used by NICE. It has also contributed to the design of a CPD course entitled “The Evaluation of Medical Devices for Product Development and HTA”. For the past 10 years, as a member of the Medical Technologies Advisory Committee (MTEP) at NICE, my research informed national recommendations regarding the adoption of medical devices likely to be cost-neutral or cost-saving for the NHS.
Could you share with us one piece of advice that you follow for your own mental health?
Make sure to connect with yourself and others at a human level on a daily basis. Do not be afraid of prioritising, saying no, missing out, or making mistakes. Be active and social but don’t forget to take time to be still and meditate. Be forgiving and kind to yourself.