Project information
Advancing Health Technology Assessment: Approximating Dementia Progression from Administrative Data (Hana Marie Broulíková)

This project advances a critical methodological frontier in dementia research by developing robust approaches for estimating disease severity from routinely collected administrative healthcare data. Clinical information on cognitive or functional status is typically absent from national registries, yet such registries contain complete longitudinal records of healthcare utilization. Harnessing these data to approximate dementia severity would unlock new possibilities for population-level research, evaluation of health and social care needs, and evidence-informed planning of services for ageing populations. The MASH project will provide the first systematic assessment of existing severity-approximation methods and evaluate their performance across heterogeneous data environments, laying the foundation for a future ERC Starting Grant proposal.
The project follows a phased strategy. First, it will compile and critically appraise all published methods through a systematic review and establish an international network of method developers. Second, it will conduct an empirical validation using datasets in which clinically assessed severity is linked with registry data, allowing direct comparison of method performance. Third, a simulation study will generate synthetic datasets tailored to mimic diverse registry structures, enabling evaluation of cross-country transportability – an essential but yet unexplored question. Together, these steps will identify the most promising approaches for further development into a widely applicable tool for population-level dementia staging.
The project is embedded in a broader research vision to establish at Masaryk University a leading Health Technology Assessment (HTA) group in Czechia. By combining real-world data with advanced economic evaluation methods, the group will strengthen national HTA capacity and contribute to evidence-based policy on diagnostics, treatments, and care services. The MASH award will support the recruitment of junior researchers, integration with MU’s interdisciplinary environment, and preparation of a competitive ERC proposal. The project thus simultaneously advances a high-impact methodological research agenda and builds long-term institutional capacity in HTA.