Melvin Obadha is a health economics and health policy researcher whose work focuses on healthcare financing, health systems, universal health coverage, health technology assessment, and evidence-based priority setting. His research has particularly examined healthcare policy and financing in Kenya.

Who Is Melvin Obadha?

Melvin Obadha has a DPhil from the University of Oxford, where his doctoral research examined multi-criteria decision analysis for priority setting in universal health coverage in Kenya. Oxford's research archive lists his 2023 doctoral thesis, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in Priority Setting for Universal Health Coverage in Kenya.

His research interests include:

• Health economics
• Health policy
• Health systems
• Healthcare financing
• Health technology assessment
• Universal health coverage
• Decision analysis
• Priority setting
• Digital health
• Climate and health

Research on Universal Health Coverage

One of Obadha's major research areas is universal health coverage (UHC). His doctoral research investigated whether multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) could be used to support healthcare priority-setting decisions in Kenya. Oxford's record concludes that MCDA is feasible to implement in the Kenyan context, while also identifying limitations that need to be considered.

This research is important because healthcare systems have limited resources and must make decisions about which services, treatments, and interventions should receive priority.

Research on Healthcare Financing

Obadha has also investigated how healthcare providers experience different payment systems.

A 2019 study examined capitation and fee-for-service payment mechanisms in Kenya, focusing on the experiences of public, private, and faith-based healthcare providers. The study explored characteristics of payment mechanisms that providers considered important.

His research therefore connects economic incentives with healthcare delivery and policy decisions.

Research on Capitation Payments

In another study published in Health Policy and Planning, Obadha and colleagues investigated healthcare providers' preferences regarding capitation payment in Kenya using a discrete choice experiment. The research examined which characteristics of payment mechanisms were important to providers.

This type of research can help policymakers better understand provider preferences when designing healthcare financing systems.

Research Methods and Decision Analysis

Obadha's research also demonstrates an interest in discrete choice experiments and multi-criteria decision analysis.

A 2019 Health Economics Review paper co-authored by Obadha examined how attributes and levels should be developed for a discrete choice experiment involving healthcare provider preferences for capitation payments. The researchers emphasized the importance of rigorously developing these elements because poor design can affect study results and potentially lead to misleading policy conclusions.

Melvin Obadha and Academic Research

Obadha's publications span several aspects of health economics and health policy. His research has involved institutions including the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme and the University of Oxford. His publications also include work involving healthcare provider incentives and payment systems.

His academic profile shows a research focus combining health economics, health policy, health systems, decision sciences, health technology assessment, and healthcare financing.

Why Melvin Obadha's Research Matters

Healthcare policymakers must often make difficult decisions with limited budgets and competing health priorities. Research in health economics can provide evidence for deciding how resources should be allocated and how healthcare systems can improve efficiency.

Obadha's research contributes to these discussions by examining payment mechanisms, provider preferences, priority setting, and universal health coverage, particularly within the Kenyan healthcare context.

Final Thoughts

Melvin Obadha is an academic researcher whose work sits at the intersection of health economics, health policy, healthcare financing, and decision science. His research on Kenya's healthcare system includes provider payment mechanisms and priority setting for universal health coverage.

For students and researchers interested in health economics, universal health coverage, health technology assessment, or healthcare policy in low- and middle-income countries, Obadha's academic work provides useful examples of how economic and decision-making methods can be applied to real-world healthcare challenges.