About Us

Members for 2022

Our faculty comprises an international network of multilingual, multidisciplinary researchers who contribute to the field of health preference research. Unlike other organizations, IAHPR membership is based on participation, rather than a dues-only membership. To become a member of the Academy, a researcher must give a presentation at an IAHPR meeting. To become a tenured member, a researcher must present at least two podium presentations. Each member must participate in IAHPR activities by attending at least one meeting every three years, including its business session, and is invited to assist with its educational and research activities. Failure to participate in IAHPR activities may cause membership to lapse. The Academy was designed to actively encourage innovation in health preference research.

About the Academy

Established on 15 April 2014, the International Academy of Health Preference Research (IAHPR) is a member-driven, inter-generational organization that promotes educational activities and research with respect to health and health-related preferences. To assure independence between scientific and institutional decisions, the Academy is comprised of two separate 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations: the Association and the Foundation . At present, the Foundation Board has four directors: Juan Marcos González Sepúlveda (Chair),  Axel C. Mühlbacher, Esther W. de Bekker-Grob, and Jennifer Whitty.

Our aim is to improve decisions about health and healthcare throughout the world by developing, promoting, and supporting health preference research with the widest possible applicability.

Our mission is:

• To provide leadership in health preference research;
• To promote the products and services developed by IAHPR and its members and to support individuals and organizations across the world seeking to use them;
• To foster and support an international community of researchers whose activities support health preference research;
• To ensure access to the accumulated research expertise of IAHPR members and to actively promote the transfer of knowledge, evidence, and technologies regarding the use, analysis, and interpretation of health preference research;
• To support promising early-career researchers in the field of health preference research through involvement in IAHPR activities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I become a member of the Academy?
A: Yes, IAHPR membership is based on participation. In order to receive a three-year membership, a researcher must give a presentation at an IAHPR meeting. To become a tenured member of our faculty, a researcher must present at least two podium presentations. Currently, the Academy has no membership dues. Underscoring this tenet of participation over dues-only membership, efforts are underway to entirely sustain the Academy in perpetuity without membership dues (i.e., an alternative source of sustainable revenue).

Q: What will cause IAHPR membership to lapse?
A: Currently there are two primary ways to cause a lapse in membership: (1) failure to fully attend a meeting for three consecutive years; and (2) request for removal. The Academy is a member-driven organization and its participation requirement prevents the accumulation of “dead wood” and serves to deter persons who wish to be members in name alone. All members must be active in the field to retain their membership. If membership lapses, it can be reinstated by giving a presentation at an IAHPR meeting.

Q: Are there any leadership positions among the Faculty?
Beyond tenure, the faculty has no leadership positions. Like an editorial board, all tenured members are invited to review all abstracts each year and to participate in all science-related decisions. A few tenured members serve as Meeting Chairs and Directors on the Foundation Board; however, these are largely administrative positions. Our goal is to sustain a member-driven organization working together to support educational and research activities relating to health preferences. Infighting, territorialism, rants, grudges, and pettiness should be left at the door in order to focus on the science at hand and do what is best for the field of health preference research.

Q: How are IAHPR activities organized?
Three separate entities work in tandem to facilitate IAHPR activities: the Faculty, the Foundation, and the Office. Generally, the “Academy” refers to the organization as a whole. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization within the Academy created to support the its mission. The Foundation has a Board of Officers/Directors, who deliberate over all resource-intensive activities (e.g., meetings), but the Board does not dictate science-related decisions. The Faculty are members of the Association, a separate organization within the Academy.  The tenured faculty members review the abstracts, chair the meetings, and elect Directors to the Foundation Board from past meeting chairs, but the Association has no financial resources. The Office refers loosely to persons who execute the orders of the Foundation Board, such as maintaining the website and staffing the meetings. The Office has limited authority, little capital and no staff at this time; instead, its operation relies on freelancers on a project-by-project basis as needed.