The Impact of Socioeconomic Status (SES) on Patient Preference for Aggressive Treatment Options
Time:
Venue: Room A523, School of Management, Zijingang Campus
Speaker: Jing (Jill) Lei
Category: Talk & Lecture
Date & Time: October 8, 2026, 10:00–11:30 (Beijing Time)
Speaker: Prof. Jing (Jill) Lei, Professor of Marketing, University of Melbourne
Venue: Room A523, School of Management, Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University
Host: YANG Zheshuai, Tenured Associate Professor, Zhejiang University School of Management
Abstract: For health conditions ranging from the common cold to cancer, patients often face a decision between conservative and aggressive options. For example, a person diagnosed with thyroid nodules might weigh watchful waiting against a minimally invasive thyroidectomy. In today's patient-centred healthcare, patients play a growing role in treatment decision-making (Elwyn 2021; Epstein 2000). A key patient-related factor, socio-economic status (SES), is consistently linked to health outcomes (Adler et al. 1994), yet the behavioral mechanisms driving these outcomes are less understood. This research explores how SES influences patient preference for aggressive vs. conservative treatments.
About the speaker: Jing (Jill) Lei is a Professor of Marketing and former Head of the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne, a department with more than 100 full-time academic members. Her current research focuses on consumers' judgment and decision-making in the context of public health and well-being, including judgments and decisions related to medications, treatment options, and participation in preventive actions. She served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Consumer Psychology and is a member of the Health Analytics, Leadership, and Economics Hub and the Melbourne Health and Business Research Hub at the University of Melbourne. She has published in leading marketing journals such as the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research and Journal of Consumer Psychology, as well as in interdisciplinary journals including Appetite, Public Health Nutrition and Obesity Reviews.