Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2016Departures from Cost-Effectiveness Recommendations: Health System Constraints
Cost-effectiveness analysis assumes a single constraint, in the form of the budget constraint, whereas in reality …
Cost-effectiveness analysis assumes a single constraint, in the form of the budget constraint, whereas in reality decision makers may be faced with numerous other constraints. The objective of this article is to develop a typology of constraints that may act as barriers to implementation of cost-effectiveness recommendations. Six categories of constraints are considered: the design of the health system; costs of implementing change; system interactions between interventions; uncertainty in estimates of costs and benefits; weak governance;…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Economics/Finance | Asia & Pacific | Latin America & Caribbean | Sub-Saharan Africa | Policy/Regulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Education/Labor | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Middle East & North Africa -
ArticlePublication 2022COVID-19 Response: The Need for Economic Evaluation
COVID-19-related policies are fraught with trade-offs. Many of these trade-offs involve dimensions that can be …
COVID-19-related policies are fraught with trade-offs. Many of these trade-offs involve dimensions that can be quantitatively weighed using economic evaluation, such as those between health and cost outcomes. Other types of dimensions, such as those involving equity or autonomy, can be harder to quantify but should be considered in a comprehensive health policy decision-making context nonetheless. The authors of this New England Journal of Medicine Perspectives article outline how methods of economic evaluation and decision…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Economics/Finance | Global | Policy/Regulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2016Challenges of Prioritization
Cost-effectiveness analysis has traditionally been applied primarily to very specific interventions, such as drugs and …
Cost-effectiveness analysis has traditionally been applied primarily to very specific interventions, such as drugs and diagnostics; in addition, the evidence base drawn on for evaluating such interventions is relatively good, given the medical research industry surrounding their testing. However, with increasing success in controlling infectious diseases, many of the health challenges facing countries concern broad threats to health with multiple causes, such as obesity, where the relationship between policy action and health benefit is not…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Economics/Finance | Global | Mental Health | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2022Equity Impact of Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol
South Africa experiences significant levels of alcohol-related harm. Recent research suggests minimum unit pricing (MUP) …
South Africa experiences significant levels of alcohol-related harm. Recent research suggests minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol would be an effective policy, but high levels of income inequality raise concerns about equity impacts. This paper quantifies the equity impact of MUP on household health and finances in rich and poor drinkers in South Africa. Authors estimate MUP would reduce consumption more among the poorest than the richest drinkers. A MUP policy in South Africa has…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Economics/Finance | Sub-Saharan Africa | Policy/Regulation | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2017Making Fair Choices on the Path to UHC: Applying Principles to Difficult Cases
Progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) requires making difficult trade-offs. The World Health Organization (WHO) …
Progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) requires making difficult trade-offs. The World Health Organization (WHO) Consultative Group on Equity and UHC has endorsed the principles for making such decisions. These principles include maximizing population health, priority for the worse off, and shielding people from health-related financial risks. But how should one apply these principles in particular cases, and how should one adjudicate between them when their demands conflict? This article by some members of the…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Economics/Finance | Global | Policy/Regulation | Health Systems | Culture/Society | Government/Law | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2017Household Energy Interventions in Haryana, India: An Extended CEA
In this paper, the authors examine the use of solid fuels as a primary energy …
In this paper, the authors examine the use of solid fuels as a primary energy source for cooking in India, which contributes to high rates of infant and child mortality as well as other diseases caused by household air pollution (HAP). To achieve the widespread adoption of one of three interventions – a mud chimney stove, a blower stove, and LPG use—the government needs to offer subsidies to households using solid fuels. While the reduction…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Economics/Finance | Asia & Pacific | Policy/Regulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Climate/Environment | Energy/Engineering | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2016An Extended CEA of Schizophrenia Treatment in India under Universal Public Finance
This paper evaluates the potential health and financial risk protection effects of a policy of …
This paper evaluates the potential health and financial risk protection effects of a policy of universal public finance (UPF) to treating schizophrenia in India. The study uses the extended cost effectiveness analysis framework across income quintiles. The results show financial protection benefits concentrated in the richest income quintiles, while health gains were concentrated among the poorest. The value of insurance is highest for the poorest income and decreases as the household income increases. In settings…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Economics/Finance | Asia & Pacific | Mental Health | Costing Methods | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Clinical Care | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2016UHC for Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders: An Extended CEA
This study uses extended cost effectiveness analysis (ECEA) to analyze the impacts of universal public …
This study uses extended cost effectiveness analysis (ECEA) to analyze the impacts of universal public finance (UPF) on epilepsy, schizophrenia, and depression in India and Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government has launched a National Mental Health Strategy which explicitly recognizes the importance of an efficient, equitable scale-up of mental health care within a broader, ongoing effort to increase levels of health insurance in the general population. The analyses show that enhanced coverage of effective treatment leads…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Economics/Finance | Global | Mental Health | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2015Salt Reduction Policy in South Africa: Extended Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
This paper is an extended cost-effectiveness analysis to model the potential health and economic impacts of …
This paper is an extended cost-effectiveness analysis to model the potential health and economic impacts of a salt reduction policy in South Africa. The authors used surveys and epidemiologic studies to estimate reductions in CVD resulting from lower salt intake. They calculated the average out-of-pocket (OOP) cost of CVD care and estimated the reduction in OOP expenditures and government subsidies due to the policy. They also estimated the costs of policy implementation and financial risk protection (FRP) benefits. The…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Economics/Finance | Sub-Saharan Africa | Policy/Regulation | Costing Methods | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine