Resources Repository
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ReviewPublication 2016Using Economic Evidence to Set Healthcare Priorities in LMIC
Policy makers in low-income and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly looking to develop ‘evidence-based’ frameworks …
Policy makers in low-income and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly looking to develop ‘evidence-based’ frameworks for identifying priority health interventions. This paper synthesizes and appraises the literature on methodological frameworks – which incorporate economic evaluation evidence – for the purpose of setting healthcare priorities in LMICs. A systematic search of Embase, MEDLINE, Econlit and PubMed identified 3968 articles with a further 21 articles identified through manual searching. A total of 36 papers were eligible for inclusion.…
Economics/Finance | Asia & Pacific | Latin America & Caribbean | Sub-Saharan Africa | Policy/Regulation | Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Technology Assessment | Health Systems | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Middle East & North Africa -
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;…
Economics/Finance | Asia & Pacific | Latin America & Caribbean | Sub-Saharan Africa | Policy/Regulation | Priority Setting/Ethics | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Education/Labor | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Middle East & North Africa -
ArticlePublication 2016Maternal-Related Deaths and Impoverishment among Adolescent Girls in India and Niger
This article, published in BMJ Open, examined the distribution of maternal deaths and impoverishment among …
This article, published in BMJ Open, examined the distribution of maternal deaths and impoverishment among adolescent girls across socioeconomic groups in Niger and India, which have the largest fertility rate, and number of maternal deaths, respectively. Results showed that in Niger and India, the poorer adolescents had a larger number of maternal deaths compared to the richer. Impoverishment occurred mostly among the richer adolescents in Niger and among the poorer adolescents in India. Increasing educational…
Economics/Finance | Asia & Pacific | Sub-Saharan Africa | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Priority Setting/Ethics | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Education/Labor | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2013Health Benefits and Cost-Effectiveness of Strategies to Reduce Maternal Mortality in Afghanistan
This article, published in Health Policy and Planning, disaggregates data on pregnancies in Afghanistan to …
This article, published in Health Policy and Planning, disaggregates data on pregnancies in Afghanistan to evaluate health outcomes and cost-effectiveness of interventions related to childbirth. These interventions include antenatal care, family planning, skilled birth attendance, access to transport, referral facilities, and quality of overall care. Outcomes include pregnancy-related complications, maternal deaths, maternal mortality ratios, costs and cost-effectiveness ratios. The authors report that increasing family planning would be the most effective individual intervention. The model suggests…
Economics/Finance | Asia & Pacific | Policy/Regulation | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Health Outcomes | State-Transition | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2012Health and Economic Outcomes of Interventions to Reduce Pregnancy-Related Mortality in Nigeria
This paper examines the cost-effectiveness and impact of individual and integrated packages of interventions aimed …
This paper examines the cost-effectiveness and impact of individual and integrated packages of interventions aimed to reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria, a country with extremely high maternal mortality rates. Using a previously validated model adapted to the Nigerian context, the study finds that an increase of access to family planning is the most effective individual strategy, which not only reduces pregnancy-related mortality but also proves to be economically efficient. However, relying solely on family planning…
Economics/Finance | Sub-Saharan Africa | Policy/Regulation | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Health Outcomes | State-Transition | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2010Alternative Strategies to Reduce Maternal Mortality in India: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
This article, published in PLoS Medicine, conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of strategies to improve pregnancy …
This article, published in PLoS Medicine, conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of strategies to improve pregnancy and childbirth safety in India. Country- and region-specific data were synthesized using a computer-based model that simulates the natural history of pregnancy and pregnancy-associated complications in individual women, and considers delivery location, attendant, and facility level. Model validation compared projected maternal indicators with empiric data. Strategies consisted of improving coverage of effective interventions that could be provided individually or packaged…
Economics/Finance | Asia & Pacific | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Evidence Synthesis | Mathematical Models | Microsimulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health/Medicine | Global -
ArticlePublication 2023Benefits and Costs of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Written mid-pandemic, this article evaluates the direct costs and health benefits of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations …
Written mid-pandemic, this article evaluates the direct costs and health benefits of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for U.S. federal employees and healthcare and private sector workers. These mandates were controversial and some were halted by litigation. If they had been implemented as intended, the net benefits would depend on the course of the pandemic. If a more transmissible variant (such as Omicron) emerges, the net benefits may be large. If the pandemic instead fades, the benefits…
Economics/Finance | North America | Policy/Regulation | Mathematical Models | State-Transition | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Business/Industry | Government/Law | 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…
Economics/Finance | Sub-Saharan Africa | Policy/Regulation | Priority Setting/Ethics | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Health/Medicine -
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…
Economics/Finance | North America | Policy/Regulation | Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Global