Resources Repository
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ArticleWeb Portal 2017PLOS Collection: Economic Efficiency of HIV Services
In order to maximize the value for money for HIV services and increase efficiency without …
In order to maximize the value for money for HIV services and increase efficiency without sacrificing quality, robust and up-to-date data on costs, efficiency and its determinants are needed. This PLOS collection, Economic Efficiency of HIV Services, presents recent, high-quality evidence from low- and middle-income countries on costs and technical efficiency of HIV services and their determinants. These data contribute to the current discussion on optimizing resources for HIV services and can provide programmatic guidance for…
Operations Research | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Latin America & Caribbean | Sub-Saharan Africa | Priority Setting/Ethics | Costing Methods | Infectious Diseases | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Middle East & North Africa | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2016Country-Level Cost-Effectiveness Thresholds
This article estimates the cost-effectiveness thresholds (CETs) for health interventions in several low and middle-income …
This article estimates the cost-effectiveness thresholds (CETs) for health interventions in several low and middle-income countries (LMICs), based on opportunity costs. When there are constraints on a health care system’s budget or ability to increase expenditures, additional costs imposed by interventions have an “opportunity cost” in terms of the health foregone because other interventions cannot be provided. The authors argue that cost-effectiveness thresholds should reflect health opportunity cost and aim to calculate these in four…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Europe | Latin America & Caribbean | Sub-Saharan Africa | Priority Setting/Ethics | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Middle East & North Africa | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2008Cost-Effectiveness of Rapid Point-of-Care Prenatal Syphilis Screening in Sub-Saharan Africa
This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of using rapid point-of-care tests for prenatal syphilis screening among …
This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of using rapid point-of-care tests for prenatal syphilis screening among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with syphilis prevalence rates as high as 17%, and where traditional multi-test screening methods have been challenging to implement. Focusing on newly available rapid point-of-care screening tests, strategies differed by the initial test [rapid plasma reagin (RPR), immunochromographic strip (ICS)], need for confirmation with Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay, and number of visits required.…
Technology Assessment | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Sub-Saharan Africa | Costing Methods | Test Performance | Mathematical Models | Infectious Diseases | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2021Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation on Vaccination Intent in the U.K. and U.S.
Widespread acceptance of a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 will be the next major step to fight …
Widespread acceptance of a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 will be the next major step to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, but high uptake achievement will be a challenge and may be impeded by online misinformation. This article is a randomized controlled trial in the U.K. and the U.S. with the objective to quantify how exposure to online misinformation around COVID-19 vaccines affects intent to vaccinate to protect oneself or others. The authors report that in both countries…
Preferences/Values | Decision Psychology | Culture/Society | Europe | Infectious Diseases | Child/Nutrition | Social Determinants | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2018DALYS and QALYs – Does the Choice of Measure Matter?
This article discusses the measurement of health benefits as a key issue in health economic …
This article discusses the measurement of health benefits as a key issue in health economic evaluations. Authors adapted two previously published models, a Markov model for human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination, and a pneumococcal vaccination deterministic model (PNEUMO) that reported outputs in QALYs to estimate DALYs in 3 settings, Argentina, Chile, and the United Kingdom. While the authors found that QALY gains were larger than DALYs avoided in all countries for HPV, differences using QALYs…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Europe | Latin America & Caribbean | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine -
ArticleWeb Portal 2017PLoS Collection: Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infections
Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than one million new sexually transmitted …
Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than one million new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) occur each day, incurring a very substantial burden of morbidity, mortality and additional infections. The pathogens responsible include bacteria, parasites and viruses, and intensive research is needed to address the substantial barriers to diagnosis and treatment of STIs, and the behavioral challenges of prevention. This PLOS collection, published in collaboration with WHO, focuses on global policy and systems…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Latin America & Caribbean | Sub-Saharan Africa | Priority Setting/Ethics | Costing Methods | Mathematical Models | Dynamic Transmission | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Middle East & North Africa | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2017Revealed Willingness-to-Pay vs. Standard Cost-Effectiveness Thresholds
This study estimates the cost-effectiveness thresholds (CETs) of 16 HIV programs in South Africa. The …
This study estimates the cost-effectiveness thresholds (CETs) of 16 HIV programs in South Africa. The use of CETs based on a country’s income per capita has been criticized for not being grounded in theory or evidence, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). An alternative has been produced for South Africa, based on estimates of life years saved and the country’s committed HIV budget. The authors used a previously -published optimization method to estimate CETs,…
Preferences/Values | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Sub-Saharan Africa | Priority Setting/Ethics | Infectious Diseases | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2017Getting it Right When Budgets are Tight: Prioritizing Responses to HIV Epidemics
Prioritizing investments across health interventions is complicated by the nonlinear relationship between intervention coverage and …
Prioritizing investments across health interventions is complicated by the nonlinear relationship between intervention coverage and epidemiological outcomes. It can be difficult for countries to know which interventions to prioritize for greatest epidemiological impact, particularly when budgets are uncertain.The authors examined four case studies of HIV epidemics in diverse settings, each with different characteristics. These case studies were based on public data available for Belarus, Peru, Togo, and Myanmar. The Optima HIV model and software package…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Latin America & Caribbean | Sub-Saharan Africa | Priority Setting/Ethics | Costing Methods | Mathematical Models | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Middle East & North Africa | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2017Predicting Carer Health Effects for Use in Economic Evaluation
Illnesses and interventions can affect the health status of family carers in addition to patients. …
Illnesses and interventions can affect the health status of family carers in addition to patients. However economic evaluation studies rarely incorporate data on health status of carers. In order to investigate whether changes in carer health status could be ‘predicted’ from the health data of those they provide care to, as a means of incorporating carer outcomes in economic evaluation, the authors used regression models to analyse changes in carers’ health status. They derive predictive algorithms based on…
Preferences/Values | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Europe | Health Outcomes | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | North America