PROTOCOL: Effectiveness of economic development interventions in humanitarian settings in low- and middle-income countries: A mixed-method systematic review.
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SUBMITTER: Malhotra SK
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10585609 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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PROTOCOL: Effectiveness of economic development interventions in humanitarian settings in low- and middle-income countries: A mixed-method systematic review.
Malhotra Suchi Kapoor SK Vigneri Marcella M Cruz Nina Ashley O Dela NAOD MacDonald Heather H White Howard H
Campbell systematic reviews 20231019 4
This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The review will address the following research questions: (1) What are the effects of economic development interventions on the economic outcomes of people in humanitarian settings? What factors explain any observed variations in effect such as setting, programme design features or duration? (2) What are the effects of economic development interventions on the food security, nutrition, the psychosocial and mental health, and the physical hea ...[more]
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Project description:ImportanceEndorsement of global humanitarian interventions is based on either proven cost-effectiveness or perceived public health benefits. The cost-effectiveness and long-term benefits of global humanitarian pediatric cardiac surgery are unknown, and funding for this intervention is insufficient.ObjectivesTo determine the cost-effectiveness of the intervention (multiple 2-week-long humanitarian pediatric cardiac surgery program assistance trips to various low- and middle-income countries [LMICs]) and to produce a measure of the long-lasting effects of global humanitarian programs.Design, setting, and participantsInternational, multicenter cost-effectiveness analysis of a cohort of children (aged <16 years) undergoing surgical treatment of congenital heart disease during 2015 in LMICs, including China, Macedonia, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, and Ukraine. The study also assessed estimated improvement in the United Nations Human Development Indicators (life expectancy, years of schooling, and gross national income) for each individual survivor, as a proxy for long-term benefits of the intervention.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was cost-effectiveness of the intervention. The secondary outcomes were potential gains in life expectancy, years of schooling, and gross national income per capita for each survivor.ResultsDuring 2015, 446 patients (192 [43%] female; mean [SD] age, 3.7 [5.4] years) were served in 10 LMICs at an overall cost of $3 210 873. Of them, 424 were children. The cost-effectiveness of the intervention was $171 per disability-adjusted life-year averted. Each survivor in the cohort (390 of 424) potentially gained 39.9 disability-adjusted life-years averted, 3.5 years of schooling, and $159 533 in gross national income per capita during his or her extended lifetime at purchasing power parity and 3% discounting.Conclusions and relevanceHumanitarian pediatric cardiac surgery in LMICs is highly cost-effective. It also leaves behind a lasting humanitarian footprint by potentially improving individual development indices.
| S-EPMC6324367 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundCost-effectiveness rankings of health interventions are useful inputs for national healthcare planning and budgeting. Previous comprehensive rankings for low- and middle- income countries were undertaken in 2005 and 2006, accompanying the development of strategies for the Millennium Development Goals. We update the rankings using studies published since 2000, as strategies are being considered for the Sustainable Development Goals.MethodsExpert systematic searches of the literature were undertaken for a broad range of health interventions. Cost-effectiveness results using Disability Adjusted Life-Years (DALYs) as the health outcome were standardized to 2012 US dollars.Results149 individual studies of 93 interventions qualified for inclusion. Interventions for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health accounted for 37% of interventions, and major infectious diseases (AIDS, TB, malaria and neglected tropical diseases) for 24%, consistent with the priorities of the Millennium Development Goals. More than half of the interventions considered cost less than $200 per DALY and hence can be considered for inclusion in Universal Health Care packages even in low-income countries.DiscussionImportant changes have occurred in rankings since 2006. Priorities have changed as a result of new technologies, new methods for changing behavior, and significant price changes for some vaccines and drugs. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will require LMICs to study a broader range of health interventions, particularly in adult health. Some interventions are no longer studied, in some cases because they have become usual care, in other cases because they are no longer relevant. Updating cost-effectiveness rankings on a regular basis is potentially a valuable exercise.
| S-EPMC5552255 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesStudies indicate that many types of surgical care are cost-effective compared with other health interventions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, global health investments to support these interventions remain limited. This study undertakes a scoping review of research on the economic impact of surgical interventions in LMICs to determine the methodologies used in measuring economic benefits.DesignThe Arksey and O'Malley methodological framework for scoping reviews and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews checklist were used to review the data systematically. Online databases were used to identify papers published between 2005 and 2020, from which we selected 19 publications that quantitatively examined the economic benefits of surgical interventions in LMICs.ResultsMajority of publications (79%) reported the use of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) to assess economic impact. In comparison, 21% used other measures, such as the value of statistical life or cost-effectiveness ratios, or no measure at all. 31% were systematic or retrospective reviews of the literature on surgical procedures in LMICs, while 69% either directly assessed economic impact in a specific area or evaluated the need for surgical procedures in LMICs. All studies reviewed related to the economic impact of surgical procedures in LMICs, with most about paediatric surgical procedures or a specific surgical specialty.ConclusionTo make informed policy decisions regarding global health investments, the economic impact must be accurately measured. Researchers employ a range of techniques to quantify the economic benefit of surgeries in LMICs, which limits understanding of overall economic value. We conclude that the literature would benefit from a careful selection of methods, incorporating age and disability weights based on the Global Burden of Disease weights, and converting DALYs to dollars using the value of statistical life approach and the human capital approach, reporting both estimates.
| S-EPMC7713224 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundA significant number of women in low and middle income countries (L-MICs) who need any family planning, experience a lack in access to modern effective methods. This study was conducted to review potential cost effectiveness of scaling up family planning interventions in these regions from the published literatures and assess their implication for policy and future research.Study designA systematic review was performed in several electronic databases i.e Medline (Pubmed), Embase, Popline, The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), EBSCOHost, and The Cochrane Library. Articles reporting full economic evaluations of strategies to improve family planning interventions in one or more L-MICs, published between 1995 until 2015 were eligible for inclusion. Data was synthesized and analyzed using a narrative approach and the reporting quality of the included studies was assessed using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) statement.ResultsFrom 920 references screened, 9 studies were eligible for inclusion. Six references assessed cost effectiveness of improving family planning interventions in one or more L-MICs, while the rest assessed costs and consequences of integrating family planning and HIV services, concerning sub-Saharan Africa. Assembled evidence suggested that improving family planning interventions is cost effective in a variety of L-MICs as measured against accepted international cost effectiveness benchmarks. In areas with high HIV prevalence, integrating family planning and HIV services can be efficient and cost effective; however the evidence is only supported by a very limited number of studies. The major drivers of cost effectiveness were cost of increasing coverage, effectiveness of the interventions and country-specific factors.ConclusionImproving family planning interventions in low and middle income countries appears to be cost-effective. Additional economic evaluation studies with improved reporting quality are necessary to generate further evidence on costs, cost-effectiveness, and affordability, and to support increased funding and investments in family planning programs.
| S-EPMC5167385 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesTo explore the current evidence on interventions to influence antibiotic prescribing behaviour of health professionals in outpatient settings in low-income and lower-middle-income countries, an underrepresented area in the literature.MethodsThe systematic review protocol for this study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020170504). We searched PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) for studies relating to antibiotic prescribing of health professionals in outpatient settings in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Behavioural interventions were classified as persuasive, enabling, restrictive, structural or bundle (mix of different interventions). In total, 3,514 abstracts were screened and 42 studies were selected for full-text review, with 13 studies included in the final narrative synthesis.ResultsOf the 13 included studies, five were conducted in Vietnam, two in Sudan, two in Tanzania, two in India and two in Kenya. All studies were conducted in the outpatient or ambulatory setting: eight took place in primary health centres, two in private clinics and three in pharmacies. Our review found that enabling or educational interventions alone may not be sufficient to overcome the ingrained incentives to link revenue generation to sales of antibiotics, and hence, their inappropriate prescription or misuse. Bundle interventions appear to be very effective at changing prescription behaviour among healthcare providers, including drug sellers and pharmacists.ConclusionsMulti-faceted bundle interventions that combine regulation enforcement with face-to-face education and peer influence may be more effective than educational interventions alone at curbing inappropriate antibiotic use.
| S-EPMC8248115 | biostudies-literature
Project description:To review the current literature around the potential impact, effectiveness and perceptions of plain packaging in low income settings.A systematic review of the literature.9 databases (PubMed, Global Health, Social Policy and Practice, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), CINAHL, PsycINFO, British Library for Development Studies (BLDS), Global Health Library and Scopus) were searched. The terms used for searching combined terms for smoking and tobacco use with terms for plain packaging.Studies investigating the impact of plain packaging on the determinants of tobacco use, such as smoking behaviour, appeal, prominence, effectiveness of health warnings, response to plain packs, attitudes towards quitting or likelihood of smoking in low-income settings, were identified. Studies must have been published in English and be original research of any level of rigour.Two independent reviewers assessed studies for inclusion and extracted data.The results were synthesised qualitatively, with themes grouped under four key headings: appeal and attractiveness; salience of health warnings and perceptions of harm; enjoyment and perceived taste ratings; and perceptions of the impact on tobacco usage behaviour.This review has identified four articles that met the inclusion criteria. Studies identified that tobacco products in plain packaging had less appeal than in branded packaging in low-income settings.This review indicates that plain packaging appears to be successful in reducing appeal of smoking and packets, and supports the call for plain packaging to be widely implemented in conjunction with other tobacco control policies. However, there are considerable gaps in the amount of research conducted outside high-income countries.
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Project description:BackgroundAntimicrobial misuse is common in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), and this practice is a driver of antibiotic resistance. We compared community-based antibiotic access and use practices across communities in LMICs to identify contextually specific targets for interventions to improve antibiotic use practices.MethodsWe did quantitative and qualitative assessments of antibiotic access and use in six LMICs across Africa (Mozambique, Ghana, and South Africa) and Asia (Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Thailand) over a 2·5-year study period (July 1, 2016-Dec 31, 2018). We did quantitative assessments of community antibiotic access and use through supplier mapping, customer exit interviews, and household surveys. These quantitative assessments were triangulated with qualitative drug supplier and consumer interviews and discussions.FindingsVietnam and Bangladesh had the largest proportions of non-licensed antibiotic dispensing points. For mild illness, drug stores were the most common point of contact when seeking antibiotics in most countries, except South Africa and Mozambique, where public facilities were most common. Self-medication with antibiotics was found to be widespread in Vietnam (55·2% of antibiotics dispensed without prescription), Bangladesh (45·7%), and Ghana (36·1%), but less so in Mozambique (8·0%), South Africa (1·2%), and Thailand (3·9%). Self-medication was considered to be less time consuming, cheaper, and overall, more convenient than accessing them through health-care facilities. Factors determining where treatment was sought often involved relevant policies, trust in the supplier and the drug, disease severity, and whether the antibiotic was intended for a child. Confusion regarding how to identify oral antibiotics was revealed in both Africa and Asia.InterpretationContextual complexities and differences between countries with different incomes, policy frameworks, and cultural norms were revealed. These contextual differences render a single strategy inadequate and instead necessitate context-tailored, integrated intervention packages to improve antibiotic use in LMICs as part of global efforts to combat antibiotic resistance.FundingWellcome Trust and Volkswagen Foundation.
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Project description:Children's blood lead levels have declined worldwide, especially after the removal of lead in gasoline. However, significant exposure remains, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. To date, there have been no global estimates of the costs related to lead exposure in children in developing countries.Our main aim was to estimate the economic costs attributable to childhood lead exposure in low- and middle-income countries.We developed a regression model to estimate mean blood lead levels in our population of interest, represented by each 1-year cohort of children < 5 years of age. We used an environmentally attributable fraction model to estimate lead-attributable economic costs and limited our analysis to the neurodevelopmental impacts of lead, assessed as decrements in IQ points. Our main outcome was lost lifetime economic productivity due to early childhood exposure.We estimated a total cost of $977 billions of international dollars in low- and middle-income countries, with economic losses equal to $134.7 billion in Africa [4.03% of gross domestic product (GDP)], $142.3 billion in Latin America and the Caribbean (2.04% of GDP), and $699.9 billion in Asia (1.88% of GDP). Our sensitivity analysis indicates a total economic loss in the range of $728.6-1162.5 billion.We estimated that, in low- and middle-income countries, the burden associated with childhood lead exposure amounts to 1.20% of world GDP in 2011. For comparison, in the United States and Europe lead-attributable economic costs have been estimated at $50.9 and $55 billion, respectively, suggesting that the largest burden of lead exposure is now borne by low- and middle-income countries.
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Project description:Objective:To systematically review and appraise the quality of cost-effectiveness analyses of emergency care interventions in low- and middle-income countries. Methods:Following the PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched PubMed®, Scopus, EMBASE®, Cochrane Library and Web of Science for studies published before May 2019. Inclusion criteria were: (i) an original cost-effectiveness analysis of emergency care intervention or intervention package, and (ii) the analysis occurred in a low- and middle-income setting. To identify additional primary studies, we hand searched the reference lists of included studies. We used the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards guideline to appraise the quality of included studies. Results:Of the 1674 articles we identified, 35 articles met the inclusion criteria. We identified an additional four studies from the reference lists. We excluded many studies for being deemed costing assessments without an effectiveness analysis. Most included studies were single-intervention analyses. Emergency care interventions evaluated by included studies covered prehospital services, provider training, treatment interventions, emergency diagnostic tools and facilities and packages of care. The reporting quality of the studies varied. Conclusion:We found large gaps in the evidence surrounding the cost-effectiveness of emergency care interventions in low- and middle-income settings. Given the breadth of interventions currently in practice, many interventions remain unassessed, suggesting the need for future research to aid resource allocation decisions. In particular, packages of multiple interventions and system-level changes represent a priority area for future research.
| S-EPMC7265944 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Chronic diseases are increasingly becoming a health burden in lower- and middle-income countries, putting pressure on public health efforts to scale up interventions. This article reviews current efforts in interventions on a population and individual level. Population-level interventions include ongoing efforts to reduce smoking rates, reduce intake of salt and trans-fatty acids, and increase physical activity in increasingly sedentary populations. Individual-level interventions include control and treatment of risk factors for chronic diseases and secondary prevention. This review also discusses the barriers in interventions, particularly those specific to low- and middle-income countries. Continued discussion of proven cost-effective interventions for chronic diseases in the developing world will be useful for improving public health policy.
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