Demand for mental health support services among health professionals in Vietnam: Lesson from COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to measure the preferences for mental health support among health professionals, their willingness to support the mental health of colleagues and associated factors. METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed from August to October 2022 within five hospitals located in Hanoi, Vietnam. A total of 244 health professionals participated in the study. Data on socio-economic status, health and COVID-19-related characteristics, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21); and preferences for mental health support services were collected by using a structured self-reported questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression models were utilized to identify associated factors with the demand for mental support services. RESULTS: 13.9%, 17.1% and 8.6% reported having at least mild depression, anxiety and stress, respectively. There 13.9% did not seek any mental health support during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most common support included talking with friends (52.9%), family (50.8%), colleagues (47.6%) and using social networks/Internet (43.5%). There 31.1% had been aware of mental health services, but only 18.0% used this service at least once. Regarding preferences, 47.3% had a demand for mental support services, and the most preferred service was providing coping skills (25.9%), followed by skills to support others against mental problems (22.2%). Major sources of support included psychiatrists (34.4%), colleagues (29.1%) and family (27.9%). The main preferred channels for support included telephone/mobile phone (35.7%) and Internet (20.9%). Only 12.3% were willing to provide mental support for colleagues during the pandemic. Age, education, perceived mental health status, ever seeking any mental service, and DASS-21 depression score were associated with demand for mental support services. CONCLUSION: This study found a lack of awareness of mental health services for health professionals, as well as moderate levels of demand for this service in this population. Raising awareness and developing tailored mental health support services are important to enhancing the mental well-being of health professionals in Vietnam to prepare for the next pandemic.

Recent innovations in long-term care coverage and financing: a rapid scoping review.

OBJECTIVES: To identify, chart and analyse the literature on recent initiatives to improve long-term care (LTC) coverage, financial protection and financial sustainability for persons aged 60 and older. DESIGN: Rapid scoping review. DATA SOURCES: Four databases and four sources of grey literature were searched for reports published between 2017 and 2022. After using a supervised machine learning tool to rank titles and abstracts, two reviewers independently screened sources against inclusion criteria. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Studies published from 2017-2022 in any language that captured recent LTC initiatives for people aged 60 and older, involved evaluation and directly addressed financing were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS: Data were extracted using a form designed to answer the review questions and analysed using descriptive qualitative content analysis, with data categorised according to a prespecified framework to capture the outcomes of interest. RESULTS: Of 24 reports, 22 were published in peer-reviewed journals, and two were grey literature sources. Study designs included quasi-experimental study, policy analysis or comparison, qualitative description, comparative case study, cross-sectional study, systematic literature review, economic evaluation and survey. Studies addressed coverage based on the level of disability, income, rural/urban residence, employment and citizenship. Studies also addressed financial protection, including out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures, copayments and risk of poverty related to costs of care. The reports addressed challenges to financial sustainability such as lack of service coordination and system integration, insufficient economic development and inadequate funding models. CONCLUSIONS: Initiatives where LTC insurance is mandatory and accompanied by commensurate funding are situated to facilitate ageing in place. Efforts to expand population coverage are common across the initiatives, with the potential for wider economic benefits. Initiatives that enable older people to access the services needed while avoiding OOP-induced poverty contribute to improved health and well-being. Preserving health in older people longer may alleviate downstream costs and contribute to financial sustainability.

Systematic Review on the Cost-Effectiveness of Seasonal Influenza Vaccines in Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: Older adults are at high risk of influenza-related complications or hospitalization. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the relative cost-effectiveness of all influenza vaccine options for older adults. METHODS: This systematic review identified economic evaluation studies assessing the cost-effectiveness of influenza vaccines in adults ≥65 years of age from 5 literature databases. Two reviewers independently selected, extracted, and appraised relevant studies using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Economic Evaluations and Heyland's generalizability checklist. Costs were converted to 2019 Canadian dollars and adjusted for inflation and purchasing power parity. RESULTS: A total of 27 studies were included. There were 18 comparisons of quadrivalent inactivated vaccine (QIV) versus trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV): 5 showed QIV dominated TIV (ie, lower costs and higher health benefit), and 13 showed the results depended on willingness to pay (WTP). There were 9 comparisons of high-dose TIV (TIV-HD) versus TIV: 5 showed TIV-HD dominated TIV, and 4 showed the results depended on WTP. There were 8 comparisons of adjuvanted TIV (TIV-ADJ) versus TIV: 4 showed TIV-ADJ dominated TIV, and 4 showed the results depended on WTP. There were few pairwise comparisons among QIV, TIV-HD, and TIV-ADJ. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence suggests QIV, TIV-HD, and TIV-ADJ are cost-effective against TIV for a WTP threshold of $50 000 per quality-adjusted life-year. Future studies should include new and existing vaccine options for broad age ranges and use more robust methodologies-such as real-world evaluations or modeling studies accounting for methodological, structural, and parameter uncertainty.

The Cost-Effectiveness of Intermediate-Acting, Long-Acting, Ultralong-Acting, and Biosimilar Insulins for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVES: The incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus is increasing every year requiring substantial expenditure on treatment and complications. A systematic review was conducted on the cost-effectiveness of insulin formulations, including ultralong-, long-, or intermediate-acting insulin, and their biosimilar insulin equivalents. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, HTA, and NHS EED were searched from inception to June 11, 2021. Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses were included if insulin formulations in adults (≥ 16 years) with type 1 diabetes mellitus were evaluated. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles, extracted study data, and appraised their quality using the Drummond 10-item checklist. Costs were converted to 2020 US dollars adjusting for inflation and purchasing power parity across currencies. RESULTS: A total of 27 studies were included. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios ranged widely across the studies. All pairwise comparisons (11 of 11, 100%) found that ultralong-acting insulin was cost-effective compared with other long-acting insulins, including a long-acting biosimilar. Most pairwise comparisons (24 of 27, 89%) concluded that long-acting insulin was cost-effective compared with intermediate-acting insulin. Few studies compared long-acting insulins with one another. CONCLUSIONS: Long-acting insulin may be cost-effective compared with intermediate-acting insulin. Future studies should directly compare biosimilar options and long-acting insulin options and evaluate the long-term consequences of ultralong-acting insulins.

Turning High-Risk Individuals: An Economic Evaluation of Repositioning Frequency in Long-Term Care.

Recent evidence suggests that less frequent repositioning of long-term care residents at moderate to high risk of developing pressure ulcers (PrUs) is noninferior to current repositioning standards in preventing PrUs, but the long-term health and economic consequences of less frequent repositioning have not been adequately estimated. Our objective was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of different repositioning strategies (2-, 3-, 4-hour intervals). We conducted a cost-utility analysis using a lifetime horizon based on data from a randomized clinical trial and the literature. We updated a published PrU decision model with resource usage, unit costs, and epidemiological estimates from the literature and from a small observational study. The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care perspective was taken. We estimated lifetime costs to be CAN$5,425 (95% credible interval (CrI)=$922-12,166) less per resident with 3-hour repositioning than with 2-hour repositioning and CAN$3,296 (95% CrI=$483-9,738) less than with 4-hour repositioning. The gain in expected quality-adjusted life years from a 3- to a 2-hour repositioning strategy was 0.008, (95% CrI=0.005-0.016) and from a 3- to a 4-hour repositioning strategy was 0.009 (95% CrI=0.007-0.018). Repositioning at 3-hour intervals was the dominant strategy with respect to the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio against the 2- and 4-hour strategies. Sensitivity analysis showed a 99% probability that 3-hour repositioning was a dominant strategy. We concluded that repositioning at 3-hour intervals for residents at moderate or high risk of PrUs and who were cared for on high-density foam mattresses appeared to be the most cost-effective strategy.

Engaging policy-makers, health system managers, and policy analysts in the knowledge synthesis process: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: It is unclear how to engage a wide range of knowledge users in research. We aimed to map the evidence on engaging knowledge users with an emphasis on policy-makers, health system managers, and policy analysts in the knowledge synthesis process through a scoping review. METHODS: We used the Joanna Briggs Institute guidance for scoping reviews. Nine electronic databases (e.g., MEDLINE), two grey literature sources (e.g., OpenSIGLE), and reference lists of relevant systematic reviews were searched from 1996 to August 2016. We included any type of study describing strategies, barriers and facilitators, or assessing the impact of engaging policy-makers, health system managers, and policy analysts in the knowledge synthesis process. Screening and data abstraction were conducted by two reviewers independently with a third reviewer resolving discrepancies. Frequency and thematic analyses were conducted. RESULTS: After screening 8395 titles and abstracts followed by 394 full-texts, 84 unique documents and 7 companion reports fulfilled our eligibility criteria. All 84 documents were published in the last 10 years, and half were prepared in North America. The most common type of knowledge synthesis with knowledge user engagement was a systematic review (36%). The knowledge synthesis most commonly addressed an issue at the level of national healthcare system (48%) and focused on health services delivery (17%) in high-income countries (86%). Policy-makers were the most common (64%) knowledge users, followed by healthcare professionals (49%) and government agencies as well as patients and caregivers (34%). Knowledge users were engaged in conceptualization and design (49%), literature search and data collection (52%), data synthesis and interpretation (71%), and knowledge dissemination and application (44%). Knowledge users were most commonly engaged as key informants through meetings and workshops as well as surveys, focus groups, and interviews either in-person or by telephone and emails. Knowledge user content expertise/awareness was a common facilitator (18%), while lack of time or opportunity to participate was a common barrier (12%). CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge users were most commonly engaged during the data synthesis and interpretation phases of the knowledge synthesis conduct. Researchers should document and evaluate knowledge user engagement in knowledge synthesis. REGISTRATION DETAILS: Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/4dy53/ ).

Barriers, facilitators, strategies and outcomes to engaging policymakers, healthcare managers and policy analysts in knowledge synthesis: a scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Engaging policymakers, healthcare managers and policy analysts in the conduct of knowledge synthesis can help increase its impact. This is particularly important for knowledge synthesis studies commissioned by decision-makers with limited timelines, as well as reviews of health policy and systems research. A scoping review will be conducted to assess barriers, facilitators, strategies and outcomes of engaging these individuals in the knowledge synthesis process. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute guidance for scoping reviews. Literature searches of electronic databases (eg, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, ERIC, PsycINFO) will be conducted from inception onwards. The electronic search will be supplemented by searching for sources that index unpublished/difficult to locate studies (eg, GreyNet International database), as well as through scanning of reference lists of reviews on related topics. All study designs using either qualitative or quantitative methodologies will be eligible if there is a description of the strategies, barriers or facilitators, and outcomes of engaging policymakers, healthcare managers and policy analysts in the knowledge synthesis process. Screening and data abstraction will be conducted by 2 team members independently after a calibration exercise across the team. A third team member will resolve all discrepancies. We will conduct frequency analysis and thematic analysis to chart and characterise the literature, identifying data gaps and opportunities for future research, as well as implications for policy. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This project was commissioned by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, WHO. The results will be used by Alliance Review Centers of health policy and systems research in low-income and middle-income countries that are conducting knowledge synthesis to inform health policymaking and decision-making. Our results will also be disseminated through conference presentations, train-the-trainer events, peer-reviewed publication and a 1-page policy brief that will be posted on the authors' websites.

Economic evaluation of a hospital-initiated intervention for smokers with chronic disease, in Ontario, Canada.

INTRODUCTION: Cigarette smoking causes many chronic diseases that are costly and result in frequent hospitalisation. Hospital-initiated smoking cessation interventions increase the likelihood that patients will become smoke-free. We modelled the cost-effectiveness of the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation (OMSC), an intervention that includes in-hospital counselling, pharmacotherapy and posthospital follow-up, compared to usual care among smokers hospitalised with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), unstable angina (UA), heart failure (HF), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: We completed a cost-effectiveness analysis based on a decision-analytic model to assess smokers hospitalised in Ontario, Canada for AMI, UA, HF, and COPD, their risk of continuing to smoke and the effects of quitting on re-hospitalisation and mortality over a 1-year period. We calculated short-term and long-term cost-effectiveness ratios. Our primary outcome was 1-year cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. RESULTS: From the hospital payer's perspective, delivery of the OMSC can be considered cost effective with 1-year cost per QALY gained of $C1386, and lifetime cost per QALY gained of $C68. In the first year, we calculated that provision of the OMSC to 15 326 smokers would generate 4689 quitters, and would prevent 116 rehospitalisations, 923 hospital days, and 119 deaths. Results were robust within numerous sensitivity analyses. DISCUSSION: The OMSC appears to be cost-effective from the hospital payer perspective. Important consideration is the relatively low intervention cost compared to the reduction in costs related to readmissions for illnesses associated with continued smoking.

Identifying future research priorities using value of information analyses: left atrial appendage occlusion devices in atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Left atrial appendage occlusion devices are cost effective for stroke prophylaxis in atrial fibrillation when compared with dabigatran or warfarin. We illustrate the use of value-of-information analyses to quantify the degree and consequences of decisional uncertainty and to identify future research priorities. METHODS AND RESULTS: A microsimulation decision-analytic model compared left atrial appendage occlusion devices to dabigatran or warfarin in atrial fibrillation. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis quantified the degree of parameter uncertainty. Expected value of perfect information analyses showed the consequences of this uncertainty. Expected value of partial perfect information analyses were done on sets of input parameters (cost, utilities, and probabilities) to identify the source of the greatest uncertainty. One-way sensitivity analyses identified individual parameters for expected value of partial perfect information analyses. Population expected value of perfect information and expected value of partial perfect information provided an upper bound on the cost of future research. Substantial uncertainty was identified, with left atrial appendage occlusion devices being preferred in only 47% of simulations. The expected value of perfect information was $8542 per patient and $227.3 million at a population level. The expected value of partial perfect information for the set of probability parameters represented the most important source of uncertainty, at $6875. Identified in 1-way sensitivity analyses, the expected value of partial perfect information for the odds ratio for stroke with left atrial appendage occlusion compared with warfarin was calculated at $7312 per patient or $194.5 million at a population level. CONCLUSION: The relative efficacy of stroke reduction with left atrial appendage occlusion devices in relation to warfarin is an important source of uncertainty. Improving estimates of this parameter should be the priority for future research in this area.

Early economic evaluation of emerging health technologies: protocol of a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The concept of early health technology assessment, discussed well over a decade, has now been collaboratively implemented by industry, government, and academia to select and expedite the development of emerging technologies that may address the needs of patients and health systems. Early economic evaluation is essential to assess the value of emerging technologies, but empirical data to inform the current practice of early evaluation is limited. We propose a systematic review of early economic evaluation studies in order to better understand the current practice. METHODS/DESIGN: This protocol describes a systematic review of economic evaluation studies of regulated health technologies in which the evaluation is conducted prior to regulatory approval and when the technology effectiveness is not well established. Included studies must report an economic evaluation, defined as the comparative analysis of alternatives with respect to their associated costs and health consequences, and must evaluate some regulated health technology such as pharmaceuticals, biologics, high-risk medical devices, or biomarkers. We will conduct the literature search on multiple databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination Databases, and EconLit. Additional citations will be identified via scanning reference lists and author searching. We suspect that many early economic evaluation studies are unpublished, especially those conducted for internal use only. Additionally, we use a chain-referral sampling approach to identify authors of unpublished studies who work in technology discovery and development, starting out with our contact lists and authors who published relevant studies. Citation screening and full-text review will be conducted by pairs of reviewers. Abstracted data will include those related to the decision context and decision problem of the early evaluation, evaluation methods (e.g., data sources, methods, and assumptions used to identify, measure, and value the likely effectiveness and the costs and consequences of the new technology, handling of uncertainty), and whether the study results adequately address the main study question or objective. Data will be summarized overall and stratified by publication status. DISCUSSION: This study is timely to inform early economic evaluation practice, given the international trend in early health technology assessment initiatives.

Cost-effectiveness of the 21-gene assay for guiding adjuvant chemotherapy decisions in early breast cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Adjuvant chemotherapy decisions in early breast cancer are complex. The 21-gene assay can potentially aid such decisions, but costs US $4175 per patient. Adjuvant! Online is a freely available decision aid. We evaluate the cost-effectiveness of using the 21-gene assay in conjunction with Adjuvant! Online, and of providing adjuvant chemotherapy conditional upon risk classification. METHODS: A probabilistic Markov decision model simulated risk classification, treatment, and the natural history of breast cancer in a hypothetical cohort of 50-year-old women with lymph node-negative, estrogen receptor- and/or progesterone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2/neu-negative early breast cancer. Cost-effectiveness was considered from an Ontario public-payer perspective by deriving the lifetime incremental cost (2012 Canadian dollars) per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) for each strategy, and the probability each strategy is cost-effective, assuming a willingness-to-pay of $50,000 per QALY. RESULTS: The 21-gene assay has an incremental cost per QALY in patients at low, intermediate, or high Adjuvant Online! risk of $22,440 (probability cost-effective 78.46%), $2,526 (99.40%), or $1,111 (99.82%), respectively. In patients at low (high) 21-gene assay risk, adjuvant chemotherapy increases (reduces) costs and worsens (improves) health outcomes. For patients at intermediate 21-gene assay risk and low, intermediate, or high Adjuvant! Online risk, chemotherapy has an incremental cost per QALY of $44,088 (50.59%), $1,776 (77.65%), or $1,778 (82.31%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The 21-gene assay appears cost-effective, regardless of Adjuvant! Online risk. Adjuvant chemotherapy appears cost-effective for patients at intermediate or high 21-gene assay risk, although this finding is uncertain in patients at intermediate 21-gene assay and low Adjuvant! Online risk.

Cost-effectiveness of compression technologies for evidence-informed leg ulcer care: results from the Canadian Bandaging Trial.

BACKGROUND: Venous leg ulcers, affecting approximately 1% of the population, are costly to manage due to poor healing and high recurrence rates. We evaluated an evidence-informed leg ulcer care protocol with two frequently used high compression systems: 'four-layer bandage' (4LB) and 'short-stretch bandage' (SSB). METHODS: We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis using individual patient data from the Canadian Bandaging Trial, a publicly funded, pragmatic, randomized trial evaluating high compression therapy with 4LB (n = 215) and SSB (n = 209) for community care of venous leg ulcers. We estimated costs (in 2009-2010 Canadian dollars) from the societal perspective and used a time horizon corresponding to each trial participant's first year. RESULTS: Relative to SSB, 4LB was associated with an average 15 ulcer-free days gained, although the 95% confidence interval [-32, 21 days] crossed zero, indicating no treatment difference; an average health benefit of 0.009 QALYs gained [-0.019, 0.037] and overall, an average cost increase of $420 [$235, $739] (due to twice as many 4LB bandages used); or equivalently, a cost of $46,667 per QALY gained. If decision makers are willing to pay from $50,000 to $100,000 per QALY, the probability of 4LB being more cost effective increased from 51% to 63%. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings differ from the emerging clinical and economic evidence that supports high compression therapy with 4LB, and therefore suggest another perspective on high compression practice, namely when delivered by trained registered nurses using an evidence-informed protocol, both 4LB and SSB systems offer comparable effectiveness and value for money.

Use of a catalytic model to estimate hepatitis A incidence in a low-endemicity country: implications for modeling immunization policies.

BACKGROUND: Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of vaccine programs with dynamic modeling requires accurate estimates of incidence over time. Because infectious diseases are often underreported, supplementary data and statistical analyses are required to estimate true incidence. This study estimates the true incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection in Canada using a catalytic model. METHODS: A catalytic model was used to reconcile HAV seroprevalence data with the corresponding true cumulative risk of infection estimated from incidence data. RESULTS: The average annual reported incidence was 6.2 cases per 100,000 from 1980 to 1989 and 7.7/100,000 from 1990 to 1999, indicating that Canada is a low-incidence country. The seroprevalence in Canadian-born individuals (n = 7 studies) was approximately 1%-8% in ages <20, 1%-11% in ages 20-29, 7%-29% in ages 30-39, and higher in older age groups. Between 1980 and 1995, the catalytic model estimated an average annual incidence of 60/100,000 (95% confidence interval, 33-524); approximately 7.73 (4.21-67.33) times the average annual reported incidence of 7.78/100,000. For a typical birth cohort of 403 434 Canadians born in 1990, the model predicted 32 750 HAV cases by age 39, with a corresponding seroprevalence of approximately 8.12% by the year 2029. IMPLICATIONS: Reliable estimates of true incidence of infectious disease are required for cost-effectiveness analysis of infectious disease programs. Catalytic models enable the synthesis of dispersed data, quantification of data limitations, and reconciliation of these limitations to estimate true incidence for economic evaluations.

Preventing pressure ulcers in long-term care: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

BACKGROUND: Pressure ulcers are common in many care settings, with adverse health outcomes and high treatment costs. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of evidence-based strategies to improve current prevention practice in long-term care facilities. METHODS: We used a validated Markov model to compare current prevention practice with the following 4 quality improvement strategies: (1) pressure redistribution mattresses for all residents, (2) oral nutritional supplements for high-risk residents with recent weight loss, (3) skin emollients for high-risk residents with dry skin, and (4) foam cleansing for high-risk residents requiring incontinence care. Primary outcomes included lifetime risk of stage 2 to 4 pressure ulcers, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and lifetime costs, calculated according to a single health care payer's perspective and expressed in 2009 Canadian dollars (Can$1 = US$0.84). RESULTS: Strategies cost on average $11.66 per resident per week. They reduced lifetime risk; the associated number needed to treat was 45 (strategy 1), 63 (strategy 4), 158 (strategy 3), and 333 (strategy 2). Strategy 1 and 4 minimally improved QALYs and reduced the mean lifetime cost by $115 and $179 per resident, respectively. The cost per QALY gained was approximately $78 000 for strategy 3 and $7.8 million for strategy 2. If decision makers are willing to pay up to $50 000 for 1 QALY gained, the probability that improving prevention is cost-effective is 94% (strategy 4), 82% (strategy 1), 43% (strategy 3), and 1% (strategy 2). CONCLUSIONS: The clinical and economic evidence supports pressure redistribution mattresses for all long-term care residents. Improving prevention with perineal foam cleansers and dry skin emollients appears to be cost-effective, but firm conclusions are limited by the available clinical evidence.

Early prevention of pressure ulcers among elderly patients admitted through emergency departments: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Every year, approximately 6.2 million hospital admissions through emergency departments (ED) involve elderly patients who are at risk of developing pressure ulcers. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of pressure-redistribution foam mattresses on ED stretchers and beds for early prevention of pressure ulcers in elderly admitted ED patients. METHODS: Using a Markov model, we evaluated the incremental effectiveness (quality-adjusted life-days) and incremental cost (hospital and home care costs) between early prevention and current practice (with standard hospital mattresses) from a health care payer perspective during a 1-year time horizon. RESULTS: The projected incidence of ED-acquired pressure ulcers was 1.90% with current practice and 1.48% with early prevention, corresponding to a number needed to treat of 238 patients. The average upgrading cost from standard to pressure-redistribution mattresses was $0.30 per patient. Compared with current practice, early prevention was more effective, with 0.0015 quality-adjusted life-days gained, and less costly, with a mean cost saving of $32 per patient. If decisionmakers are willing to pay $50,000 per quality-adjusted life-year gained, early prevention was cost-effective even for short ED stay (ie, 1 hour), low hospital-acquired pressure ulcer risk (1% prevalence), and high unit price of pressure-redistribution mattresses ($3,775). Taking input uncertainty into account, early prevention was 81% likely to be cost-effective. Expected value-of-information estimates supported additional randomized controlled trials of pressure-redistribution mattresses to eliminate the remaining decision uncertainty. CONCLUSION: The economic evidence supports early prevention with pressure-redistribution foam mattresses in the ED. Early prevention is likely to improve health for elderly patients and save hospital costs.

Support surfaces for intraoperative prevention of pressure ulcers in patients undergoing surgery: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients who undergo prolonged surgical procedures are at risk of developing pressure ulcers. Recent systematic reviews suggest that pressure redistribution overlays on operating tables significantly decrease the associated risk. Little is known about the cost effectiveness of using these overlays in a prevention program for surgical patients. METHODS: Using a Markov cohort model, we evaluated the cost effectiveness of an intraoperative prevention strategy with operating table overlays made of dry, viscoelastic polymer from the perspective of a health care payer over a 1-year period. We simulated patients undergoing scheduled surgical procedures lasting ≥90 min in the supine or lithotomy position. RESULTS: Compared with the current practice of using standard mattresses on operating tables, the intraoperative prevention strategy decreased the estimated intraoperative incidence of pressure ulcers by 0.51%, corresponding to a number-needed-to-treat of 196 patients. The average cost of using the operating table overlay was $1.66 per patient. Compared with current practice, this intraoperative prevention strategy would increase slightly the quality-adjusted life days of patients and by decreasing the incidence of pressure ulcers, this strategy would decrease both hospital and home care costs for treating fewer pressure ulcers originated intraoperatively. The cost savings was $46 per patient, which ranged from $13 to $116 by different surgical populations. Intraoperative prevention was 99% likely to be more cost effective than the current practice. CONCLUSION: In patients who undergo scheduled surgical procedures lasting ≥90 min, this intraoperative prevention strategy could improve patients' health and save hospital costs. The clinical and economic evidence support the implementation of this prevention strategy in settings where it has yet to become current practice.

Incorporating herd immunity effects into cohort models of vaccine cost-effectiveness.

BACKGROUND: Cohort models are often used in cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of vaccination. However, because they cannot capture herd immunity effects, cohort models underestimate the reduction in incidence caused by vaccination. Dynamic models capture herd immunity effects but are often not adopted in vaccine CEA. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to develop a pseudo-dynamic approximation that can be incorporated into an existing cohort model to capture herd immunity effects. METHODS: The authors approximated changing force of infection due to universal vaccination for a pediatric infectious disease. The projected lifetime cases in a cohort were compared under 1) a cohort model, 2) a cohort model with pseudo-dynamic approximation, and 3) an age-structured susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered compartmental (dynamic) model. The authors extended the methodology to sexually transmitted infections. RESULTS: For average to high values of vaccine coverage (P > 60%) and small to average values of the basic reproduction number (R(0) < 10), which describes school-based vaccination programs for many common infections, the pseudo-dynamic approximation significantly improved projected lifetime cases and was close to projections of the full dynamic model. For large values of R(0) (R(0) > 15), projected lifetime cases were similar under the dynamic model and the cohort model, both with and without pseudo-dynamic approximation. The approximation captures changes in the mean age at infection in the 1st vaccinated cohort. CONCLUSIONS: This methodology allows for preliminary assessment of herd immunity effects on CEA of universal vaccination for pediatric infectious diseases. The method requires simple adjustments to an existing cohort model and less data than a full dynamic model.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan administrative health care utilization databases are used differently to answer epidemiologic research questions.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the use of two Canadian provincial databases by a systematic review of published studies that used them as a primary data source to answer epidemiologic and health services research questions. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: PubMed, EMBASE, BIOSIS, and CINAHL (keywords: "Manitoba" 1970-2004 and "Saskatchewan" 1969-2004) and the web sites of the provincial data custodians were searched to address our objective. Broad screening of citations and data abstraction were performed using a predefined collection form. Information on study characteristics, therapeutic areas studied, databases used, authors' affiliation, and issues related to data validity was recorded. RESULTS: Three thousand nine hundred and forty-nine citations were screened, 610 studies retrieved, and 325 included. In Saskatchewan, the principal research type was assessment of exposures and health outcomes (48.2%) with 50.4% using a cohort or case-control design, whereas, in Manitoba, it was health services utilization (47.8%) and 86.6% were descriptive. Local investigators performed 83.3% of the Manitoba studies, compared with 35.5% of the Saskatchewan studies. Only 6.2% of the studies assessed the validity and reliability of the database for research purposes and few incorporated relevant information about the validity of their diagnostic data. CONCLUSION: Important differences exist in the administration and use of these databases. Similar systematic evidence synthesis should be conducted on other databases.