Does health economics research align with the disease burden in the Middle East and North Africa region? A systematic review of economic evaluation studies on public health interventions

Global, Regional, and National Burdens of Otitis Media From 1990 to 2019: A Population Based Study

OBJECTIVES

Otitis media is one of the most important causes of hearing loss at an early age. Effective vaccination with the routine 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) was introduced in 2000. It has been gradually replaced by the pneumococcal nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine or the higher-valent 13-valent PCV (PCV-13) since 2010. Data on the change in otitis media burden in recent years are sparse at the global, regional, and national levels.

DESIGN

The Global Burden of Disease 2019 study was used to evaluate the prevalence, incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rates, and the average annual percentage changes (AAPCs) in otitis media in geographic populations worldwide from 1990 to 2019. These global trends were further analyzed by subgroup (age, sex, and sociodemographic index [SDI]).

RESULTS

Globally, the all-age rate of prevalence (AAPC = -0.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.7 to -0.8), DALYs (AAPC = -1.0, 95% CI = -1.1 to -1.0), and mortality (AAPC = -6.8, 95% CI = -7.3 to -6.4) from otitis media decreased constantly between 1990 and 2019. The all-age rate of incidence decreased sharply between 2000 and 2009 with an AAPC of -1.2 (95% CI = -1.4 to -0.9) and continued the downward trend between 2010 and 2019 (AAPC = -0.2, 95% CI = -0.3 to -0.1). In 2019, children aged 1 to 4 years old had the highest incidence at 29,127.3 per 100,000 population, while young adults under 30 years old accounted for 91.3% of the incident cases. Individuals living in middle-SDI countries had the largest increase in the incidence of otitis media, with an AAPC of 0.3 (95% CI = 0.3 to 0.3) between 1990 and 2019. The incidence and DALYs from otitis media decreased with increasing SDI. Regionally, the largest increase in incidence was observed in high-income Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, and Western Sub-Saharan Africa between 1990 and 2019. Nationally, the largest increase in the incidence of otitis media was observed in the Republic of Korea, with an AAPC of 0.8 (95% CI = 0.6 to 1.1) in the same time period.

CONCLUSIONS

There have been successful previous endeavors to reduce DALYs and mortality attributed to otitis media on a global scale. The worldwide incidence of otitis media experienced a sharp decline following the introduction of PCV-7 in 2000, and this downward trend persisted in subsequent years with the adoption of PCV-13/pneumococcal nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine. Continual epidemiological surveillance of otitis media's global trends, pathogen distribution, and resistance patterns remains imperative.

Developing the Lebanese health economic evaluation guideline

OBJECTIVE

To report on the process of developing the Lebanese Economic Evaluation Guideline (LEEG), and to provide relevant material that could assist guideline developers in the future.

METHODS

The development of the LEEG closely followed the process proposed by the World Health Organization, i.e. to set up a Guideline Development Group (composed of three Lebanese experts), to establish the rationale for developing the guideline in Lebanon, to identify its scope, to search and retrieve evidence through two systematic reviews, to assess and present the evidence, to translate the evidence into guidelines and recommendations through a deliberative process, and to consult international experts. The deliberative process included a survey, an in-person interview, and a consensus workshop with 16 Lebanese key stakeholders. Data was collected and quantitative analysis was conducted using SPSS software. International experts from Maastricht University - The Netherlands were consulted for issuing the LEEG. Supported by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), the LEEG will be available for public consultation on the MoPH's webpage, and a final version will be made available thereafter.

CONCLUSION

Clear and transparent reporting of the guideline development process should support international organizations as well as other developers in establishing their guidelines within their national context.

Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis of the Ecology of Men's Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare Research in MENA (1985-2022): Outputs, Trends, Shortcomings and Hotspots

Background

To date, no previous research assessed the bibliometrics of men's sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRHC) across Arab countries. This study appraised the current standing of men's SRHC research in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

Methods

We performed a bibliometric analysis to assess qualitatively and quantitatively the peer-reviewed articles published from Arab countries from inception to 2022. In addition, we conducted a visualization analysis, and assessed outputs, trends, shortcomings and hotspots over the given time period.

Results

There was a generally low numbers of publications, 98 studies were identified, all with cross-sectional design, and two thirds explored prevention and control of HIV/other STDs. Studies were published in 71 journals, of which the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, Journal of Egyptian Public Health Association, AIDS Care and BMC public health were most common. The Journal of Adolescent Health, Fertility Sterility and Journal of Cancer Survivorship were among the highest IF ranking. Publishers were commonly USA or UK-based, median journal IF was 2.09, and five articles were in journals of IF > 4. Saudi Arabia had the highest published output followed by Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, while 10 Arab countries had no publications on the topic. Corresponding authors expertise fields were most commonly public health, infectious diseases and family medicine). Collaborations in-between MENA countries were notably low.

Conclusions

There is general paucity of published outputs on SRHC. More research across MENA is needed, with more inter-MENA collaborations, and with inclusion of countries that currently have no outputs on SRHC. In order to accomplish such goals, R&D funding and capacity building are required. Research and published outputs should address SRHC burdens.