Outcome measurement in economic evaluations of public health interventions: a role for the capability approach?

Understanding preoperative health-related quality of life in rotator cuff tear patients: role of patients' characteristics

BACKGROUND

Assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a widely employed method in orthopedics to evaluate patient well-being and measure the effectiveness of surgical interventions. Understanding the relationship between specific baseline factors and preoperative HRQoL can help clinicians identify patients at risk for low quality of life and thus, develop preventive strategies that adequately address individual patient needs. The objective was to assess associations between baseline factors and preoperative HRQoL in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR).

METHODS

This study is part of a multicenter prospective Swiss cohort study that included patients undergoing ARCR between June 2020 and November 2021. Data were derived from baseline and surgery forms. HRQoL was assessed using the European Quality of Life 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire to calculate EQ-5D index and EQ VAS scores. Univariable and multivariable linear regression models examined associations between the 21 factors and preoperative HRQoL. Final models were determined using stepwise backward regression.

RESULTS

A total of 973 included patients (mean age [SD], 57.3 [9.4] years; 611 men [63%]) had a mean [SD] EQ-5D index and EQ VAS of 0.70 [0.23] and 68.7 [19.8], respectively. Being male (regression coefficient (β), 0.05; 95% CI [0.02-0.08]), having a higher age (β, 0.02; 95% CI [0.01-0.03]) and higher education levels (e.g., university, college: β, 0.11; 95% CI [0.06-0.16]) were associated with a higher EQ-5D index. Increased body mass index (β, -0.02; 95% CI [-0.04 to -0.01]) and worse sleep quality (β, -0.03; 95% CI [-0.04 to -0.03]) were associated with a lower EQ-5D index. Factors negatively associated with overall EQ VAS health were depression (e.g., moderate: β, -12.70; 95% CI [-16.18 to -9.21]), presence of at least one comorbidity (β, -3.71; 95% CI [-5.91 to -1.52]), and pain (β, -1.81; 95% CI [-2.36 to -1.26]).

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that preoperative HRQoL is highly associated with sociodemographic and patient-related factors. Specifically addressing these factors may improve orthopedic care.

How do we fund Public Health in Australia? How should we?

OBJECTIVE

To map how public health is funded in Australia. To assess whether changes to funding methods might improve system performance.

METHODS

Review of publicly accessible documents and discussions with public health key informants.

RESULTS

Australia spent $140 per person on public health in 2019-20, (1.8% of total health spending). But there is considerable state and territory variation. This money flows through multiple channels and payment mechanisms. Responsibility for what is funded is largely delegated to authorities close to the problems. This makes it easier to choose the best mechanism for funding an activity. Much information is hidden from view, however. This makes it impossible to assess whether the potential for population benefit is fully realised.

CONCLUSIONS

Australia avoids some of the difficulties experienced elsewhere because funding is largely devolved to states in block grants; they shape their own investments. The US, by contrast, prefers categorical funds for specific purposes. Three suggestions for making the funding system here more visible, useful and accountable are canvassed, including 'satellite accounts'.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

Funding needs to be more transparent before it is possible to assess whether public health system performance could be improved through changes to the way public health is funded.

The Use of a Comprehensive Concept of Capability for Wellbeing Assessment: A Best-Fit Framework Synthesis

Developing an instrument with the capability approach can be challenging, since the capability concept of Sen is ambiguous concerning the burdens that people experience whilst achieving their capabilities. A solution is to develop instruments with a comprehensive concept of capability, such as the concept of 'option-freedom'. This study aims to develop a theoretical framework for instrument development with the concept of option-freedom. A best-fit framework synthesis was conducted with seven qualitative papers by one researcher. Two researchers supported the synthesis by discussing interim results during the synthesis. A priori concepts of option-freedom were used to deductively code against. Themes and subthemes were developed inductively when data did not match a priori themes. Seven paper were identified that fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Four themes emerged from the synthesis. (1) Option Wellbeing represents a range of options that need to be satisfied for individuals to experience wellbeing. (2) Self-Realization represents that there are experiences in an individual's life that have value beyond realizing options. (3) Perceived Access to Options represents the perceived ability of individuals to realize freedoms. (4) Perceived Control represents the experience of having control. Developing an instrument with the proposed framework has two benefits. First, it acknowledges the importance of assessing impediments in realizing capabilities for wellbeing assessment. Secondly, the themes form a broad informational base by including themes related to subjective wellbeing. Future research should study the feasibility of implementing the framework for instrument development.

The Multidisciplinary Nature of the Capability Approach: Emerging Trends and Future Research Directions Through a Bibliometric Analysis

“The Capability Approach” (CA) is a normative and critical framework for assessing the well-being of people and societies. It is a pluralistic methodology open to deliberation, with applications in various branches of the Social Sciences. The suitability of CA for social, economic, and political improvements in a wide variety of contexts is highlighted, assuming ethical principles of defence of freedom and justice. The growing interest in relation to CA is reflected in a large increase in scientific production, which makes it difficult to outline its main lines of research precisely. Our study has two goals: on the one hand, it will become a fruitful instrument to learn about the main areas of research that already exist on CA; on the other hand, it will serve to enrich them and incorporate new lines of research into the field. Having a panoramic view of the trends in CA will facilitate their work for future researchers. To this end, taking the Web of Science database from 1994 to 2022 as a reference, a bibliometric analysis based on citations is conducted using the CiteSpace program. Our findings show that 11 clearly differentiated clusters have been detected, which correspond to the essential lines of research on CA. Our bibliometric analysis contributes to revealing the evolution of the academic field of CA, with special emphasis on emerging areas.

Research outcomes informing the selection of public health interventions and strategies to implement them: A cross-sectional survey of Australian policy-maker and practitioner preferences

BACKGROUND

A key role of public health policy-makers and practitioners is to ensure beneficial interventions are implemented effectively enough to yield improvements in public health. The use of evidence to guide public health decision-making to achieve this is recommended. However, few studies have examined the relative value, as reported by policy-makers and practitioners, of different broad research outcomes (that is, measures of cost, acceptability, and effectiveness). To guide the conduct of research and better inform public health policy and practice, this study aimed at describing the research outcomes that Australian policy-makers and practitioners consider important for their decision-making when selecting: (a) public health interventions; (b) strategies to support their implementation; and (c) to assess the differences in research outcome preferences between policy-makers and practitioners.

METHOD

An online value-weighting survey was conducted with Australian public health policy-makers and practitioners working in the field of non-communicable disease prevention. Participants were presented with a list of research outcomes and were asked to select up to five they considered most critical to their decision-making. They then allocated 100 points across these - allocating more points to outcomes perceived as more important. Outcome lists were derived from a review and consolidation of evaluation and outcome frameworks in the fields of public health knowledge translation and implementation. We used descriptive statistics to report relative preferences overall and for policy-makers and practitioners separately.

RESULTS

Of the 186 participants; 90 primarily identified as policy-makers and 96 as public health prevention practitioners. Overall, research outcomes of effectiveness, equity, feasibility, and sustainability were identified as the four most important outcomes when considering either interventions or strategies to implement them. Scores were similar for most outcomes between policy-makers and practitioners.

CONCLUSION

For Australian policy-makers and practitioners working in the field of non-communicable disease prevention, outcomes related to effectiveness, equity, feasibility, and sustainability appear particularly important to their decisions about the interventions they select and the strategies they employ to implement them. The findings suggest researchers should seek to meet these information needs and prioritize the inclusion of such outcomes in their research and dissemination activities. The extent to which these outcomes are critical to informing the decision of policy-makers and practitioners working in other jurisdictions or contexts warrants further investigation.

A Systematic Review of Methods Used by Pediatric Cost-Utility Analyses to Include Family Spillover Effects

BACKGROUND

A child's health condition affects family members' health and well-being. However, pediatric cost-utility analysis (CUA) commonly ignores these family spillover effects leading to an incomplete understanding of the cost and benefits of a child's health intervention. Methodological challenges exist in assessing, valuing, and incorporating family spillover effects.

OBJECTIVE

This study systematically reviews and compare methods used to include family spillover effects in pediatric CUAs.

METHODS

A literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, EconLit, Cochrane collection, CINAHL, INAHTA, and the Pediatric Economic Database Evaluation (PEDE) database from inception to 2020 to identify pediatric CUAs that included family spillover effects. The search was updated to 2021 using PEDE. The data describing in which family members spillover effects were measured, and how family spillover effects were measured, incorporated, and reported, were extracted. Common approaches were grouped conceptually. Further, this review identified theories or theoretical frameworks used to justify approaches for integrating family spillover effects into CUA.

RESULTS

Of 878 pediatric CUAs identified, 35 included family spillover effects. Most pediatric CUAs considered family spillover effects on one family member. Pediatric CUAs reported eight different approaches to measure the family spillover effects. The most common method was measuring the quality-adjusted life years (QALY) loss of the caregiver(s) or parent(s) due to a child's illness or disability using an isolated approach whereby family spillover effects were quantified in individual family members separately from other health effects. Studies used four approaches to integrate family spillover effects into CUA. The most common method was to sum children's and parents/caregivers' QALYs. Only two studies used a theoretical framework for incorporation of family spillover effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Few pediatric CUAs included family spillover effects and the observed variation indicated no consensus among researchers on how family spillover effects should be measured and incorporated. This heterogeneity is mirrored by a lack of practical guidelines by Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies or a theoretical foundation for including family spillover effects in pediatric CUA. The results from this review may encourage researchers to develop a theoretical framework and HTA agencies to develop guidelines for including family spillover effects. Such guidance may lead to more rigorous and standardized methods for including family spillover effects and better-quality evidence to inform decision-makers on the cost-effectiveness of pediatric health interventions.

Evaluation of the Healthy Start voucher scheme on maternal vitamin use and child breastfeeding: a natural experiment using data linkage

Background

Having a good start in life during pregnancy and infancy has been shown to be important for living both a healthy life and a longer life. Despite the introduction of many policies for the early-years age group, including voucher schemes, with the aim of improving nutrition, there is limited evidence of their impact on health.

Objectives

To assess the effectiveness of the Healthy Start voucher scheme on infant, child and maternal outcomes, and to capture the lived experiences of the Healthy Start voucher scheme for low-income women.

Design

This was a natural experiment study using existing data sets, linked to routinely collected health data sets, with a nested qualitative study of low-income women and an assessment of the health economics.

Setting

Representative sample of Scottish children and UK children.

Participants

Growing Up in Scotland cohort 2 (n = 2240), respondents to the 2015 Infant Feeding Study (n = 8067) and a sample of 40 participants in the qualitative study.

Interventions

The Health Start voucher, a means-tested scheme that provides vouchers worth £3.10 per week to spend on liquid milk, formula milk, fruit and vegetables.

Main outcome measures

Infant and child outcomes - breastfeeding initiation and duration; maternal outcomes - vitamin use pre and during pregnancy.

Results

The exposed group were women receiving the Healthy Start voucher (R), with two control groups: eligible and not claiming the Healthy Start voucher (E) and nearly eligible. There was no difference in vitamin use during pregnancy for either comparison (receiving the Healthy Start voucher, 82%; eligible and not claiming the Healthy Start voucher, 86%; p = 0.10 vs. receiving the Healthy Start voucher, 87%; nearly eligible, 88%; p = 0.43) in the Growing Up in Scotland cohort. Proportions were similar for the Infant Feeding Study cohort (receiving the Healthy Start voucher, 89%; eligible and not claiming the Healthy Start voucher, 86%; p = 0.01 vs. receiving the Healthy Start voucher, 89%; nearly eligible, 87%; p = 0.01); although results were statistically significantly different, these were small effect sizes. There was no difference for either comparison in breastfeeding initiation or breastfeeding duration in months in Growing Up in Scotland, but there was a negative effect of the Healthy Start voucher in the Infant Feeding Survey. This contrast between data sets indicates that results are inconclusive for breastfeeding. The qualitative study found that despite the low monetary value the women valued the Healthy Start voucher scheme. However, the broader lives of low-income women are crucial to understand the constraints to offer a healthy diet.

Limitations

Owing to the policy being in place, it was difficult to identify appropriate control groups using existing data sources, especially in the Infant Feeding Study.

Conclusions

As the Healthy Start voucher scheme attempts to influence health behaviour, this evaluation can inform other policies aiming to change behaviour and use voucher incentives. The null effect of Healthy Start vouchers on the primary outcomes may be due to the value of the vouchers being insufficient to change the broader lives of low-income women to offer a healthy diet.

Future work

The methods developed to undertake an economic evaluation alongside a natural experiment using existing data can be used to explore the cost-effectiveness of the Healthy Start voucher scheme.

Funding

This project was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full in Public Health Research; Vol. 11, No. 11. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Modalities of group A streptococcal prevention and treatment and their economic justification

Infection by group A Streptococcus (Strep A) results in a diverse range of clinical conditions, including pharyngitis, impetigo, cellulitis, necrotising fasciitis, and rheumatic heart disease. In this article, we outline the recommended strategies for Strep A treatment and prevention and review the literature for economic evaluations of competing treatment and prevention strategies. We find that most economic evaluations focus on reducing the duration of illness or risk of rheumatic fever among people presenting with sore throat through diagnostic and/or treatment strategies. Few studies have evaluated strategies to reduce the burden of Strep A infection among the general population, nor have they considered the local capacity to finance and implement strategies. Evaluation of validated costs and consequences for a more diverse range of Strep A interventions are needed to ensure policies maximise patient outcomes under budget constraints. This should include attention to basic public health strategies and emerging strategies such as vaccination.

The Achieved Capabilities Questionnaire for Community Mental Health (ACQ-CMH): A consumer-based measure for the evaluation of community mental health interventions

The capabilities approach offers a multidimensional, ecological, and agent-centered framework that may inspire models of intervention and evaluation. A growing number of measures grounded on the capabilities approach for outcome measurement are appearing. Regarding community mental health, new consumer-valued measures-constructed in collaboration with consumers-are here considered crucial for a transformative shift. Meanwhile, new measurements need to provide psychometric evidence to enable proper choice and application. The Achieved Capabilities Questionnaire for Community Mental Health (ACQ-CMH) was developed in collaboration with consumers of community mental health services. It aims to assess consumers' capabilities achieved through program support. The present paper shows advancements in the measure validation through a confirmatory factor analysis within a sample of community mental health consumers (N = 225). Reliability and construct-related validity were also observed. A structural solution composed of five factors and 43 items revealed a better model fit than that obtained in a previous exploratory study. Findings support the reliability, sensibility, and both convergent and discriminant validity of using the ACQ-CMH in the evaluation of community mental health interventions. The ACQ-CMH offers a consumer-valued framework with specific dimensions and indicators of capabilities for use in a routine service evaluation setting.

Systematic review and critical methodological appraisal of community-based falls prevention economic models

BACKGROUND

Falls impose significant health and economic burdens on community-dwelling older persons. Decision modelling can inform commissioning of alternative falls prevention strategies. Several methodological challenges arise when modelling public health interventions including community-based falls prevention. This study aims to conduct a systematic review (SR) to: systematically identify community-based falls prevention economic models; synthesise and critically appraise how the models handled key methodological challenges associated with public health modelling; and suggest areas for further methodological research.

METHODS

The SR followed the 2021 PRISMA reporting guideline and covered the period 2003-2020 and 12 academic databases and grey literature. The extracted methodological features of included models were synthesised by their relevance to the following challenges: (1) capturing non-health outcomes and societal intervention costs; (2) considering heterogeneity and dynamic complexity; (3) considering theories of human behaviour and implementation; and (4) considering equity issues. The critical appraisal assessed the prevalence of each feature across models, then appraised the methods used to incorporate the feature. The methodological strengths and limitations stated by the modellers were used as indicators of desirable modelling practice and scope for improvement, respectively. The methods were also compared against those suggested in the broader empirical and methodological literature. Areas of further methodological research were suggested based on appraisal results.

RESULTS

46 models were identified. Comprehensive incorporation of non-health outcomes and societal intervention costs was infrequent. The assessments of heterogeneity and dynamic complexity were limited; subgroup delineation was confined primarily to demographics and binary disease/physical status. Few models incorporated heterogeneity in intervention implementation level, efficacy and cost. Few dynamic variables other than age and falls history were incorporated to characterise the trajectories of falls risk and general health/frailty. Intervention sustainability was frequently based on assumptions; few models estimated the economic/health returns from improved implementation. Seven models incorporated ethnicity- and severity-based subgroups but did not estimate the equity-efficiency trade-offs. Sixteen methodological research suggestions were made.

CONCLUSION

Existing community-based falls prevention models contain methodological limitations spanning four challenge areas relevant for public health modelling. There is scope for further methodological research to inform the development of falls prevention and other public health models.

The Coordinated Development and Regulation Research on Public Health, Ecological Environment and Economic Development: Evidence from the Yellow River Basin of China

The dual problems of the public crisis from the global epidemic and the deterioration of the ecological environment constrain the economic development in the Yellow River Basin. To promote the sustainable and balanced development in the Yellow River Basin, this paper takes public health, ecological environment, and economic development, as a whole, to study the coordinated development of the Yellow River Basin. Based on coupling coordinated theory, we use the SMI-P method to evaluate the coordinated development index of public health, the ecological environment, and economic development in the Yellow River Basin. Moreover, we use the coordinated regulation and obstacle factor diagnosis to identify the main influencing factors and design regulation methods to optimize the coordinated development index. The results found that (1), during the research period, there is spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the coordinated development level in the Yellow River Basin. From 2009 to 2019, the overall development index increased steadily, while the regional disparity in the coordinated development level was obvious. (2) The ecological environment indicators contribute more to the relevance and obstacle factors, such as the average concentration of fine particulate matter, per capita arable land area, afforestation area, etc. (3) After regulating the overall development level of the Yellow River Basin, we prove that Path 4, which comprehensively considers the relevance and obstacle factors, performs better.

Exploring Well-Being and Its Correlates among Young Men Using Sen’s Capability Approach: Results from the Young Adults Survey, Switzerland (YASS)

Background: The range of options people have to do the things they value in life may have strong effects on their well-being. This is especially true for young adults, as their opportunities and choices may affect both their current and future lives. This study follows Sen’s capability approach (CA) to assess young people’s well-being in terms of capabilities and functionings. Methods: Repeated cross-sectional data from the Young Adult Survey Switzerland were used for the analysis (N = 58,615). Descriptive statistics were applied to analyze the distribution of capabilities and functionings according to individuals’ capital equipment. Finally, multivariate regression analyses were conducted to investigate associations between social, cultural, and economic capital; overall capabilities; and functionings. Results: Young men with lower capital equipment rated their capabilities and functionings lower than others. Capabilities and corresponding functionings differed in the domains of health, happiness, and intellectual stimulation. Multivariate analysis confirmed the effects of social, economic, and cultural capital on both overall capabilities and functionings. Conclusions: Young men differ in their perceived capabilities and functionings in different life domains according to their equipment with different forms of capital. To better understand the mechanisms underlying the transformation of capabilities into functionings, future studies should analyze issues of choice and adaptation to restricted living conditions.

Community Preventive Health Education Intervention for Pediatric Iron-Deficiency Anemia in Rural Southeast Nigeria

Objectives

Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is a global cause of morbidity in children under five, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In southeast Nigeria, poor dietary intake and caregiver knowledge about childhood anemia are observed; however, there is no consensus on how to best prevent it. This study seeks to test the effectiveness of caregiver education on improving anemia knowledge and dietary prevention strategies and promoting sustainable lifestyle changes to reduce the prevalence of childhood IDA.

Study Design

A questionnaire was administered to the primary caregivers of 41 patients under age five with anemia in southeast Nigeria regarding socioeconomic status (SES), diet diversity, and risk factors for anemia. Caregivers were administered a preeducation questionnaire, poster education on anemia and iron-rich foods, and a posteducation questionnaire. All patients underwent a medical exam to confirm a diagnosis of anemia or anemia-related conditions.

Results

Ninety-five percent of patients had moderate diet diversity, but there was no correlation between diet diversity and SES. Barriers to healthier diets were associated with SES. Preeducation scores were not associated with caregivers' education levels; however, posteducation scores were significantly higher in university-educated than technical-trained caregivers. Caregiver-reported self-efficacy increased after the education program.

Conclusion

Caregivers' SES was associated with financial and knowledge barriers to a healthier diet but not diet diversity, suggesting that nutritional education could benefit all SES groups. Overall, the education program increased caregivers' anemia knowledge across educational levels. A community-based health education program could improve caregivers' anemia knowledge and self-efficacy in applying this information and potentially reduce this area's pediatric IDA.

Conceptualising 'Benefits Beyond Health' in the Context of the Quality-Adjusted Life-Year: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis

There is growing interest in extending the evaluative space of the quality-adjusted life-year framework beyond health. Using a critical interpretive synthesis approach, the objective was to review peer-reviewed literature that has discussed non-health outcomes within the context of quality-adjusted life-years and synthesise information into a thematic framework. Papers were identified through searches conducted in Web of Science, using forward citation searching. A critical interpretive synthesis allows for the development of interpretations (synthetic constructs) that go beyond those offered in the original sources. The final output of a critical interpretive synthesis is the synthesising argument, which integrates evidence from across studies into a coherent thematic framework. A concept map was developed to show the relationships between different types of non-health benefits. The critical interpretive synthesis was based on 99 papers. The thematic framework was constructed around four themes: (1) benefits affecting well-being (subjective well-being, psychological well-being, capability and empowerment); (2) benefits derived from the process of healthcare delivery; (3) benefits beyond the recipient of care (spillover effects, externalities, option value and distributional benefits); and (4) benefits beyond the healthcare sector. There is a wealth of research concerning non-health benefits and the evaluative space of the quality-adjusted life-year. Further dialogue and debate are necessary to address conceptual and normative challenges, to explore the societal willingness to sacrifice health for benefits beyond health and to consider the equity implications of different courses of action.

Methodological issues in economic evaluations of disease prevention and health promotion: an overview of systematic and scoping reviews

Background

We aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of methodological challenges in economic evaluations of disease prevention and health promotion (DPHP)-measures.

Methods

We conducted an overview of reviews searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, NHS Economic Evaluation Database, Database of Promoting Health Effectiveness Reviews, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and Database of Promoting Health Effectiveness Reviews (DOPHER) (from their inception to October 2021). We included both systematic and scoping reviews of economic evaluations in DPHP addressing following methodological aspects: (i) attribution of effects, (ii) outcomes, (iii) inter-sectoral (accruing to non-health sectors of society) costs and consequences and (iv) equity. Data were extracted according to the associated sub-criteria of the four methodological aspects including study design economic evaluation (e.g. model-based), type/scope of the outcomes (e.g. outcomes beyond health), perspective, cost categories related to non-health sectors of society, and consideration of equity (method of inclusion). Two reviewers independently screened all citations, full-text articles, and extracted data. A narrative synthesis without a meta-analysis or other statistical synthesis methods was conducted.

Results

The reviewing process resulted in ten systematic and one scoping review summarizing 494 health economic evaluations. A lifelong time horizon was adopted in about 23% of DPHP evaluations, while 64% of trial-based evaluations had a time horizon up to 2 years. Preference-based outcomes (36%) and non-health outcomes (8%) were only applied in a minority of studies. Although the inclusion of inter-sectoral costs (i.e. costs accruing to non-health sectors of society) has increased in recent years, these were often neglected (between 6 and 23% depending on the cost category). Consideration to equity was barely given in economic evaluations, and only addressed in six of the eleven reviews.

Conclusions

Economic evaluations of DPHP measures give only little attention to the specific methodological challenges related to this area. For future economic DPHP evaluations a tool with structured guidance should be developed.

This overview of reviews was not registered and a published protocol does not exist.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-12174-w.

Economic evaluation using dynamic transition modeling of ebola virus vaccination in lower-and-middle-income countries

BACKGROUND

With the increasing occurrence of infectious diseases in lower-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), emergency preparedness is essential for rapid response and mitigation. Economic evaluations of mitigation technologies and strategies have been recommended for inclusion in emergency preparedness plans. We aimed to perform an economic evaluation using dynamic transition modeling of ebola virus disease (EVD) vaccination in a hypothetical community of 1,000 persons in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

METHOD

Using a modified SEIR (Susceptible, Exposed, Infectious, Recovered, with Death added [SEIR-D]) model that accounted for death and epidemiological data from an EVD outbreak in the DRC, we modeled the transmission of EVD in a hypothetical population of 1,000. With our model, we estimated the cost-effectiveness of an EVD vaccine and an EVD vaccination intervention.

RESULTS

The results showed vaccinating 50% of the population at risk prevented 670 cases, 538 deaths, and 22,022 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The vaccine was found to be cost-effective with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $95.63 per DALY averted. We also determined the minimum required vaccination coverage for cost-effectiveness to be 40%. Sensitivity analysis showed our model to be fairly robust, assuring relatively consistent results even with variations in such input parameters as cost of screening, as well as transmission, infection, incubation, and case fatality rates.

CONCLUSION

EVD vaccination in our hypothetical population was found to be cost-effective from the payer perspective. Our model presents an efficient and reliable approach for conducting economic evaluations of infectious disease interventions as part of an emergency preparedness plan.

The capability approach as a bridging framework across health promotion settings: theoretical and empirical considerations

Health promotion research has increasingly called for transdisciplinary approaches. Such calls ask for bridging frameworks that define comprehensive sets of health determinants and appropriately conceptualize the roles of population groups as well as other relevant actor groups in the co-production of health. This article aims to present the seminal capability approach by Sen and Nussbaum as a potentially suitable framework for such bridging endeavors to guide health promotion research. It highlights domains of the capability approach that appear to be particularly relevant to bridging diverse disciplines and settings. Such domains particularly refer to the agency of decisive actor groups (population groups, professionals, policymakers and researchers) as well as to the differentiation of personal, social and environmental conversion factors that disciplines define within their specific epistemologies and ontologies. The article uses empirical examples from a German research consortium that aimed to promote physical activity in five different settings while fostering cooperation and conceptual alignment between several academic disciplines and sub-disciplines to highlight benefits and challenges of using the capability approach as a bridging framework for transdisciplinary health promotion. We conclude that the capability approach might serve as bridging framework to guide future transdisciplinary research if partners involved continuously exchange to develop a shared understanding of the issues to be researched.

Economic evaluation of nutrition interventions: Does one size fit all?

BACKGROUND

Nutrition interventions have specific features that might warrant modifications to the methods used for economic evaluations of healthcare interventions.

AIM

The aim of the article is to identify these features and when they challenge the use of cost-utility analysis (CUA).

METHODS

A critical review of the literature is conducted and a 2 by 2 classification matrix for nutrition interventions is proposed based on 1) who the main party responsible for the implementation and funding of the intervention is; and 2) who the target recipient of the intervention is. The challenges of conducting economic evaluations for each group of nutrition interventions are then analysed according to four main aspects: attribution of effects, measuring and valuing outcomes, inter-sectorial costs and consequences and equity considerations.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

CUA is appropriate for nutrition interventions when they are funded from the healthcare sector, have no (or modest) spill-overs to other sectors of the economy and have only (or mainly) health consequences. For other interventions, typically involving different government agencies, with cost implications for the private sector, with important wellbeing consequences outside health and with heterogeneous welfare effects across socio-economic groups, other economic evaluation methods need to be developed in order to offer valid guidance to policy making. For these interventions, checklists for critical appraisal of economic evaluations may require some substantial changes.

Cost-effectiveness of a Diet and Resistance Exercise Intervention in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: ProMuscle in Practice

OBJECTIVES

Ageing is associated with a decline in functioning and a loss of independence, which will lead to increased health care costs in the future. The ProMuscle in Practice intervention was found to be effective in improving muscle strength, muscle mass, and functioning of older adults. The current study assesses the cost-effectiveness and perceived benefits of the intervention.

DESIGN

Trial-based cost-effectiveness analysis complemented by interviews.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

A total of 168 community-dwelling older adults were included. Intervention participants started with a 12-week intensive support program, comprising resistance exercise guided by physiotherapists and consultations with a dietitian to increase protein intake. To maintain the adapted lifestyle pattern, they continued with a 12-week moderate support intervention. The control group received usual care.

METHODS

Costs and outcomes were measured at baseline, after 12 and 24 weeks. Costs were assessed from a societal perspective. Health care use, out-of-pocket costs, and productivity losses were measured using questionnaires. Intervention costs were quantified according to bottom-up micro-costing. Outcomes included quality of life (EQ-5D-5L) and physical functioning (Short Physical Performance Battery [SPPB]). Bootstrap analyses were used to generate cost-effectiveness planes and acceptability curves. Interviews with participants and professionals were conducted after 24 weeks to measure perceived benefits.

RESULTS

An Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio of €2988 ($3385)/point increase in SPPB was found. The intervention has an 82.4% probability of being cost-effective at a willingness to pay (WTP) of €12.000 ($13.559)/point increase in SPPB. No change in quality of life was found according to EQ-5D-5L. Interviews, however, revealed a wide range of function-related perceived benefits.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

At a WTP of €12.000 ($13.559)/point increase in SPPB, the intervention was found to have an 82.4% probability of being cost-effective. Because generic quality of life questionnaires seem unable to detect subtle changes in public health interventions, future studies are advised to include targeted and specific questionnaires.

Promoting Intersectoral Collaboration Through the Evaluations of Public Health Interventions: Insights From Key Informants in 6 European Countries

BACKGROUND

Intersectoral collaboration is critical to the successful implementation of many public health interventions (PHIs). Little attention has been paid to whether and how processes at the stage of evaluation can promote intersectoral collaboration. The objective of this study was to examine European experiences and views on whether and how the evaluation of PHIs promote intersectoral collaboration.

METHODS

A qualitative study design was used. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 individuals centrally involved in the evaluation of PHIs in 6 European countries (Austria, Denmark, England, Germany, Norway, and Switzerland). Questions pertained to current processes for evaluating PHIs in the country and current and potential strategies for promoting intersectoral collaboration. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify key themes responding to our primary objective.

RESULTS

Experiences with promoting intersectoral collaboration through the evaluation of PHIs could be summarized in 4 themes: (1) Early involvement of non-health sectors in the evaluative process and inclusion of non-health benefits can promote intersectoral collaboration, but should be combined with greater influence of these sectors in shaping PHIs; (2) Harmonization of methodological approaches may enable comparison of results and facilitate intersectoral collaboration, but should not be an overriding goal; (3) Involvement in health impact assessments (HIAs) can promote intersectoral collaboration, but needs to be incentivized and be conducted without putting overwhelming demands on non-health sectors; (4) A designated body for evaluating PHIs may promote intersectoral collaboration, but its design needs to take account of realities of policy-making.

CONCLUSION

The full potential for promoting intersectoral collaboration through the evaluation of PHIs appears currently unrealized in the settings we studied. To further promote intersectoral collaboration, evaluators and decision-makers may consider the full range of strategies characterized in this study. This may be most effective if the strategies are deployed so that they reinforce each other, value outcomes beyond health, and are tailored to maximize political priority for PHIs across sectors.

Health Shocks and Unbalanced Growth of Medical Resources: Evidence From the SARS Epidemic in China

Since the outbreak of the SARS epidemic in 2003, the Chinese government has increased inputs to bolster the health care system. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the geographic maldistribution of health resources in China. We examine the spatial and temporal variation of the SARS epidemic using a difference-in-differences strategy. Our empirical results show that, compared with cities without SARS case reports, exogenous health shocks significantly increased the affected cities' medical resources supply. We provide multiple robustness tests to examine the validity of the main findings. Further study shows that the mechanism is because the SARS event increased the financial autonomy of the epidemic-affected cities, thus providing an incentive for local governments to increase health resources. Meanwhile, health shocks have little influence on the regions with only imported cases than the infected area. These findings provide a possible explanation for the inequality in the distribution of health resources.

An overview of systematic reviews of economic evaluations of pharmacy-based public health interventions: addressing methodological challenges

BACKGROUND

Pharmacy interventions are a subset of public health interventions and its research is usually performed within the scope of a trial. The economic evaluation of pharmacy interventions requires certain considerations which have some similarities to those of public health interventions and to economic evaluations alongside trials. The objective of this research is to perform an overview of systematic reviews of economic evaluations of pharmacy services and triangulate results with recommendations for economic evaluations of both public health interventions and alongside trials.

METHODS

(1) Exploratory review of recommendations on the economic evaluation of public health interventions, (2) exploratory review of recommendations for conducting economic evaluations alongside trials, (3) overview of systematic reviews of economic evaluations of pharmacy interventions (protocol registered with PROSPERO 2016 outlining information sources, inclusion criteria, appraisal of reviews and synthesis methods).

RESULTS

Fourteen systematic reviews containing 75 index publications were included. Reviews reported favorable economic findings for 71% of studies with full economic evaluations. The types of economic analysis are diverse. Two critical quality domains are absent from most reviews. Key findings include the following: certain types of risk of bias, wider scope of study designs, and most economic quality criteria met but some issues unresolved or unclear. Triangulation revealed additional gaps. Limitations include choice of critical quality domains and potential biases in the overview process.

CONCLUSIONS

Economic evaluations of pharmacy-based public health interventions seem to follow most economic quality criteria, but there are still some issues in certain key areas to improve. These findings may assist in improving the design of pilot trials of economic evaluations in pharmacy, leading to robust evidence for payers. Based on the findings, we propose a methodological approach for the economic evaluation of pharmacy-based public health interventions.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD42016032768.

Measuring broader wellbeing in mental health services: validity of the German language OxCAP-MH capability instrument

PURPOSE

The OxCAP-MH capabilities questionnaire was developed and validated in the UK for outcome measurement in mental health clinical studies. Its broader wellbeing construct or validity in routine mental health services so far has not been assessed. The objectives were to investigate the extent the OxCAP-MH measures broader wellbeing compared to the EQ-5D-5L and to test psychometric properties of the German language OxCAP-MH in routine mental health services in Austria.

METHODS

Study sample consisted of patients in socio-psychiatric services (n = 159) assessed at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Underlying factors associated with quality-of-life/wellbeing concepts measured by the OxCAP-MH and EQ-5D-5L were identified in exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Responsiveness was assessed using anchor questionnaires and standardised response mean (SRM). For discriminant validity, subgroups of respondents were compared using t test and one-way ANOVA. Test-retest analysis was assessed for a period of maximum 30 days from the baseline assessment with intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC).

RESULTS

EFA identified a two-factor structure. All EQ-5D-5L items and seven OxCAP-MH items loaded on one factor and nine remaining OxCAP-MH items loaded on a separate factor. Responsiveness was found for patients who improved in anchor questionnaire scores with large or moderate SRM statistics. OxCAP-MH discriminated between various groups in univariable and multivariable analyses. Reliability of the German language OxCAP-MH was confirmed by ICC of 0.80.

CONCLUSIONS

Besides providing evidence that the OxCAP-MH measures broader wellbeing constructs beyond traditional health-related quality of life, the study also confirms the validity of the instrument for implementation in routine evaluation of mental health services.

Valuing Mobile Health: An Open-Ended Contingent Valuation Survey of a National Digital Health Program

BACKGROUND

Changing population demographics and technology developments have resulted in growing interest in the potential of consumer-facing digital health. In the United Kingdom, a £37 million (US $49 million) national digital health program delivering assisted living lifestyles at scale (dallas) aimed to deploy such technologies at scale. However, little is known about how consumers value such digital health opportunities.

OBJECTIVE

This study explored consumers' perspectives on the potential value of digital health technologies, particularly mobile health (mHealth), to promote well-being by examining their willingness-to-pay (WTP) for such health solutions.

METHODS

A contingent valuation study involving a UK-wide survey that asked participants to report open-ended absolute and marginal WTP or willingness-to-accept for the gain or loss of a hypothetical mHealth app, Healthy Connections.

RESULTS

A UK-representative cohort (n=1697) and a dallas-like (representative of dallas intervention communities) cohort (n=305) were surveyed. Positive absolute and marginal WTP valuations of the app were identified across both cohorts (absolute WTP: UK-representative cohort £196 or US $258 and dallas-like cohort £162 or US $214; marginal WTP: UK-representative cohort £160 or US $211 and dallas-like cohort £151 or US $199). Among both cohorts, there was a high prevalence of zeros for both the absolute WTP (UK-representative cohort: 467/1697, 27.52% and dallas-like cohort: 95/305, 31.15%) and marginal WTP (UK-representative cohort: 487/1697, 28.70% and dallas-like cohort: 99/305, 32.5%). In both cohorts, better general health, previous amount spent on health apps (UK-representative cohort 0.64, 95% CI 0.27 to 1.01; dallas-like cohort: 1.27, 95% CI 0.32 to 2.23), and age had a significant (P>.00) association with WTP (UK-representative cohort: -0.1, 95% CI -0.02 to -0.01; dallas-like cohort: -0.02, 95% CI -0.03 to -0.01), with younger participants willing to pay more for the app. In the UK-representative cohort, as expected, higher WTP was positively associated with income up to £30,000 or US $39,642 (0.21, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.4) and increased spending on existing phone and internet services (0.52, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.74). The amount spent on existing health apps was shown to be a positive indicator of WTP across cohorts, although the effect was marginal (UK-representative cohort 0.01, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.01; dallas-like cohort 0.01, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that consumers value mHealth solutions that promote well-being, social connectivity, and health care control, but it is not universally embraced. For mHealth to achieve its potential, apps need to be tailored to user accessibility and health needs, and more understanding of what hinders frequent users of digital technologies and those with long-term conditions is required. This novel application of WTP in a digital health context demonstrates an economic argument for investing in upskilling the population to promote access and expedite uptake and utilization of such digital health and well-being apps.

A framework for conducting economic evaluations alongside natural experiments

Internationally, policy makers are increasingly focussed on reducing the detrimental consequences and rising costs associated with unhealthy diets, inactivity, smoking, alcohol and other risk factors on the health of their populations. This has led to an increase in the demand for evidence-based, cost-effective Population Health Interventions (PHIs) to reverse this trend. Given that research designs such as randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are often not suited to the evaluation of PHIs, Natural Experiments (NEs) are now frequently being used as a design to evaluate such complex, preventive PHIs. However, current guidance for economic evaluation focusses on RCT designs and therefore does not address the specific challenges of NE designs. Using such guidance can lead to sub-optimal design, data collection and analysis for NEs, leading to bias in the estimated effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the PHI. As a consequence, there is a growing recognition of the need to identify a robust methodological framework for the design and conducting of economic evaluations alongside such NEs. This paper outlines the challenges inherent to the design and conduct of economic evaluations of PHIs alongside NEs, providing a comprehensive framework and outlining a research agenda in this area.

TOWARD INTEGRATION IN THE CONTEXT OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT: THE NEED FOR EVALUATIVE FRAMEWORKS

OBJECTIVES

A comprehensive health technology assessment (HTA) enables a patient-centered assessment of the effectiveness, economic, ethical, socio-cultural, and legal issues of health technologies that takes context and implementation into account. A question is whether these various pieces of evidence need to be integrated, and if so, how that might be achieved. The objective of our study is to discuss the meaning of integration in the context of HTA and suggest how it may be achieved in a more structured way.

METHODS

An analysis of the concept of integration in the context of HTA and a review of approaches that were adopted in the INTEGRATE-HTA project that may support integration.

RESULTS

Current approaches to integration in HTA are mainly methods of commensuration, which are not optimally geared to support public deliberation. In contrast, articulating evaluative frameworks could be an important means of integration which allows for exploring how facts and values can be brought to bear on each other.

CONCLUSIONS

Integration is not something that only needs to be addressed at the end, but rather throughout an HTA, right from the start. Integration can be conceived as a matter of accounting for the relevance of empirical evidence in view of a commitment to a set of potentially conflicting values. Various elements of the INTEGRATE-HTA project, such as scoping and the development of logic models, can help to achieve integration in HTA.

Quality of Life and Health Utility Scores Among Canadians Living With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury - A National Cross-Sectional Study

STUDY DESIGN

National, multicenter, cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to provide overall quality of life (QOL) and health utility (HU) values for patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) stratified by injury level and neurological status.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

Traumatic SCI is a leading cause of disability. Varying injury level and severity generate a spectrum of neurological dysfunction and reduction in long-term QOL.

METHODS

The Canadian SCI Community Survey was sent to Canadians living in the community after SCI. The impact of demographics, complications, and SCI classification on QOL was assessed using Analysis of variance, multiple linear regressions and ordinal logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

There were 1109 respondents with traumatic SCI. american spinal injury association impairment scale (AIS) grade was reported to be cervical motor complete in 20%, cervical motor incomplete in 28%, thoracolumbar motor complete in 32%, thoracolumbar motor incomplete in 16%, and normal (any level) in 1%. Injury level or AIS grade had no impact on either HU or QOL. The physical component of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was significantly affected by the neurological level, but not the social or mental components. With a mean health utility score of 0.64 ± 0.12, SCI patients living in the community reported having HRQOL similar to patients after total knee arthroplasty or lumbar spinal stenosis decompression.

CONCLUSION

QOL or HU measured by generic HRQOL outcome tools should not be used as outcomes to assess the effectiveness of interventions targeting neurological function in traumatic SCI. A disease-specific instrument that captures the nuances specific to spinal cord injury patients is required.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

1.

Identifying and assessing the benefits of interventions for postnatal depression: a systematic review of economic evaluations

Background

Economic evaluations of interventions for postnatal depression (PND) are essential to ensure optimal healthcare decision-making. Due to the wide-ranging effects of PND on the mother, baby and whole family, there is a need to include outcomes for all those affected and to include health and non-health outcomes for accurate estimates of cost-effectiveness. This study aimed to identify interventions to prevent or treat PND for which an economic evaluation had been conducted and to evaluate the health and non-health outcomes included.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted applying a comprehensive search strategy across eight electronic databases and other sources. Full or partial economic evaluations of interventions involving preventive strategies (including screening), and any treatments for women with or at-risk of PND, conducted in OECD countries were included. We excluded epidemiological studies and those focussing on costs only. The included studies underwent a quality appraisal to inform the analysis.

Results

Seventeen economic evaluations met the inclusion criteria, the majority focused on psychological /psychosocial interventions. The interventions ranged from additional support from health professionals, peer support, to combined screening and treatment strategies. Maternal health outcomes were measured in all studies; however child health outcomes were included in only four of them. Across studies, the maternal health outcomes included were quality-adjusted-life-years gained, improvement in depressive symptoms, PND cases detected or recovered, whereas the child health outcomes included were cognitive functioning, depression, sleep and temperament. Non-health outcomes such as couples’ relationships and parent-infant interaction were rarely included. Other methodological issues such as limitations in the time horizon and perspective(s) adopted were identified, that were likely to result in imprecise estimates of benefits.

Conclusions

The exclusion of relevant health and non-health outcomes may mean that only a partial assessment of cost-effectiveness is undertaken, leading to sub-optimal resource allocation decisions. Future research should seek ways to expand the evaluative space of economic evaluations and explore approaches to integrate health and non-health outcomes for all individuals affected by this condition. There is a need to ensure that the time horizon adopted in studies is appropriate to allow true estimation of the long-term benefits and costs of PND interventions.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-018-1738-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Adaptation and assessments of the Chinese version of the ICECAP-A measurement

BACKGROUND

This study adapts the ICECAP measure for Adults (ICECAP-A) to assess its capacity to measure the quality of life in China for economic evaluation.

METHODS

Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to translate the ICECAP-A measure for wellbeing, established by the University of Birmingham, UK, to the Chinese cultural context. A focus group discussion solved the appropriateness and wording of the ICECAP attributes in Chinese; and a randomly selected sample of 1000 adults aged over 18 years were online surveyed. We conducted psychometric tests and compared the factors influencing the ICECAP-A measure with those influencing EQ-5D-3 L.

RESULTS

Members of the focus group discussion agreed that the five attributes of the ICECAP-A measure are sufficient to evaluate wellbeing in China. However, the terms "being settled" and "friendship" were changed to "stability" and "kindness" for the Chinese cultural context. Our results show that the Chinese version of ICECAP-A has good internal consistency with an overall Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of 0.7999. The concurrent validity indicates that ICECAP-A is moderately correlated with EQ-5D-3 L (r ≤ 0.52).

CONCLUSIONS

The ICECAP-A measure can be adapted to evaluate wellbeing in China, but cultural changes to the wording are necessary. It is a valid measurement of wellbeing and can complement the EQ-5D already used in China. However, further work is still needed to evaluate the sensitivity of the ICECAP-A measure in relation to public health and social care.

Development, Validity, and Reliability of the Women's Capabilities Index

We report the results of a series of validity and reliability tests performed during the development of the Women's Capabilities Index (WCI) in Malawi. The WCI is a multidimensional measure based on Sen's capability framework for assessing women's quality of life. Construct validity was assessed by investigating the expected relationships of the dimensions with key socioeconomic characteristics. The majority of hypothesized associations were found to be statistically significant in the expected direction. This provides evidence that the index is measuring quality of life as intended in the conceptual model. Further evidence in support of the index's validity was given by the high degree of correlation between the WCI and another scale measuring comparable (but not identical) domains of quality of life. The results from the internal consistency and the test-retest repeatability also offered encouraging evidence on the reliability of the instrument. This is the first study to rigorously and comprehensively test for validity and reliability a capabilities index for a low-income setting. The results of the validity and reliability tests provide supportive evidence that a locally developed measure of capabilities can be used as a robust tool for the assessment of women's quality of life.

Psychometric validation of a multi-dimensional capability instrument for outcome measurement in mental health research (OxCAP-MH)

BACKGROUND

Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are widely used in mental healthcare research for quality of life assessment but most fail to capture the breadth of health and non-health domains that can be impacted. We report the psychometric validation of a novel, multi-dimensional instrument based on Amartya Sen's capability approach intended for use as an outcome measure in mental health research.

METHODS

The Oxford Capabilities Questionnaire for Mental Health (OxCAP-MH) is a 16-item self-complete capability measure that covers multiple domains of functioning and welfare. Data for validation of the instrument were collected through a national randomised controlled trial of community treatment orders for patients with psychosis. Complete OxCAP-MH data were available for 172 participants. Internal consistency was established with Cronbach's alpha; an interclass correlation coefficient was used to assess test-retest reliability in a sub-sample (N = 50) tested one week apart. Construct validity was established by comparing OxCAP-MH total scores with established instruments of illness severity and functioning: EuroQol (EQ-5D), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and Objective Social Outcomes Index (SIX). Sensitivity was established by calculating standard error of measurement using distributional methods.

RESULTS

The OxCAP-MH showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.79) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.86). Convergent validity was evidenced by strong correlations with the EQ-5D (VAS 0.52, p < .001) (Utility 0.45, p < .001), and divergent validity through more modest associations with the BPRS (-0.41, p < .001), GAF (0.24, p < .001) and SIX (0.12, p = ns). A change of 9.2 points on a 0-100 scale was found to be meaningful on statistical grounds.

CONCLUSIONS

The OxCAP-MH has demonstrable reliability and construct validity and represents a promising multi-dimensional alternative to existing patient-reported outcome measures for quality of life used in mental health research.

Quality of life in a broader perspective: Does ASCOT reflect the capability approach?

Purpose

Economic evaluation of services and interventions in care services tends to focus on quality of life(QoL) based on health-related measures such as EQ5D, with a major focus on health and functioning. The Capability Approach (CA) provides an alternative framework for measuring QoL and challenges some of the conventional issues in the current practice of measurement of QoL. The Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) aims to measure social care-related QoL in a broad sense. This article investigates whether and, if so, how the ASCOT addresses issues put on the agenda by the CA.

Methods

Literature analysis concerning theoretical assumptions and arguments of CA and ASCOT.

Results

The Capability Approach (CA) puts three issues on the agenda regarding QoL. First, the focus of evaluation should not be on functioning, but on freedom of choice. Second, evaluation should be critical about adaptive preferences, which entail that people lower expectations in situations of limited possibilities. Third, evaluation should not only address health, but also other domains of life. Our analysis shows that freedom of choice is reflected in the response option ‘as I want’ in the ASCOT questionnaire. The problem of adaptive preferences is countered in the ASCOT by developing a standard based on preferences of the general population. Third, the ASCOT contains several domains of life.

Conclusions

We conclude that the CA and the ASCOT contribute to the discussion on QoL, and that the ASCOT operationalizes core assumptions of the CA, translating the issues raised by the CA in a practical way.

Economic Evaluation of Interventions for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Opportunities and Challenges

Economic evaluation is a tool used to inform decision makers on the efficiency of comparative healthcare interventions and inform resource allocation decisions. There is a growing need for the use of economic evaluations to assess the value of interventions for children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), a population that has increasing demands for healthcare services. Unfortunately, few evaluations have been conducted to date, perhaps stemming from challenges in applying existing economic evaluation methodologies in this heterogeneous population. Opportunities exist to innovate methods to address key challenges in conducting economic evaluations of interventions for children with NDDs. In this paper, we discuss important considerations and highlight areas for future work. This includes the paucity of appropriate instruments for measuring outcomes meaningful to children with NDDs and their families, difficulties in the measurement of costs due to service utilization in a wide variety of sectors, complexities in the measurement of caregiver and family effects and considerations in estimating long-term productivity costs. Innovation and application of evaluation approaches in these areas will help inform decisions around whether the resources currently spent on interventions for children with NDDs represent good value for money, or whether greater benefits for children could be generated by spending money in other ways.

An Investigation of the Overlap Between the ICECAP-A and Five Preference-Based Health-Related Quality of Life Instruments

BACKGROUND

The ICEpop CAPability measure for Adults (ICECAP-A) is a measure of capability wellbeing developed for use in economic evaluations. It was designed to overcome perceived limitations associated with existing preference-based instruments, where the explicit focus on health-related aspects of quality of life may result in the failure to capture fully the broader benefits of interventions and treatments that go beyond health. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which preference-based health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments are able to capture aspects of capability wellbeing, as measured by the ICECAP-A.

METHODS

Using data from the Multi Instrument Comparison project, pairwise exploratory factor analyses were conducted to compare the ICECAP-A with five preference-based HRQoL instruments [15D, Assessment of Quality of Life 8-dimension (AQoL-8D), EQ-5D-5L, Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI-3), and SF-6D].

RESULTS

Data from 6756 individuals were used in the analyses. The ICECAP-A provides information above that garnered from most commonly used preference-based HRQoL instruments. The exception was the AQoL-8D; more common factors were identified between the ICECAP-A and AQoL-8D compared with the other pairwise analyses.

CONCLUSION

Further investigations are needed to explore the extent and potential implications of 'double counting' when applying the ICECAP-A alongside health-related preference-based instruments.

Coercion in mental health: a trial of the effectiveness of community treatment orders and an investigation of informal coercion in community mental health care

Background

Coercion comprisesformal coercionorcompulsion[treatment under a section of the Mental Health Act (MHA)] andinformal coercion(a range of treatment pressures, includingleverage). Community compulsion was introduced in England and Wales as community treatment orders (CTOs) in 2008, despite equivocal evidence of effectiveness. Little is known about the nature and operation of informal coercion.

Design

The programme comprised three studies, with associated substudies: Oxford Community Treatment Order Evaluation Trial (OCTET) – a study of CTOs comprising a randomised controlled trial comparing treatment on CTO to voluntary treatment via Section 17 Leave (leave of absence during treatment under section of the MHA), with 12-month follow-up, an economic evaluation, a qualitative study, an ethical analysis, the development of a new measure of capabilities and a detailed legal analysis of the trial design; OCTET Follow-up Study – a follow-up at 36 months; and Use of Leverage Tools to Improve Adherence in community Mental Health care (ULTIMA) – a study of informal coercion comprising a quantitative cross-sectional study of leverage, a qualitative study of patient and professional perceptions, and an ethical analysis.

Participants

Participants in the OCTET Study were 336 patients with psychosis diagnoses, currently admitted involuntarily and considered for ongoing community treatment under supervision. Participants in the ULTIMA Study were 417 patients from Assertive Outreach Teams, Community Mental Health Teams and substance misuse services.

Outcomes

The OCTET Trial primary outcome was psychiatric readmission. Other outcomes included measures of hospitalisation, a range of clinical and social measures, and a newly developed measure of capabilities – the Oxford Capabilities Questionnaire – Mental Health. For the follow-up study, the primary outcome was the level of disengagement during the 36 months.

Results

Community treatment order use did not reduce the rate of readmission [(59 (36%) of 166 patients in the CTO group vs. 60 (36%) of 167 patients in the non-CTO group; adjusted relative risk 1.0 (95% CI 0.75 to 1.33)] or any other outcome. There were no differences for any subgroups. There was no evidence that it might be cost-effective. Qualitative work suggested that CTOs’ (perceived) focus on medication adherence may influence how they are experienced. No general ethical justification was found for the use of a CTO regime. At 36-month follow-up, only 19 patients (6% of 329 patients) were no longer in regular contact with services. Longer duration of compulsion was associated with longer time to disengagement (p = 0.023) and fewer periods of discontinuity (p < 0.001). There was no difference in readmission outcomes over 36 months. Patients with longer CTO duration spent fewer nights in hospital. One-third (35%) of the ULTIMA sample reported lifetime experiences of leverage, lower than in the USA (51%), but patterns of leverage experience were similar. Reporting leverage made little difference to patients’ perceived coercion. Patients’ experiences of pressure were wide-ranging and pervasive, and perceived to come from family, friends and themselves, as well as professionals. Professionals were committed to patient-centred approaches, but felt obliged to assert authority when patients relapsed. We propose a five-step framework for determining the ethical status of offers by mental health professionals and give detailed guidance for professionals about how to exercise leverage.

Conclusions

Community Treatment Orders do not deliver clinical or social functioning benefits for patients. In the absence of further trials, moves should be made to restrict or stop their use. Informal coercion is widespread and takes different forms.

Trial registration

Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN73110773.

Funding

The National Institute for Health Research Programme Grants for Applied Research programme.

Maximizing Health or Sufficient Capability in Economic Evaluation? A Methodological Experiment of Treatment for Drug Addiction

Conventional practice within the United Kingdom and beyond is to conduct economic evaluations with "health" as evaluative space and "health maximization" as the decision-making rule. However, there is increasing recognition that this evaluative framework may not always be appropriate, and this is particularly the case within public health and social care contexts. This article presents a methodological case study designed to explore the impact of changing the evaluative space within an economic evaluation from health to capability well-being and the decision-making rule from health maximization to the maximization of sufficient capability. Capability well-being is an evaluative space grounded on Amartya Sen's capability approach and assesses well-being based on individuals' ability to do and be the things they value in life. Sufficient capability is an egalitarian approach to decision making that aims to ensure everyone in society achieves a normatively sufficient level of capability well-being. The case study is treatment for drug addiction, and the cost-effectiveness of 2 psychological interventions relative to usual care is assessed using data from a pilot trial. Analyses are undertaken from a health care and a government perspective. For the purpose of the study, quality-adjusted life years (measured using the EQ-5D-5L) and years of full capability equivalent and years of sufficient capability equivalent (both measured using the ICECAP-A [ICEpop CAPability measure for Adults]) are estimated. The study concludes that different evaluative spaces and decision-making rules have the potential to offer opposing treatment recommendations. The implications for policy makers are discussed.

Measuring Health and Broader Well-Being Benefits in the Context of Opiate Dependence: The Psychometric Performance of the ICECAP-A and the EQ-5D-5L

BACKGROUND

Measuring outcomes in economic evaluations of social care interventions is challenging because both health and well-being benefits are evident. The ICEpop CAPability instrument for adults (ICECAP-A) and the five-level EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) are measures potentially suitable for the economic evaluation of treatments for substance use disorders. Evidence for their validity in this context is, however, lacking.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the construct validity of the ICECAP-A and the EQ-5D-5L in terms of convergent and discriminative validity and sensitivity to change on the basis of standard clinical measures (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure, Treatment Outcomes Profile, Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, Leeds Dependence Questionnaire, and Social Satisfaction Questionnaire).

METHODS

A secondary analysis of pilot trial data for heroin users in opiate substitution treatment was conducted. Baseline convergence with clinical measures was assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Discriminative validity was assessed using one-way analysis of variance and stepwise regressions. Sensitivity to changes in clinical indicators was assessed at 3 and 12 months using the standardized response mean statistic and parametric and nonparametric testing.

RESULTS

Both measures had the same level of construct validity, except for clinical indicators of well-being, for which the ICECAP-A performed better. The ICECAP-A was sensitive to changes in both health and well-being indicators. The EQ-5D-5L had lower levels of sensitivity to change, and a ceiling effect (27%), particularly evident in the dimensions of self-care (89%), mobility (75%), and usual activities (72%).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings support the construct validity of both measures, but the ICECAP-A gives more attention to broader impacts and is more sensitive to change. The ICECAP-A shows promise in evaluating treatments for substance use disorders for which recovery is the desired outcome.

The development of capability measures in health economics: opportunities, challenges and progress

Recent years have seen increased engagement amongst health economists with the capability approach developed by Amartya Sen and others. This paper focuses on the capability approach in relation to the evaluative space used for analysis within health economics. It considers the opportunities that the capability approach offers in extending this space, but also the methodological challenges associated with moving from the theoretical concepts to practical empirical applications. The paper then examines three 'families' of measures, Oxford Capability instruments (OxCap), Adult Social Care Outcome Toolkit (ASCOT) and ICEpop CAPability (ICECAP), in terms of the methodological choices made in each case. The paper concludes by discussing some of the broader issues involved in making use of the capability approach in health economics. It also suggests that continued exploration of the impact of different methodological choices will be important in moving forward.

Environmentally induced, occupational diseases with emphasis on chronic kidney disease of multifactorial origin affecting tropical countries

BACKGROUND

Environmentally induced, occupational diseases are increasing worldwide, especially in rural agricultural communities. Poverty-associated malnutrition, environmental hazards and pollution, and lack of access to clean water, safe sanitation, and modern healthcare facilities are often associated with these chronic illnesses.

METHOD

The authors systematically reviewed occupational public health issues that have been related to the environment. General interpretations of results were included as per the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Pertinent publications from research databases were reviewed on (A) the risk-benefits, (B) the prevalence of risk factors for various diseases, (C) the benefits of not ignoring the risk factors (i.e., broader evidence), and (D) the risks, effects, and outcomes of different types of interventions. The authors used chronic kidney disease of multifactorial origin (CKDmfo) as an example to explore the theme. Emphasis was given to the regions with emerging economies and developing countries located in the vicinity of the equator.

FINDINGS

Geographical, socio-economic and aetiological similarities exist for many chronic non-communicable diseases that are affecting tropical countries around the equator. The authors identified manufacturing, mining, and agriculture as the biggest polluters of the environment. In addition, deforestation and associated soil erosion, overuse of agrochemicals, and irresponsible factory discharge (e.g., chemicals and paint, from rubber and textile factories, etc.), all contribute to pollution. To decrease the escalating incidences of environmentally induced diseases, governments should work proactively to protect the environment, especially watersheds, and take steps to minimise harmful occupational exposures and strictly enforce environmental regulations.

CONCLUSION

Creating public awareness of environmental issues and their relationship to public health is essential. This includes regular monitoring and periodic publication of the quality of water, air and soil; preventing deforestation and man-made soil erosion, increasing forest and ground cover, preventing occupational injuries, judicious and safe use of agrochemicals, sustainable agriculture and development programs, and implementing legislation to protect and conserve water heriage and the environment. These actions are essential both for a healthier environment and for the health of the people who live in that environment. Such measures would also decrease public health threats from such, including global-warming-related erratic environmental changes and the occurrence and the spread of non-communicable diseases, such as CKDmfo.

Implications for public health research of models and theories of disability: a scoping study and evidence synthesis

Background

Public health interventions that are effective in the general population are often assumed to apply to people with impairments. However, the evidence to support this is limited and hence there is a need for public health research to take a more explicit account of disability and the perspectives of people with impairments.

Objectives

(1) To examine the literature on theories and models of disability; (2) to assess whether or not, and how, intervention studies of effectiveness could incorporate more inclusive approaches that are consistent with these theories and models; and (3) to use the findings to draw out implications for improving evaluative study designs and evidence-based practice.

Review methods

The project is a scoping review of the literature. The first stage examines theories and models of disability and reflects on possible connections between theories of disability and public health paradigms. This discussion is used to develop an ethical–empirical decision aid/checklist, informed by a human rights approach to disability and ecological approaches to public health. We apply this decision aid in the second stage of the review to evaluate the extent to which the 30 generic public health reviews of interventions and the 30 disability-specific public health interventions include the diverse experiences of disability. Five deliberation panels were also organised to further refine the decision aid: one with health-care professionals and four with politically and socially active disabled people.

Results

The evidence from the review indicated that there has been limited public health engagement with theories and models of disability. Outcome measures were often insensitive to the experiences of disability. Even when disabled people were included, studies rarely engaged with their experiences in any meaningful way. More inclusive research should reflect how people live and ‘flourish’ with disability.

Limitations

The scoping review provides a broad appraisal of a particular field. It generates ideas for future practice rather than a definite framework for action.

Conclusions

Our ethical–empirical decision aid offers a critical framework with which to evaluate current research practice. It also offers a resource for promoting more ethical and evidence-based public health research that is methodologically robust while being sensitive to the experiences of disability.

Future work

Developing more inclusive research and interventions that avoid conceptualising disability as either a ‘burden’ or ‘problem’ is an important starting point. This includes exploring ways of refining and validating current common outcome measures to ensure that they capture a diverse range of disabling experiences, as well as generating evidence on meaningful ways of engaging a broad range of disabled children and adults in the research process.

Funding

The National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme.

The role of ions, heavy metals, fluoride, and agrochemicals: critical evaluation of potential aetiological factors of chronic kidney disease of multifactorial origin (CKDmfo/CKDu) and recommendations for its eradication

The pollution of water and food through human waste and anthropogenic activities, including industrial waste and agricultural runoff, is a mounting problem worldwide. Water pollution from microbes causes identifiable diarrhoeal illnesses. The consumption of water contaminated with heavy metals, fluoride, and other toxins causes insidious illnesses that lead to protracted, non-communicable diseases and death. Chronic kidney disease of unusual/uncertain/unknown aetiology is one such example, began to manifest in the mid-1960s in several dry-zonal agricultural societies in developing economies that are located around the equator. In Sri Lanka, such a disease is affecting the North Central Province, the rice bowl of the country that first appeared in the mid-1990s. Several potential causes have been postulated, including heavy metals, fluoride, cyanobacterial and algae toxins, agrochemicals, and high salinity and ionicity in water, but no specific source or causative factor has been identified for CKD of multifactorial origin (CKDmfo). Three large studies conducted in the recent past failed to find any of the postulated components (heavy metals, cyanobacterial toxins, fluoride, salinity, or agrochemicals) at levels higher than those deemed safe by the World Health Organization and the US Environmental Protection Agency. At the reported low levels in water and with the heterogeneous geographical distribution, it is unrealistic to expect any of these components individually could cause this disease. However, the additive or synergistic effects of a combination of factors and components, even at lower exposure levels, together with malnutrition and harmful behaviours, and/or a yet-unidentified (or not investigated) toxin, can cause this epidemic. Because the cause is unknown, scientists need to work on broader hypotheses, so that key causative elements are not missed. Taken together the plausibility of multiple factors in the genesis of this disease, the appropriate terminology is CKDmfo, a name that also indicates the need for multi-disciplinary research programs to facilitate identifying the cause(s) and the need for multiple approaches to eradicate it. While some potential causes remain to be investigated, existing data point to polluted water as the main source of this disease. This article evaluates pros and cons of each hypothesis and highlights the importance of among others, providing clean water to all affected and surrounding communities. Available data do not support any of the postulated agents, chemicals, heavy metals, fluoride, salinity/ionicity, or individual agrochemical components, such as phosphate or glyphosate, as causative factors for CKDmfo in Sri Lanka. However, as the CKDmfo name implies, a combination of these factors (or an unknown toxin) together with harmful behaviour and chronic dehydration may cause this disease. Irrespective of the cause, prevention is the only way forward for eradication.

Applications of the Capability Approach in the Health Field: A Literature Review

The primary aims of this review are to document capability applications in the health field and to explore the objectives and decision-rules of studies measuring capability more broadly. Relevant studies are identified using a literature search strategy known as "comprehensive pearl growing". All studies with a primary focus on health are assessed individually, whilst a summary narrative analysis of the full review examines the objectives of capability studies. Four distinct groups in the health field are identified in the review: (1) physical activity and diet; (2) patient empowerment; (3) multidimensional poverty and (4) assessments of health and social care interventions. Different approaches to applying mixed methods, selecting capability dimensions and weighting capabilities are found across studies. There is a noticeable non-reliance on health status as a sole indicator of capability in health. In terms of objectives of studies measuring capability, although there is a lack of consistency, an objective related to sufficiency of capabilities appeared most often in the studies found in this review. Even though one of the appeals of the capability perspective is its underspecified nature, this review highlights the challenge of finding a coherent alternative to more established approaches of evaluation.

Valuing inter-sectoral costs and benefits of interventions in the healthcare sector: methods for obtaining unit prices

INTRODUCTION

There is a lack of knowledge about methods for valuing health intervention-related costs and monetary benefits in the education and criminal justice sectors, also known as 'inter-sectoral costs and benefits' (ICBs). The objective of this study was to develop methods for obtaining unit prices for the valuation of ICBs.

METHODS

By conducting an exploratory literature study and expert interviews, several generic methods were developed. The methods' feasibility was assessed through application in the Netherlands. Results were validated in an expert meeting, which was attended by policy makers, public health experts, health economists and HTA-experts, and discussed at several international conferences and symposia.

RESULTS

The study resulted in four methods, including the opportunity cost method (A) and valuation using available unit prices (B), self-constructed unit prices (C) or hourly labor costs (D).

DISCUSSION

The methods developed can be used internationally and are valuable for the broad international field of HTA.

Outcomes in Economic Evaluations of Public Health Interventions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Health, Capabilities and Subjective Wellbeing

Public health programmes tend to be complex and may combine social strategies with aspects of empowerment, capacity building and knowledge across sectors. The nature of the programmes means that some effects are likely to occur outside the healthcare sector; this breadth impacts on the choice of health and non-health outcomes to measure and value in an economic evaluation. Employing conventional outcome measures in evaluations of public health has been questioned. There are concerns that such measures are too narrow, overlook important dimensions of programme effect and, thus, lead to such interventions being undervalued. This issue is of particular importance for low-income and middle-income countries, which face considerable budget constraints, yet deliver a large proportion of health activities within public health programmes. The need to develop outcome measures, which include broader measures of quality of life, has given impetus to the development of a variety of new, holistic approaches, including Sen's capability framework and measures of subjective wellbeing. Despite their promise, these approaches have not yet been widely applied, perhaps because they present significant methodological challenges. This paper outlines the methodological challenges for the identification and measurement of broader outcomes of public health interventions in economic evaluation in low-income and middle-income countries.