Dataset Information

The Economic Cost of Communicable Disease Surveillance in Local Public Health Agencies.

ABSTRACT: We identify economic costs associated with communicable disease (CD) monitoring/surveillance in Colorado local public health agencies and identify possible economies of scale.Data were collected via a survey of local public health employees engaged in CD work. Survey respondents logged time spent on CD surveillance for 2-week periods in the spring of 2014 and fall of 2014. Forty-three of the 54 local public health agencies in Colorado participated.We used a microcosting approach. We estimated a statistical cost function using cost as a function of the number of reported investigable diseases during the matched 2-week period. We also controlled for other independent variables, including case mix, characteristics of the agency, the community, and services provided.Data were collected from a microcosting survey using time logs.Costs increased at a decreasing rate as cases increased, with both cases (? = 431.5, p < .001) and cases squared (? = -3.62, p = .05) statistically significant.The results of the model suggest economies of scale. Cost per unit is estimated to be one-third lower for high-volume agencies as compared to low-volume agencies. Cost savings could potentially be achieved if smaller agencies shared services.

SUBMITTER: Atherly A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5682125 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Economic Cost of Communicable Disease Surveillance in Local Public Health Agencies.

Atherly Adam A Whittington Melanie M VanRaemdonck Lisa L Lampe Sarah S

Health services research 20171201

<h4>Objective</h4>We identify economic costs associated with communicable disease (CD) monitoring/surveillance in Colorado local public health agencies and identify possible economies of scale.<h4>Data sources/study setting</h4>Data were collected via a survey of local public health employees engaged in CD work. Survey respondents logged time spent on CD surveillance for 2-week periods in the spring of 2014 and fall of 2014. Forty-three of the 54 local public health agencies in Colorado particip ...[more]

PMID: 29130264

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Project description:BackgroundThe number of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies increases. One component of HTAs are economic aspects. To incorporate economic aspects commonly economic evaluations are performed. A convergence of recommendations for methods of health economic evaluations between international HTA agencies would facilitate the adaption of results to different settings and avoid unnecessary expense. A first step in this direction is a detailed analysis of existing similarities and differences in recommendations to identify potential for harmonization. The objective is to provide an overview and comparison of the methodological recommendations of international HTA agencies for economic evaluations.MethodsThe webpages of 127 international HTA agencies were searched for guidelines containing recommendations on methods for the preparation of economic evaluations. Additionally, the HTA agencies were requested information on methods for economic evaluations. Recommendations of the included guidelines were extracted in standardized tables according to 13 methodological aspects. All process steps were performed independently by two reviewers.ResultsFinally 25 publications of 14 HTA agencies were included in the analysis. Methods for economic evaluations vary widely. The greatest accordance could be found for the type of analysis and comparator. Cost-utility-analyses or cost-effectiveness-analyses are recommended. The comparator should continuously be usual care. Again the greatest differences were shown in the recommendations on the measurement/sources of effects, discounting and in the analysis of sensitivity. The main difference regarding effects is the focus either on efficacy or effectiveness. Recommended discounting rates range from 1.5%-5% for effects and 3%-5% for costs whereby it is mostly recommended to use the same rate for costs and effects. With respect to the analysis of sensitivity the main difference is that oftentimes the probabilistic or deterministic approach is recommended exclusively. Methods for modeling are only described vaguely and mainly with the rational that the "appropriate model" depends on the decision problem. Considering all other aspects a comparison is challenging as recommendations vary regarding detailedness and addressed issues.ConclusionThere is a considerable unexplainable variance in recommendations. Further effort is needed to harmonize methods for preparing economic evaluations.

Project description:IntroductionDespite the public health system's critical role in non-communicable disease (NCD) surveillance in Vietnam, limited evidence exists on the implementation of NCD surveillance activities within these systems and the need for capacity building across different system levels to meet expected NCD surveillance goals. This study aimed to evaluate the status of and describe factors affecting the implementation of NCD surveillance activities and to identify the NCD surveillance capacity building needs of the public health system in Vietnam.MethodsWe used a mixed-methods approach in four provinces, conducting self-completed surveys of staff from six Preventive Medicine Institutes (PHI), 53 Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and 148 commune health stations (CHS), as well as 14 in-depth interviews and 22 focus group discussions at four PHI, four CDC, and eight district health centres and CHS.ResultsStudy findings highlighted that although Vietnam has a well-functioning NCD surveillance system, a number of quality issues related to NCD surveillance data were salient. Multifactorial reasons were identified for incomplete, unconfirmed, and inaccurate mortality data and current disease surveillance data. Data on NCD management and treatment were reported to be of better quality than data for screening, targeted treatment, and counselling communication. Main factors affected the effective implementation of NCD surveillance, namely lack of complete and specific guidelines for NCD surveillance, limitations in human resource capacity within NCD departments, and shortage of funding for NCD surveillance activities.ConclusionStudy findings provide practical strategies for strengthening health system capacity for NCD surveillance through developing policies, guidelines, and standardised tools to guide NCD surveillance and a road map for integrated NCD surveillance, developing training packages and manuals for all levels of the health system, and conducting utilisation-focused surveillance training programs.

Dataset Information

The Economic Cost of Communicable Disease Surveillance in Local Public Health Agencies.

Publications

The Economic Cost of Communicable Disease Surveillance in Local Public Health Agencies.

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