scholarly journals Do Advanced Therapies Have a Future in the Low- and Middle-Income Countries - The Case of Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Kamusheva ◽  
Adina Turcu-Stiolica ◽  
Jakub Gierczyński ◽  
Mihaela-Simona Subtirelu ◽  
Marcin Czech ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Clinical Effectiveness ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Advanced Therapies ◽  
To Come ◽  
Health Insurance Funds ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Introduction: The significant therapeutic potential of the advanced therapies (ATs) has predetermined the increased interests in their development mainly in the context of rare diseases most of which are genetically determined. However, there are still many challenges in front of the health insurance funds related to the cost-effectiveness and budget impact issues of these therapies. Our aim was to review and analyze the potential of low- and middle-income countries for health technology assessment (HTA) of advanced therapies focusing on Bulgaria, Romania and Poland as reference countries. A literature review of the existing good practices related to HTA of advanced therapies across the world and comparison with the national reality were performed. A list of challenges and issues from the point of view of the payer institution of all analyzed countries was performed. Pilot recommendations on how to overcome the barriers were created based on the existing practices and the potential of the national system.Discussion: 15 out of 80 articles identified in PubMed were found as applicable to the study scope as most of them were published in the period 2019–2021. Undoubtedly, the main challenges correspond to the high treatment costs, the uncertainty in clinical effectiveness, and poor HTA methodological approaches applicable for ATs worldwide. The issues identified for low and middle-income countries are similar having as well the lack of enough qualified health economists for the purposes of assessment and appraisal of HTA dossiers of the advanced therapies, lack of adequate existing separate financial programs for those therapies, and not preparedness of the health system and the society as a whole for such therapies.Conclusions: Despite the difficulties and challenges, the advanced therapies can be defined as a futuristic therapy for which great discoveries are yet to come. Therefore, each country should consider the implementation of reliable and nationally oriented programs for HTA and adequate financial coverage of these therapies.

The Cost of Procuring and Delivering COVID-19 Vaccines in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Model of Projected Resource Needs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Mustafa Diab ◽  
Armand Zimmerman ◽  
Siddharth Dixit ◽  
Wenhui Mao ◽  
Ipchita Bharali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Resource Needs ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Low And Middle Income

scholarly journals A Review of Practice and Implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) for Smallholder Agriculture

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anish Paul Antony ◽  
Kendra Leith ◽  
Craig Jolley ◽  
Jennifer Lu ◽  
Daniel J. Sweeney
Keyword(s):  
Internet Of Things ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Smallholder Farms ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Weather Patterns ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Current State ◽  
To Come ◽  
Low And Middle Income

In order to feed a growing global population projected to increase to 9 billion by 2050, food production will need to increase from its current level. The bulk of this growth will need to come from smallholder farmers who rely on generational knowledge in their farming practices and who live in locations where weather patterns and seasons are becoming less predictable due to climate change. The expansion of internet-connected devices is increasing opportunities to apply digital tools and services on smallholder farms, including monitoring soil and plants in horticulture, water quality in aquaculture, and ambient environments in greenhouses. In combination with other food security efforts, internet of things (IoT)-enabled precision smallholder farming has the potential to improve livelihoods and accelerate low- and middle-income countries’ journey to self-reliance. Using a combination of interviews, surveys and site visits to gather information, this research presents a review of the current state of the IoT for on-farm measurement, cases of successful IoT implementation in low- and middle-income countries, challenges associated with implementing the IoT on smallholder farms, and recommendations for practitioners.

scholarly journals Cost-effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in low- and middle-income countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Siedner ◽  
Christopher Alba ◽  
Kieran P. Fitzmaurice ◽  
Rebecca F. Gilbert ◽  
Justine A. Scott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Benefits And Costs ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Despite the advent of safe and highly effective COVID-19 vaccines, pervasive inequities in global distribution persist. In response, multinational partners have proposed programs to allocate vaccines to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet, there remains a substantial funding gap for such programs. Further, the optimal vaccine supply is unknown and the cost-effectiveness of investments into global vaccination programs has not been described. We used a validated COVID-19 simulation model8 to project the health benefits and costs of reaching 20%-70% vaccine coverage in 91 LMICs. We show that funding 20% vaccine coverage over one year among 91 LMICs would prevent 294 million infections and 2 million deaths, with 26 million years of life saved at a cost of US$6.4 billion, for an incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) of US$250/year of life saved (YLS). Increasing vaccine coverage up to 50% would prevent millions more infections and save hundreds of thousands of additional lives, with ICERs below US$8,000/YLS. Results were robust to variations in vaccine efficacy and hesitancy, but were more sensitive to assumptions about epidemic pace and vaccination costs. These results support efforts to fund vaccination programs in LMICs and complement arguments about health equity, economic benefits, and pandemic control11.

Cost and Cost-effectiveness of eLearning Interventions for Healthcare Workers in Low- and Middle-income Countries: a Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nonjabulo Gwala ◽  
Thembelihle Patricia Dlungwane ◽  
Sphamandla Nkambule ◽  
Tivani Mashamba-Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Worker Training ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract BackgroundIn recent years, the shift from traditional face-to-face teaching methods to eLearning methods has shown to improve professional training, particularly for the health workers in achieving necessary specialised worker training. However, there is a insufficient evidence on the costs and cost-effectiveness of designing and deploying eLearning interventions for healthcare workers in low- and middle-income countries.MethodsThe study protocol was developed and reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions will be used to guide the conduct of the proposed systematic review and meta-analysis. Systematic literature searches will be conducted using the EBSCOhost platform ( Academic Search Complete, ERIC, health source: nursing/academic edition, MEDLINE with Full Text, OpenDissertations), Google Scholar, and the following databases: Web of Science, PubMed and ProQuest databases, evaluating the cost and cost-effectiveness of e-learning interventions for healthcare workers in low- and middle-income countries. The searches will be open to peer-reviewed articles published in all languages and no restriction in publication year. We will further evaluate the cost-effectiveness by determining heterogeneity in the content, if feasible we will do a meta-analysis using Meta- Easy Excel software tools. We will use OR and 95% CIs as measures of effect for dichotomous outcomes. As for continuous outcomes, we will use standardised mean differences and 95% CIs. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach will be used to assess the certainty of the evidence across outcomes. PRISMA-P will be used to report the findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis.DiscussionThis systematic review target to deliver complete evidence of cost and the cost-effectiveness of eLearning interventions for healthcare worker training. The study will be disseminated through the publication of the manuscript and policy brief in an appropriate journal and shared with the relevant stakeholders through conference presentations, discussions and seminars.Protocol registrationPROSPERO ID: 271180

scholarly journals The cost of injury and trauma care in low- and middle-income countries: a review of economic evidence

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 795-808 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. K. H. Wesson ◽  
N. Boikhutso ◽  
A. M. Bachani ◽  
K. J. Hofman ◽  
A. A. Hyder
Keyword(s):  
Trauma Care ◽  
Economic Evidence ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Low And Middle Income
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