Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 415 in total

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  1. Kamarulzaman Ibrahim
    Many sampling methods have been suggested for estimating the population median. In the situation when the sampling units in a study can be easily ranked than quantified, the ranked set sampling methods are found to be more efficient and cost effective as compared to the simple random sampling. In this paper, the superiority of several ranked set sampling methods over the simple random sampling are illustrated through some simulation study. In addition, some new research topics under ranked set sampling are suggested.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  2. Patikorn C, Ismail AK, Zainal Abidin SA, Othman I, Chaiyakunapruk N, Taychakhoonavudh S
    PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2022 Nov;16(11):e0010915.
    PMID: 36383562 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010915
    BACKGROUND: Despite domestic production of antivenoms in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, not all victims with snakebite envenomings indicated for antivenom received the appropriate or adequate effective dose of antivenom due to insufficient supply and inadequate access to antivenoms. We aimed to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis to project the potential economic and clinical impact of improving access to antivenoms when all snakebite envenomings in ASEAN countries were hypothetically treated with geographically appropriate antivenoms.

    METHODOLOGY: Using a decision analytic model with input parameters from published literature, local data, and expert opinion, we projected the impact of "full access" (100%) to antivenom, compared to "current access" in five most impacted ASEAN countries, including Indonesia (10%), Philippines (26%), Vietnam (37%), Lao PDR (4%), and Myanmar (64%), from a societal perspective with a lifetime time horizon. Sensitivity analyses were performed.

    PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In base-case analyses, full access compared to current access to snake antivenom in the five countries resulted in a total of 9,362 deaths averted (-59%), 230,075 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted (-59%), and cost savings of 1.3 billion USD (-53%). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) of improving access to antivenom found higher outcomes but lower costs in all countries. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses of 1,000 iterations found that 98.1-100% of ICERs were cost-saving.

    CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Improving access to snake antivenom will result in cost-saving for ASEAN countries. Our findings emphasized the importance of further strengthening regional cooperation, investment, and funding to improve the situation of snakebite victims in ASEAN countries.

    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  3. Tang YM, Tan KT, Wong LP
    Water Sci Technol, 2023 Sep;88(6):1404-1416.
    PMID: 37768744 DOI: 10.2166/wst.2023.264
    Residual oil from palm oil mill effluent (POME) can be valorized into value-added products like biofuel. However, the complex structure in POME limits the full recovery of intracellular lipids. To address this challenge, low-frequency ultrasonication was used as a pre-treatment prior to oil recovery to improve the yield by liberating the entrapped oil via the cell disruption technique. This study focused on optimizing the ultrasound conditions (i.e., ultrasonication amplitude, ultrasonication duration, and probe immersion depth) to maximize the improvement of oil recovery yield using response surface methodology. The optimized conditions were 30.074% ultrasonication amplitude, 0.167 min ultrasonication duration, and 2 cm probe immersion depth. This resulted in an additional 42.50% improvement in oil recovery yield over non-ultrasonicated POME, which is in close agreement with the model prediction. Additionally, a cost-benefit analysis was incorporated to determine the feasibility of ultrasonication for enhancing oil recovery. The study also explored the synthesis of biodiesel from POME-recovered oil and characterized the fuel attributes according to American Society for Testing and Materials- and European Standards-prescribed procedures. The attributes of biodiesel produced from POME-recovered oil are comparable to those of palm-based biodiesel in Malaysia, demonstrating its potential as an alternative source for biodiesel production.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  4. Aidalina M, Khalsom S
    Med J Malaysia, 2023 May;78(3):411-420.
    PMID: 37271852
    INTRODUCTION: Countries must employ the most efficient way to vaccinate their population with the COVID-19 vaccines, given the vaccines' low availability compared to its demand. This review aims to identify and compare the different COVID-19 vaccine delivery strategies employed internationally in the recent year based on the economic evaluation findings and subsequently to recommend the most cost-effective strategy among them.

    MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic review was conducted by examining online databases (Scopus, MEDLINE and Science Direct) to identify health economic evaluation studies of COVID-19 vaccines. Critical appraisal of studies was conducted using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS).

    RESULTS: A total of nine studies were selected for analysis. Results show two strategies that were cost-effective compared to its comparators: mass vaccination program compared to no vaccination and universal vaccination approach compared to a risk-stratified vaccination approach. Several other strategies were found to increase the cost-consequences in the COVID-19 vaccination program: higher vaccine effectiveness, higher vaccination pace, increased vaccination coverage, and vaccine prioritisation for an at-risk population. The study findings were restricted to analysis based on the current available data.

    CONCLUSION: COVID-19 vaccination policies should aim for increased vaccine production as well as a rapid and extensive vaccine delivery system to ensure the maximal value of vaccination strategies. These results can aid policymakers in opting for the most efficient approach to vaccinating the population during this COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemic.

    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  5. Sohrabizadeh S, Shojaei F, Möckel L, Jahanmehr N, Zandi A, Soori H, et al.
    Disaster Med Public Health Prep, 2023 Jul 31;17:e442.
    PMID: 37519069 DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2023.102
    BACKGROUND: Economic evaluation approaches are needed to establish useful interventions for saving lives, preventing economic damage, and saving recovery costs at the time of disasters. Thus, the present study is aimed to identify the studies that applied economic evaluation approaches/methods for evaluating the economic costs of disasters.

    METHODS: A scoping review was conducted to find the eligible studies and perform a comprehensive data analysis.

    RESULTS: Based on the findings, cost-effectiveness analysis, economic loss assessment, modeling, or mapping, as well as behavioral economic analysis were used as the economic evaluation approaches/methods.

    CONCLUSIONS: Applying economic evaluation approaches to illustrate the economic costs of disasters is highly recommended. Managing competing priorities and optimizing resources allocations to the most cost-effective interventions can be achieved by cost-effectiveness analysis. The results of economic loss assessment can be used as the basis of disaster preparedness and response planning. Economic modeling can be applied to compare different interventions and anticipate socio-economic effects of disasters. A behavioral economic approach can be effective for decision-making in the field of disaster health management. Further research is needed to identify the advantages and limitations of each economic evaluation method/approach in the field of health in disasters. Such research can preferably be designed as the systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  6. Plumpton C, Hughes D
    Br J Dermatol, 2017 10;177(4):904-905.
    PMID: 29052888 DOI: 10.1111/bjd.15832
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis*
  7. Besar Sa'aid H, Mathew S, Richardson M, Bielecki JM, Sander B
    Syst Rev, 2020 01 08;9(1):6.
    PMID: 31915067 DOI: 10.1186/s13643-019-1257-4
    BACKGROUND: Equity in health has become an important policy agenda around the world, prompting health economists to advance methods to enable the inclusion of equity in economic evaluations. Among the methods that have been proposed to explicitly include equity are the weighting analysis, equity impact analysis, and equity trade-off analysis. This is a new development and a comprehensive overview of trends and concepts of health equity in economic evaluations is lacking. Thus, our objective is to map the current state of the literature with respect to how health equity is considered in economic evaluations of health interventions reported in the academic and gray literature.

    METHODS: We will conduct a scoping review to identify and map evidence on how health equity is considered in economic evaluations of health interventions. We will search relevant electronic, gray literature and key journals. We developed a search strategy using text words and Medical Subject Headings terms related to health equity and economic evaluations of health interventions. Articles retrieved will be uploaded to reference manager software for screening and data extraction. Two reviewers will independently screen the articles based on their titles and abstracts for inclusion, and then will independently screen a full text to ascertain final inclusion. A simple numerical count will be used to quantify the data and a content analysis will be conducted to present the narrative; that is, a thematic summary of the data collected.

    DISCUSSION: The results of this scoping review will provide a comprehensive overview of the current evidence on how health equity is considered in economic evaluations of health interventions and its research gaps. It will also provide key information to decision-makers and policy-makers to understand ways to include health equity into the prioritization of health interventions when aiming for a more equitable distribution of health resources.

    SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: This protocol was registered with Open Science Framework (OSF) Registry on August 14, 2019 (https://osf.io/9my2z/registrations).

    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis*
  8. Rahman S, Khan MT, Akib S, Din NB, Biswas SK, Shirazi SM
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:721357.
    PMID: 24701186 DOI: 10.1155/2014/721357
    Water is considered an everlasting free source that can be acquired naturally. Demand for processed supply water is growing higher due to an increasing population. Sustainable use of water could maintain a balance between its demand and supply. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the most traditional and sustainable method, which could be easily used for potable and nonpotable purposes both in residential and commercial buildings. This could reduce the pressure on processed supply water which enhances the green living. This paper ensures the sustainability of this system through assessing several water-quality parameters of collected rainwater with respect to allowable limits. A number of parameters were included in the analysis: pH, fecal coliform, total coliform, total dissolved solids, turbidity, NH3-N, lead, BOD5, and so forth. The study reveals that the overall quality of water is quite satisfactory as per Bangladesh standards. RWH system offers sufficient amount of water and energy savings through lower consumption. Moreover, considering the cost for installation and maintenance expenses, the system is effective and economical.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  9. Tosanguan J, Chaiyakunapruk N
    Addiction, 2016 Feb;111(2):340-50.
    PMID: 26360507 DOI: 10.1111/add.13166
    AIMS: Clinical smoking cessation interventions have been found typically to be highly cost-effective in many high-income countries. There is a need to extend this to low- and middle-income countries and undertake comparative analyses. This study aimed to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of a range of clinical smoking cessation interventions available in Thailand.
    METHODS: Using a Markov model, cost-effectiveness, in terms of cost per quality-adjusted life years (QALY) gained, from a range of interventions was estimated from a societal perspective for males and females aged 40 years who smoke at least 10 cigarettes per day. Interventions considered were: counselling in hospital, phone counselling (Quitline) and counselling plus nicotine gum, nicotine patch, bupropion, nortriptyline or varenicline. An annual discounting rate of 3% was used. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted and a cost-effectiveness acceptability curve (CEAC) plotted. Comparisons between interventions were conducted involving application of a 'decision rule' process.
    RESULTS: Counselling with varenicline and counselling with nortriptyline were found to be cost-effective. Hospital counselling only, nicotine patch and bupropion were dominated by Quitline, nortriptyline and varenicline, respectively, according to the decision rule. When compared with unassisted cessation, probabilistic sensitivity analysis revealed that all interventions have very high probabilities (95%) of being cost-saving except for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) patch (74%).
    CONCLUSION: In middle-income countries such as Thailand, nortriptyline and varenicline appear to provide cost-effective clinical options for supporting smokers to quit.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  10. Kunnath AP, Priyashini T
    Cureus, 2019 Jun 16;11(6):e4907.
    PMID: 31423385 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.4907
    Cancer is one of the greatest threats posed to society, necessitating appropriate diagnosis methods. Modern targeted therapies have greatly advanced the treatment of several solid tumors. The rational use of these agents requires optimal strategies for the rapid and accurate detection of targetable genomic alterations at the time of initial diagnosis and when acquired resistance to targeted therapies develops. Currently used techniques, such as tissue genotyping, have limitations such as difficulty in categorizing tumors, needing frequent sampling, and difficulty in obtaining samples. To overcome these issues, cost-effective and non-invasive methods are an urgent requisite, which would provide an insight into the real-time dynamics of cancers via circulating biomarkers. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), commonly termed "liquid biopsy," has emerged as a new, promising non-invasive tool to detect biomarkers in several cancers. The present review aimed to understand the biological concept of ctDNA and its potential as a biomarker in cancer studies and the clinical utility of this evolutionary diagnostic technique.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  11. Sivaraj Raman, Asrul Akmal Shafie, Sok, Ching Cheong
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Oral cancer screening programmes have been promoted to be an integral part of national-control strategies. However, such programmes are often not endorsed due to lack of evidence of its cost-effectiveness. This study aims to systematically review studies on the cost-effectiveness of oral cancer screening programmes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  12. Velo P, Zakaria A
    J Med Imaging Radiat Sci, 2017 Mar;48(1):39-42.
    PMID: 31047208 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmir.2016.10.010
    It is important to monitor the spatial resolution of a gamma camera on a weekly basis to acquire medical images with accurate quantitative information. A simple and fast computer program with a graphical user interface to analyze spatial resolution was successfully developed using MATLAB. The results were compared with those obtained from the standard processing system available in our gamma camera. The spatial resolution calculated using MATLAB was 1.24% lower than using the standard processing system. The developed program is cost effective, faster, and provides an easy platform for the physicists and technologists to analyze the spatial resolution based on the image of the line source.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  13. Teh KC, Foo ML, Ooi CW, Leng Chew IM
    Chemosphere, 2021 Mar;267:129277.
    PMID: 33385850 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.129277
    Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) have received great research attention since the last few decades due to their extraordinary properties and wide range of applications. In this study, a sustainable and cost-effective method for the synthesis of lignin-containing cellulose nanocrystals (LCNC) from oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) is presented. This method is able to retain the lignin in EFB and manifest the properties of lignin. The proposed synthesis process is simpler than the conventional method of producing lignin-coated CNC by first removing the lignin to synthesize CNC followed by the re-coating of lignin on the structure. The samples of LCNC were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and water contact angle analysis. In addition, by altering the acid concentration during acid hydrolysis process (53% - 60% H2SO4), both surface hydrophobicity (66.0° - 75.1°) and length of LCNC (467 nm-177 nm) can be altered wherein a higher concentration of acid resulted in a greater contact angle and a shorter length of LCNC. Cost and energy analysis deduced that the proposed synthesis method saved about 62% of the total material cost and 80% less energy as compared to the synthesis of lignin-coated CNC.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  14. Patikorn C, Leelavanich D, Ismail AK, Othman I, Taychakhoonavudh S, Chaiyakunapruk N
    J Glob Health, 2020 Dec;10(2):020415.
    PMID: 33312499 DOI: 10.7189/jogh.10.020415
    Background: Snakebite envenoming, a high priority Neglected Tropical Disease categorized by the World Health Organization (WHO), has been considered as a poverty-related disease that requires greater global awareness and collaboration to establish strategies that effectively decrease economic burdens. This prompts the need for a comprehensive review of the global literature that summarizes the global economic burden and a description of methodology details and their variation. This study aimed to systematically identify studies on cost of illness and economic evaluation associated with snakebites, summarize study findings, and evaluate their methods to provide recommendations for future studies.

    Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, and Econlit for articles published from inception to 31 July 2019. Original articles reporting costs or full economic evaluation related with snakebites were included. The methods and reporting quality were assessed. Costs were presented in US dollars (US$) in 2018.

    Results: Twenty-three cost of illness studies and three economic evaluation studies related to snakebites were included. Majority of studies (18/23, 78.26%) were conducted in Low- and Middle-income countries. Most cost of illness studies (82.61%) were done using hospital-based data of snakebite patients. While, four studies (17.39%) estimated costs of snakebites in communities. Five studies (21.74%) used societal perspective estimating both direct and indirect costs. Only one study (4.35%) undertook incidence-based approach to estimate lifetime costs. Only three studies (13.04%) estimated annual national economic burdens of snakebite which varied drastically from US$126 319 in Burkina Faso to US$13 802 550 in Sri Lanka. Quality of the cost of illness studies were varied and substantially under-reported. All three economic evaluation studies were cost-effectiveness analysis using decision tree model. Two of them assessed cost-effectiveness of having full access to antivenom and reported cost-effective findings.

    Conclusions: Economic burdens of snakebite were underestimated and not extensively studied. To accurately capture the economic burdens of snakebites at both the global and local level, hospital data should be collected along with community survey and economic burdens of snakebites should be estimated both in short-term and long-term period to incorporate the lifetime costs and productivity loss due to premature death, disability, and consequences of snakebites.

    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  15. Husniza H, Wan Nazaimoon WM
    Trop Biomed, 2006 Jun;23(1):109-15.
    PMID: 17041559 MyJurnal
    A modified micromethod for measuring urine iodine was successfully established and validated. The micromethod showed good correlation with the method used by several World Health Organization (WHO) collaborative laboratories (y = 0.9342x + 4.6213; r = 0.962; p = 0.01; n = 50). The micromethod also showed good agreement when compared to the reference WHO method. The sensitivity of the assay was 13.809 ug/L (n = 8) and mean recoveries were 114, 103 and 106% at concentrations of 30, 40 and 50 ug/L (n = 3) respectively. At iodine concentrations of 51 +/- 15.5, 108 +/- 32.4 and 149 +/- 38.6 ug/L, intra-assay coefficient of variations (CVs) were 13%, 7% and 5% respectively (n = 20), and inter-assay CVs were 10%, 15% and 7% respectively (n = 10). The assay showed good linearity plot (y = 1.0407x + 60.451; r = 0.993; n = 3).
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  16. Musa, M.N.
    MyJurnal
    Forty thousand children die each day in developing countries; which is approximately 28 dead children every minute. In many of these countries 25% of their children do not even live long enough to celebrate their fifth birthday. These mortality statistics represents a human tragedy affecting our very youngest. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has identified seven simple, practical and cost-effective activities to help save the lives of our children. The acronym GOBI FFF - Child Survival Strategy describes these 7 measures. The B in the acronym represents beastfeeding which is a pivotal and fundamental component of this child survival strategy.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  17. Al-Absi AA, Al-Sammarraie NA, Shaher Yafooz WM, Kang DK
    Biomed Res Int, 2018;2018:7501042.
    PMID: 30417014 DOI: 10.1155/2018/7501042
    MapReduce is the preferred cloud computing framework used in large data analysis and application processing. MapReduce frameworks currently in place suffer performance degradation due to the adoption of sequential processing approaches with little modification and thus exhibit underutilization of cloud resources. To overcome this drawback and reduce costs, we introduce a Parallel MapReduce (PMR) framework in this paper. We design a novel parallel execution strategy of Map and Reduce worker nodes. Our strategy enables further performance improvement and efficient utilization of cloud resources execution of Map and Reduce functions to utilize multicore environments available with computing nodes. We explain in detail makespan modeling and working principle of the PMR framework in the paper. Performance of PMR is compared with Hadoop through experiments considering three biomedical applications. Experiments conducted for BLAST, CAP3, and DeepBind biomedical applications report makespan time reduction of 38.92%, 18.00%, and 34.62% considering the PMR framework against Hadoop framework. Experiments' results prove that the PMR cloud computing platform proposed is robust, cost-effective, and scalable, which sufficiently supports diverse applications on public and private cloud platforms. Consequently, overall presentation and results indicate that there is good matching between theoretical makespan modeling presented and experimental values investigated.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  18. Lum KY, Oppong R, Kigozi J
    Asia Pac J Public Health, 2022 Nov;34(8):752-760.
    PMID: 36039503 DOI: 10.1177/10105395221122643
    The primary aim of this study is to assess the evidence on the cost-effectiveness of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) interventions with a focus on diabetes education, lifestyle modifications, surgical intervention, and pharmacological therapy in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A systematic review was conducted to identify economic evaluations of T2DM interventions published in LMICs for the period 2009-2019. A total of 25 studies were identified, with more than half of the studies being decision analytic models. Critical appraisal of the identified studies showed they were of good quality. Overall, the reported interventions in this review were very heterogeneous, which made them difficult to compare. However, there was strong evidence suggesting that diabetes education was a very cost-effective strategy in LMICs. Further evidence on affordability and budget impact of bariatric surgery is required before adopting the intervention. Metformin-based therapy showed promising evidence on cost-effectiveness and thus should be offered to T2DM patients in LMICs. On the contrary, the cost-effectiveness of lifestyle modifications remains understudied in LMICs. The findings in this review can inform policy guidance toward the inclusion of T2DM interventions in the benefit packages for Universal Health Coverage in LMICs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
  19. Daccache C, Rizk R, Dahham J, Evers SMAA, Hiligsmann M, Karam R
    Int J Technol Assess Health Care, 2021 Dec 21;38(1):e1.
    PMID: 34931601 DOI: 10.1017/S0266462321000659
    OBJECTIVES: To systematically identify the latest versions of official economic evaluation guidelines (EEGs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and explore similarities and differences in their content.

    METHODS: We conducted a systematic search in MEDLINE (Ovid), PubMed, EconLit, Embase (Ovid), the Cochrane Library, and the gray literature. Using a predefined checklist, we extracted the key features of economic evaluation and the general characteristics of EEGs. We conducted a comparative analysis, including a summary of similarities and differences across EEGs.

    RESULTS: Thirteen EEGs were identified, three pertaining to lower-middle-income countries (Bhutan, Egypt, and Indonesia), nine to upper-middle-income countries (Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Malaysia, Mexico, Russian Federation, South Africa, and Thailand), in addition to Mercosur, and none to low-income countries. The majority (n = 12) considered cost-utility analysis and health-related quality-of-life outcome. Half of the EEGs recommended the societal perspective, whereas the other half recommended the healthcare perspective. Equity considerations were required in ten EEGs. Most EEGs (n = 11) required the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio and recommended sensitivity analysis, as well as the presentation of a budget impact analysis (n = 10). Seven of the identified EEGs were mandatory for pharmacoeconomics submission. Methodological gaps, contradictions, and heterogeneity in terminologies used were identified within the guidelines.

    CONCLUSION: As the importance of health technology assessment is increasing in LMICs, this systematic review could help researchers explore key aspects of existing EEGs in LMICs and explore differences among them. It could also support international organizations in guiding LMICs to develop their own EEGs and improve the methodological framework of existing ones.

    Matched MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis
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