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January 01, 2003
Making Choices in Health: WHO Guide to Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
Editors: T. Tan-Torres Edejer, R. Baltussen,
T. Adam, R. Hutubessy, A. Acharya, D.B. Evans, C.J.L. Murray
ISBN: 9241546018
Publisher: World Health Organization
Several guidelines on cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) already exist. There are two reasons for producing another set. The first is that traditional or "incremental" CEA ignores the question of whether the current mix of interventions represents an efficient use of resources. Secondly, the resources required to evaluate the large number of interventions required to use CEA to identify opportunities to enhance efficiency are prohibitive. The approach of generalized CEA proposed in this Guide seeks to provide analysts with a method of assessing whether the current as well as proposed changes to the mix of interventions is efficient. It also seeks to maximize the generalizability of results across settings.
The main objective of this Guide is to provide policy-makers and researchers with a clear understanding of the concepts and benefits of generalized CEA. It provides guidance on how to undertake studies and how to interpret the results. Therefore, the main focus of the Guide is on those methodological issues which make generalized CEA different from traditional analysis in CEA. Attention is also paid to controversial issues in CEA in general and where methodological choices are required, such as the inclusion or exclusion of productivity costs. Furthermore, the Guide provides some detailed discussions on issues which are little debated in the literature but are nevertheless important, for example, the technical approach to the transferability of cost estimates across settings.
The Guide, in Part I, begins with a brief description of generalized CEA and how it relates to the two questions raised above. It then considers issues relating to study design, estimating costs, assessing health effects, discounting, uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, and reporting results. Detailed discussions of selected technical issues and applications are provided in a series of background papers, originally published in journals, but included in this book for easy reference in Part II.
The Guide and these papers are written in the context of the work of WHO-CHOICE: CHOosing Interventions that are Cost-Effective. WHO-CHOICE is assembling regional databases on the costs, impact on population health and cost-effectiveness of key health interventions using standardized methodology and tools. WHO-CHOICE tools on costing (CostIt), population effectiveness modeling (PopMod) and probabilistic uncertainty analysis (MCLeague) are included in the accompanying compact disc.
312pages
Swiss francs: 30.- / US $27.00
In developing countries: Sw.fr. 21.- / US $18.90
Order no. 1150542
Orders to: WHO
