| 1. |
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| 2. |
- Ng, Nawi, 1974, et al.
(författare)
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Sustainable Behavior Change for Health Supported by Person-Tailored, Adaptive, Risk-Aware Digital Coaching in a Social Context: Study Protocol for the STAR-C Research Programme
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Public Health. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-2565. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: The Vasterbotten Intervention Programme (VIP) in the Region Vasterbotten Sweden is one of the very few cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programmes globally that is integrated into routine primary health care. The VIP has been shown as a cost-effective intervention to significantly reduce CVD mortality. However, little is known about the effectiveness of a digital solution to tailor risk communication strategies for supporting behavioral change. STAR-C aims to develop and evaluate a technical platform for personalized digital coaching that will support behavioral change aimed at preventing CVD. Methods: STAR-C employs a mixed-methods design in seven multidisciplinary projects, which runs in two phases during 2019-2024: (i) a formative intervention design and development phase, and (ii) an intervention implementation and evaluation phase. In the 1st phase, STAR-C will model the trajectories of health behaviors and their impact on CVDs (Project 1), evaluate the role of the social environment and social networks on behavioral change (Project 2) and assess whether and how social media facilitates the spread of health information beyond targeted individuals and stimulates public engagement in health promotion (Project 3). The findings will be utilized in carrying out the iterative, user-centered design, and development of a person-tailored digital coaching platform (Project 4). In the 2nd phase, STAR-C will evaluate the implementation of the coaching programme and its effectiveness for promoting behavioral change and the spreading of health information across social networks and via social media (Project 5). The cost-effectiveness (Project 6) and ethical issues (Project 7) related to the coaching programme intervention will be evaluated. Discussion: The STAR-C research programme will address the knowledge and practice research gaps in the use of information technologies in health promotion and non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention programmes in order to narrow the health inequality gaps. Ethics: STAR-C has received approval from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (Dnr. 2019-02924;2020-02985). Dissemination: The collaboration between Umea University and Region Vasterbotten will ensure the feasibility of STAR-C in the service delivery context. Results will be communicated with decision-makers at different levels of society, stakeholders from other regions and healthcare professional organizations, and through NGOs, local and social media platforms.
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| 3. |
- Sahlén, Klas Göran, 1957-, et al.
(författare)
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Preventive home visits improve Swedish seniors' coping strategies and health
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Preventive home visits (PHVs) promote health in old age. Research indicates that PHVs have a positive health effect on mortality, admissions to institutions, and falls. To understand how seniors perceive PHVs and how they cope with everyday life when PHVs have ended, five individual research interviews were conducted with seniors aged 79 – 88 years. Seniors with a low degree of control over their daily life appeared to gain more from PHVs than other seniors. To help seniors to increase control seems essential if they are to lead an independent and healthy life. PHVs can contribute to positive health development by improving seniors’ sense of control over their everyday lives and processing the used coping strategies. It is important that home visitors understand how the different coping strategies used by seniors affect health.
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| 4. |
- Sahlen, Klas Göran Sahlen, 1957-, et al.
(författare)
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Preventive home visits postpone mortality : a controlled trial with time-limited results
- 2006
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Ingår i: BMC Public Health. - : BIO Med Central Ldt. - 1471-2458. ; 6:220
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: There is a debate on whether preventive home visits to older people have any impact. This study was undertaken to investigate whether preventive home visits by professional health workers to older persons can postpone mortality in a Swedish context. Method: A controlled trial in a small community in the north of Sweden. Participants are healthy pensioners aged 75 years and over. 196 pensioners were selected as the intervention group and 346 as the control group. The intervention, two visits per year, lasted two years. Results: During the intervention, mortality was 27 per 1000 in the intervention group and 48 per 1000 in the control group. The incidence rate ratio for the control group IR2000–2001 was 1,79 (95%CI = 0,94–3,40). Analysing the data with an "on treatment approach" gave a significant result, 2,31 (95%CI = 1,07–5,02) After the trial the difference between the groups disappeared. Conclusion: Preventive home visits in a healthy older population can postpone mortality in a Swedish context if they are carried out by professional health-workers in a structured way. When the home visit programme ended the effect on mortality disappeared. These findings are dependent on contextual factors that make it difficult to form general policy recommendations.
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| 5. |
- Abdullahi, Mohamed Farah, et al.
(författare)
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Factors contributing to the uptake of childhood vaccination in Galkayo District, Puntland, Somalia
- 2020
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Ingår i: Global Health Action. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: As in many Sub-Saharan African countries, the health system in Somalia is not operating at the capacity needed to lift childhood vaccination coverage to ninety percent or above, as recommended by United Nations Children's Fund. Current national estimates of coverage for the six major vaccine preventable childhood diseases range from thirty to sixty percent. Infectious disease outbreaks continue to pose significant challenges for the country's health authorities.OBJECTIVE: This important qualitative study, conducted in Galkayo District, Somalia, investigates limiting factors associated with childhood vaccination uptake from the perspective of both communities and health care workers.METHODS: Qualitative information was collected through six focus group discussions with parents (n = 48) and five one-to-one interviews with health workers (n = 15) between March and May 2017, in three settings in the Galkayo District - Galkayo city, Bayra and Bacadwayn.RESULTS: From a health system perspective, the factors are: awareness raising, hard to reach areas, negative attitudes and perceived knowledge of health workers, inadequate supplies and infrastructure, and missed vaccination opportunities. From the perspective of individuals and communities the factors are: low trust in vaccines, misinterpretation of religious beliefs, vaccine refusals, Somalia's patriarchal system and rumours and misinformation. Parents mostly received immunization information from social mobilizers and health facilities. Fathers, who are typically family decision-makers, were poorly informed. The findings highlight the need for in-service training to enable health workers to improve communication with parents, particularly fathers, peripheral communities and local religious leaders.CONCLUSIONS: Enhancing knowledge and awareness of vaccination among parents is crucial. Fathers' involvement is lacking. This may be boosted by highlighting fathers' obligation to protect their children's health through vaccination. It is also important that men engage with the wider community in decision-making and advance towards the global vaccination targets.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Eklund, Katarina, et al.
(författare)
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A cost-utility analysis of multimodal pain rehabilitation in primary healthcare
- 2021
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Pain. - : De Gruyter Open. - 1877-8860 .- 1877-8879. ; 1, s. 48-58
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Multimodal rehabilitation programs (MMRPs) have been shown to be both cost-effective and an effective method for managing chronic pain in specialist care. However, while the vast majority of patients are treated in primary healthcare, MMRPs are rarely practiced in these settings. Limited time and resources for everyday activities alongside the complexity of chronic pain makes the management of chronic pain challenging in primary healthcare and the focus is on unimodal treatment. In order to increase the use of MMRPs incentives such as cost savings and improved health status in the patient group are needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of MMRPs for patients with chronic pain in primary healthcare in two Swedish regions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of MMRPs at one-year follow-up in comparison with care as usual for patients with chronic pain in primary healthcare in two Swedish regions.Methods: A cost-utility analysis was performed alongside a prospective cohort study comparing the MMRP with the alternative of continuing with care as usual. The health-related quality of life (HRQoL), using EQ5D, and working situation of 234 participants were assessed at baseline and one-year follow-up. The primary outcome was cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained while the secondary outcome was sickness absence. An extrapolation of costs was performed based on previous long-term studies in order to evaluate the effects of the MMRP over a five-year time period.Results: The mean (SD) EQ5D index, which measures HRQoL, increased significantly (p<0.001) from 0.34 (0.32) to 0.44 (0.32) at one-year follow-up. Sickness absence decreased by 15%. The cost-utility analysis showed a cost per QALY gained of 18 704 € at one-year follow-up.Conclusions: The results indicate that the MMRP significantly improves the HRQoL of the participants and is a cost-effective treatment for patients with chronic pain in primary healthcare when a newly suggested cost-effectiveness threshold of 19 734 € is implemented. The extrapolation indicates that considerable cost savings in terms of reduced loss of production and gained QALYs may be generated if the effects of the MMRP are maintained beyond one-year follow-up. The study demonstrates potential benefits of MMRPs in primary healthcare for both the patient with chronic pain and the society as a whole. The cost-effectiveness of MMRPs in primary healthcare has scarcely been studied and further long-term studies are needed in these settings.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Hambraeus, Johan, 1959-
(författare)
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Interventional pain management focused on zygapophysial joint pain : a health-economic evaluation
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The pain-system is a central mechanism in our life. Chronic pain is one of the major causes of impaired health-related quality of life according to the World Health Organization’s “Global Burden of Disease”-studies. Zygapophysial joint pain has been shown to account for the pain in 30% - 50% of patients with chronic pain. There are several well-established, evidence-based methods to treat zygapophysial joint pain in the cervical and lumbar regions.This thesis originates from this and starts by exploring whether the treatment of zygapophysial joint pain can improve health-related quality of life. This thesis describes methods for the diagnosis and treatment of zygapophysial joint pain in the thoracic region that can be applied to the treatment of all pain-foci localized to the zygapophysial joints. I show that the health-related quality of life was significantly improved after treatment, and that the clinical methods used for treating thoracic pain were similar to the methods that have been established previously for cervical and lumbar pain.In order to better understand the patients’ experiences we performed qualitative interviews with patients who underwent diagnostic tests and treatments. The overall theme revealed by these interviews was that of empowerment, in which the patients were empowered by the process of diagnostic tests and treatments.The next question was whether the method was cost-effective or not. In the first cost-effectiveness analysis, the patients served as their own controls and we evaluated the results against the limits set by the Swedish national board of health and welfare. The results showed that it was cost-effective in the moderate to low range.Finally, we compared the treatment to the “gold standard” for pain management in Sweden; i.e.pain rehabilitation. We mimicked a randomized controlled trial by using propensity score weighting to compare 254 patients agains 15,357 patients registered in the Swedish National Register of Pain Rehabilitation. The results showed that interventional pain management was cost-effective in the moderate (12 months after treatment) to low (≥24 months after) range whereas pain rehabilitation was in the very high range (after 12 months) and became cost-effective in the high range after 24 months of treatment. Currently, interventional pain management accounts for just 2% of all specialized pain management procedures in Sweden. If this could be increased to 25%, it may be possible to save 106 million SEK annually, while simultaneously gain 14 quality adjusted life years of health. If an interventional pain assessment is performed early in the process, treatable patients could be directed toward interventional treatment and away from interdisciplinary pain management programs, with the potential for further reductions in costs.
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| 10. |
- Hambraeus, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Patient perspectives on interventional pain management : thematic analysis of a qualitative interview study
- 2020
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Ingår i: BMC Health Services Research. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1472-6963. ; 20:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Chronic pain is a widespread problem that is usually approached by focusing on its psychological aspects or on trying to reduce the pain from the pain generator. Patients report that they feel responsible for their pain and that they are disempowered and stigmatized because of it. Here, we explored interventional pain management from the patient’s perspective to understand the process better.Methods: A purposive sample of 19 subjects was interviewed by an independent interviewer. The interviews were transcribed into text and thematic analysis was performed.Results: The subjects’ perceptions covered three key themes: themselves as objects; the caregivers, including the process of tests and retests, the encounters and interactions with professionals, and the availability of the caregivers; and finally the outcomes, including the results of the tests and treatments and how these inspired them to think of other people with pain. Linking these themes, the subjects reported something best described as “gained empowerment” during interventional pain management; they were feeling heard and seen, they gained knowledge that helped them understand their problem better, they could ask questions and receive answers, and they felt safe and listened to.Conclusions: Many of the themes evolved in relation to the subjects’ contact with the healthcare services they received, but when the themes were merged and structured into the model, a cohesive pattern of empowerment appeared. If empowerment is a major factor in the positive effects of interventional pain management, it is important to facilitate and not hinder empowerment.
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| 11. |
- Kyaw, T. L., et al.
(författare)
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Cost-effectiveness of Digital Tools for Behavior Change Interventions Among People With Chronic Diseases: Systematic Review
- 2023
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Ingår i: Interactive Journal of Medical Research. - : JMIR Publications Inc.. - 1929-073X. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cerebrovascular diseases, contribute to the most significant disease burden worldwide, negatively impacting patients and their family members. People with chronic diseases have common modifiable behavioral risk factors, including smoking, alcohol overconsumption, and unhealthy diets. Digital-based interventions for promoting and sustaining behavioral changes have flourished in recent years, although evidence of the cost-effectiveness of such interventions remains inconclusive. Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of digital health interventions for behavioral changes among people with chronic diseases. Methods: This systematic review evaluated published studies focused on the economic evaluation of digital tools for behavioral change among adults with chronic diseases. We followed the Population, Intervention, Comparator, and Outcomes framework to retrieve relevant publications from 4 databases: PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science. We used the Joanna Briggs Institute's criteria for economic evaluation and randomized controlled trials to assess the risk of bias in the studies. Two researchers independently screened, assessed the quality, and extracted data from the studies selected for the review. Results: In total, 20 studies published between 2003 and 2021 fulfilled our inclusion criteria. All the studies were conducted in high-income countries. These studies used telephones, SMS text messaging, mobile health apps, and websites as digital tools for behavior change communication. Most digital tools for interventions focused on diet and nutrition (17/20, 85%) and physical activity (16/20, 80%), and a few focused on smoking and tobacco control (8/20, 40%), alcohol reduction (6/20, 30%), and reduction of salt intake (3/20, 15%). Most studies (17/20, 85%) used the health care payer perspective for economic analysis, and only 15% (3/20) used the societal perspective. Only 45% (9/20) of studies conducted a full economic evaluation. Most studies (7/20, 35%) based on full economic evaluation and 30% (6/20) of studies based on partial economic evaluation found digital health interventions to be cost-effective and cost-saving. Most studies had short follow-ups and failed to include proper indicators for economic evaluation, such as quality-adjusted life-years, disability-adjusted life-years, lack of discounting, and sensitivity analysis. Conclusions: Digital health interventions for behavioral change among people with chronic diseases are cost-effective in high-income settings and can therefore be scaled up. Similar evidence from low-and middle-income countries based on properly designed studies for cost-effectiveness evaluation is urgently required. A full economic evaluation is needed to provide robust evidence for the cost-effectiveness of digital health interventions and their potential for scaling up in a wider population. Future studies should follow the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommendations to take a societal perspective, apply discounting, address parameter uncertainty, and apply a lifelong time horizon.(Interact J Med Res 2023;12:e42396) doi: 10.2196/42396
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
- Martinsson, Lisa, et al.
(författare)
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Translation and cultural adaptation of the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale for Dementia (IPOS-Dem) to Swedish
- 2022
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Ingår i: BMC Nursing. - : BioMed Central. - 1472-6955. ; 21:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Systematic assessment tools are helpful for improving and maintaining quality of care. The Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS) was developed for systematic assessment of persons receiving palliative care in a patient-centred way. A version of this tool, the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale for Dementia (IPOS-Dem), has been developed for patients with dementia. The aim of this study was to develop a version of the IPOS-Dem translated into Swedish and culturally adapted to a Swedish care setting.Methods: Forward and backward translations from English into Swedish were performed to develop a first Swedish version. This version was modified for clarity and cultural adaptation based on 13 interviews with nurses and assistant nurses working in geriatrics and dementia care homes.Results: The interview process revealed several issues with the first version that emerged from the translation process. This was changed and further tested to work well, resulting in the final version of the Swedish IPOS-Dem. The tool was perceived as clinically useful but somewhat overlapping with already implemented tools for assessing behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia.Conclusion: The Swedish version of the IPOS-Dem can now be used as a tool for assessing palliative care related problems and concerns for persons with advanced dementia. Future studies can focus on implementation as well as examining validity and reliability of this tool in a Swedish context.
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| 14. |
- Mkoba, Egfrid Michael, et al.
(författare)
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The characteristics of stroke and its rehabilitation in Northern Tanzania
- 2021
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Ingår i: Global Health Action. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Stroke causes great suffering and severe disability worldwide, and rehabilitation following a stroke seeks to restore lost functions. The extent to which stroke patients get access to rehabilitation in Tanzania is not well estimated, and drawing a current picture of the rehabilitation services for these persons is the first step in developing a more effective rehabilitation model in the country. Objective: The objective of this study was to establish the characteristics of stroke and its rehabilitation at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), a consultant referral hospital in northern Tanzania.Methods: This was a records-based descriptive study in which demographic, clinical, and rehabilitation information of stroke patients admitted to the KCMC between January 2012 and December 2015 was collected and audited. The means, percentages, and proportions were used to summarise the demographic, clinical, and rehabilitation patterns using SPSS version 24.0 software. The chi-squared statistic was used to examine the relationships between categorical variables, and a p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Of the 17,975 patients admitted to the KCMC during the period of the study, 753 (4.2%) had suffered a stroke, with a mean age of 68.8 ± 16.4 years. The predominant cause of stroke was hypertension, which accounted for 546 (72.5%) patients. A total of 357 (47.4%) patients had various forms of rehabilitation during the admission to hospital. Following a discharge home 240 (31.9%) patients did not return to the hospital for the continuation of rehabilitation.Conclusion: Stroke patients at the KCMC lack access to rehabilitation therapies. Insufficient access to rehabilitation therapies may warrant the need to explore alternative approaches such as tele-rehabilitation technologies in Tanzania.
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| 15. |
- Moshi, Haleluya I., et al.
(författare)
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A one-year prospective study on the occurrence of traumatic spinal cord injury and clinical complications during hospitalisation in north-east Tanzania
- 2021
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Ingår i: African Health Sciences. - : African Health Sciences. - 1680-6905 .- 1729-0503. ; 21:2, s. 788-794
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Clinical complications following spinal cord injury are a big concern as they account for increased cost of rehabilitation, poor outcomes and mortality.Objective: To describe the occurrence of traumatic spinal cord injury and associated clinical complications during hospi- talisation in North-East Tanzania.Method: Prospective data were collected from all persons with traumatic spinal cord injury from North-East Tanzania from their admission to discharge from the hospital. Neurological progress and complications were assessed routinely. Data were captured using a form that incorporated the components of the core data set of the International Spinal Cord Society and were analysed descriptively.Results: A total of 87 persons with traumatic spinal cord injury were admitted at the hospital with a mean age of 40.2 ± 15.8 years. There were 69 (79.3%) males, and 58 (66.6%) of the injuries resulted from falls. Spasms (41 patients, 47.1%), neuropathic pain (40 patients, 46%), and constipation (35 patients, 40.2%) were the most commonly reported complications. The annual incidence rate in the Kilimanjaro region was at least 38 cases per million.Conclusion: The incidence of traumatic spinal cord injury in the Kilimanjaro region is relatively high. In-hospital compli- cations are prevalent and are worth addressing for successful rehabilitation.
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| 16. |
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| 17. |
- Moshi, Haleluya, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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Quality of life of persons with traumatic spinal cord injury in rural Kilimanjaro, Tanzania : a community survey
- 2021
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Ingår i: Disability and Rehabilitation. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0963-8288 .- 1464-5165. ; 43:20, s. 2838-2845
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: To describe the quality of life of persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) in a rural area of a low-income country.Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study in which snowballing was used to identify persons with TSCI in their homes. A Kiswahili version of the short version of the World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analyzed descriptively and independent samples t-tests were used to calculate the difference in the mean scores between groups.Results: Eighty persons with TSCI with a mean age of 42.29 +/- 11.4 years were identified, 68.8% of whom were males. The highest scoring domains were psychological (12.76 +/- 2.55) and social relationships (12.62 +/- 2.95). The lowest scores were for physical (11.48 +/- 2.74) and environment (9.59 +/- 2.68) domains. Significantly higher scores were associated with younger age in: physical (0.05), social relationships (0.01), and environment (0.02) domains (p value < 0.05).Conclusions: Persons with TSCI in the Kilimanjaro rural area registered a relatively low quality of life in which the most affected domains are physical health and environment.
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| 18. |
- Moshi, Haleluya, 1978-
(författare)
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Traumatic spinal cord injuries in rural Tanzania : occurrences, clinical outcomes and life situations of persons living in the Kilimanjaro region
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) is one of the most troubling health condition as it leaves the inflicted individual with irreversible sensorimotor impairment. Rural areas of Tanzania and other low income countries are characterized by inadequate emergency, medical and rehabilitation services and are mostly inaccessible by wheelchair. The studies in this thesis aimed to create an understanding of the epidemiology, clinical outcomes of SCI, as well as living with the condition, in a typical rural area of a low-income country.Methods: Four studies were conducted with two being hospital-based and two carried out in the community. A retrospective study assessed the magnitude, etiology and clinical outcomes for past five years (2010-2014) by using patients’ data from archives of the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC). In the same setting, another study assessed the same variables prospectively for one year (2017) with greater focus being placed on classifying severity of injury and health complications. In the community, a qualitative study was used to conceptualize coping resources for persons with SCI in one study, while in another, the WHOQoL-BREF questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life of these persons quantitatively.Results: The retrospective study obtained 213 full patient records in which the leading cause of injury was falls 104(48.8%) followed by road traffic accidents 73(34.3%). The annual incidence for the Kilimanjaro region (population 1,640,087) was estimated at more than 26 persons per million for this period. The most documented complications were pressure ulcers at 19.7%, respiratory complications at 15.0% and multiple complications at 13.1%. The in-hospital mortality rate was 24.4%. The prospective study involved 87 persons who sustained SCI in 2017, of whom 66.7% were due to falls (especially from a position of height), 28.7% to road traffic accidents and 4.6% from other causes. The annual incidence rate based on Kilimanjaro region (population 1,910, 555) was estimated at more than 38 new cases per million. The majority of the injuries occurred at the cervical 56.3% and lumbar 31% levels. Most of the injuries 59.8% were incomplete while 40.2% were complete. The questionnaire study reports that the majority of the participants rated their quality of lives as neither poor nor good 39(48.8%) and poor life 20(25%). The mean score for domains of QoL showed the highest score in social relations and psychological well-being, while the lowest scores were rated for physical health and environment. There was no significant mean difference in the score of domains based on sociodemographic characteristics, except for physical environment in which quadriplegia scored lower than paraplegia (p = 0.038). The qualitative interview study identified acceptance as the core category for identification and utilization of both internal and external coping resources for persons with TSCI in the community. Internal coping resources related to personal factors and external coping resources related to family and community were found to be important.Conclusion: Most of the traumatic SCI in Kilimanjaro rural area are due to falls, followed by road traffic accidents. SCI-related complications are common and hospital mortality is still high. Persons with SCI faces various challenges pertaining to health and accessibility that affect them physically, socially and environmentally. Establishment of emergency and critical care services, trauma registries, community-based rehabilitation and population-based surveys would address major issues pertaining to TSCI in these areas.
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| 19. |
- Norström, Fredrik, et al.
(författare)
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Does unemployment contribute to poorer health-related quality of life among Swedish adults?
- 2019
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Ingår i: BMC Public Health. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2458. ; 19, s. 1-12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that unemployment has negative impacts on various aspects of health. However, little is known about the effect of unemployment on health-related quality of life. Our aim was to examine how unemployment impacts upon health-related quality of life among Swedish adults, and to investigate these effects on population subgroups defined by education level, marital status, previous health, and gender.METHODS: As part of a cross-sectional study, a questionnaire was sent to 2500 randomly selected individuals aged 20 to 64 years living in Sweden in 2016. The questionnaire included the EuroQol 5 dimensions (EQ-5D) instrument and was answered by 967 individuals (39%). Quality-adjusted life year (QALY) scores were derived from the EQ-5D responses. Of the respondents, 113 were unemployed and 724 were employed. We used inverse probability-weighted propensity scores in our analyses to estimate a risk difference. Gender, age, education level, marital status, and previous health were used as covariates in our analyses.RESULTS: There was a statistically significant lower QALY score by 0.096 points for the unemployed compared to the employed. There were also statistically significant more problems due to unemployment for usual activities (6.6% more), anxiety/depression (23.6% more), and EQ-5D's Visual Analogue Scale (7.5 point lower score). Grouped analyses indicated a larger negative health effect from becoming unemployed for men, those who are married, and young individuals.CONCLUSIONS: In our study, we show that the health deterioration from unemployment is likely to be large, as our estimated effect implies an almost 10% worse health (in absolute terms) from being unemployed compared to being employed. This further highlights that unemployment is a public health problem that needs more focus. Our study also raises further demands for determining for whom unemployment has the most negative effects and thus suggesting groups of individuals who are in greatest need for labor market measures.
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| 20. |
- Norström, Fredrik, et al.
(författare)
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How does the distribution of work tasks among home care personnel relate to workload and health-related quality of life?
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. - : Springer. - 0340-0131 .- 1432-1246. ; 96:8, s. 1167-1181
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The work for Swedish home care workers is challenging with a variety of support and healthcare tasks for home care recipients. The aim of our study is to investigate how these tasks relate to workload and health-related quality of life among home care workers in Sweden. We also explore staff preferences concerning work distribution.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 16 municipalities in Northern Sweden. Questionnaires with validated instruments to measure workload (QPSNordic) and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D), were responded by 1154 (~ 58%) of approximately 2000 invited home care workers. EQ-5D responses were translated to a Quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) score. For 15 different work task areas, personnel provided their present and preferred allocation. Absolute risk differences were calculated with propensity score weighting.Results: Statistically significantly more or fewer problems differences were observed for: higher workloads were higher among those whose daily work included responding to personal alarms (8.4%), running errands outside the home (14%), rehabilitation (13%) and help with bathing (11%). Apart from rehabilitation, there were statistically significantly more (8–10%) problems with anxiety/depression for these tasks. QALY scores were lower among those whose daily work included food distribution (0.034) and higher for daily meal preparation (0.031), both explained by pain/discomfort dimension. Personnel preferred to, amongst other, spend less time responding to personal alarms, and more time providing social support.Conclusion: The redistribution of work tasks is likely to reduce workload and improve the health of personnel. Our study provides an understanding of how such redistribution could be undertaken.
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| 21. |
- Sahlén, Klas-Göran, 1957-
(författare)
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An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure : preventive home visits among healthy seniors
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to contribute to existing knowledge. If the knowledge is not useful in building society it has limited value. In order to be a tool for decision-makers, Preventive Home Visits (PHVs) are described and discussed according to a realist synthesis approach. The premise of this approach is that a single trial cannot tell the whole story and that understanding theoutcome pattern is much more important than seeking regularities in results across different trials. In order to understand the o utcome pattern, the PHV strategy in Nordmaling is examined against other trials and scientific work, and also in grey literature such as reports and workingpapers. An increasing population of seniors means that resources for health and elderly care are being scrutinised in order to achieve the best possible health for the money invested. PHVs represent one strategy that attempts to promote health among independent seniors. This thesis is a multidisciplinary study aiming to gain knowledge about the effects of PHVs and to understand the mechanisms of importance when implementing this particular strategy. The point of departure is a study conducted in Nordmaling in the north of Sweden among healthy seniors aged 75 years and over. The study, conducted as a controlled trial during 2000 and 2001, showed a decrease in mortality as well as the utilisation of care, and an improvement in indicators of perceived health. Cost analyses showed significant savings for the municipality following a reduction in the use of home help. These and other savings combined with costs of the intervention were related to saved life years and used to conduct health economic analyses. Medical and social records from the primary health centre and the municipality, along with official registers provided information for modelling health economic analyses from a lifetime perspective. Results showed that the costs of PHVs were less than 10 000 Euros per gained life year, against an acceptable level of cost effectiveness of 50 000 Euros. Using a shorter time perspective, the result was even more favourable for PHVs. It was evident that the time window used in the analyses, the normative choice of including future healthcare costs or not, and how to handle the value of the seniors’ production were important factors in determining the results. Two years after the trial, in-depth interviews were conducted with 5 seniors who had experienced PHVs, in order to gain understanding of the outcome of the PHV trial in Nordmaling. Participants were selected with respect to their health and how they responded to advice given during the PHV trial. Grounded Theory was used to analyse the interviews. Seniors who used autonomous coping strategies in everyday life gained less from PHVs than other seniors. All participants could benefit from PHVs, but in order for these to be successful it was important for the home visitor to be professional and to understand how the different coping strategies of seniors worked. Taken together, the different aspects of this study raised normative questions that are discussed in this thesis. One, whether the production of seniors has any monetary value in health economic analyses conducted from a societal perspective, was addressed in a smaller diary study where 23 seniors were asked to keep a diary in order to identify everything they did over a oneweek period. It was evident that most of the respondents “produced” a lot, however the production of seniors is rarely taken into account in health economic analyses. The concept of “senior production” includes both the market value of what seniors do, as well as the value of what society can avoid doing if the seniors are independent and healthy.
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| 22. |
- Sahlen, Klas-Göran, 1957-, et al.
(författare)
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Measuring the value of older people's production : a diary study
- 2012
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Ingår i: BMC Health Services Research. - : BioMed Central. - 1472-6963.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The productive capacity of retired people is usually not valued. However, some retirees produce much more than we might expect. This diary-based study identifies the activities of older people, and suggests some value mechanisms. One question raised is whether it is possible to scale up this diary study into a larger representative study.Methods: Diaries kept for one week were collected among 23 older people in the north of Sweden. The texts were analysed with a grounded theory approach; an interplay between ideas and empirical data.Results: Some productive activities of older people must be valued as the opportunity cost of time or according to the market value, and others must be valued with the replacement cost. In order to make the choice between these methods, it is important to consider the societal entitlement. When there is no societal entitlement, the first or second method must be used; and when it exists, the third must be used.Conclusions: An explicit investigation of the content of the entitlement is needed to justify the choice of valuation method for each activity. In a questionnaire addressing older people's production, each question must be adjusted to the type of production. In order to fully understand this production, it is important to consider the degree of free choice to conduct an activity, as well as health-related quality of life.
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| 23. |
- Sahlen, Klas Göran, 1957-, et al.
(författare)
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Preventive home visits to older people are cost-effective
- 2008
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 36, s. 265-271
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: There is ongoing debate over the effectiveness of preventive home visits (PHVs) for the elderly. A municipality in the north of Sweden carried out a controlled trial of such visits. Healthy seniors aged 75 years and over received two PHVs per year over 2 years. The aim of this study was to do a cost utility analysis of the intervention. Methods: The intervention group (n=196) was compared with a control group (n=346), and a cost utility analysis was performed. The analysis was carried out with three different time perspectives. Data were sourced from official documents and medical and social records. Results: From a societal perspective, using a time period of 4 years, the analysis of PHVs to healthy seniors showed net savings. When including estimated future costs for health and elderly care during gained life years, the result changed from a net saving to a cost of Euro 200,000. A lifetime perspective also resulted in net savings if the costs of future health and elderly care were not included in the analysis. In this case, the total costs rose to approximately Euro 900,000. The cost could also be expressed as Euro 14,200 per quality-adjusted life year gained if future costs for elderly care and healthcare were included. Conclusions: PHVs represent a cost-effective intervention in this setting. The costs are justified by the outcomes.
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| 24. |
- Sjöberg, André, et al.
(författare)
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The burden of high workload on the health-related quality of life among home care workers in Northern Sweden
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. - : Springer. - 0340-0131 .- 1432-1246. ; 93:6, s. 747-764
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have shown that high workload affects health negatively. However, studies are lacking among home care workers. The aim of this study is to examine the burden of perceived workload on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among home care workers and to determine whether psychosocial factors modify such a relationship.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in which 1162 (58% response rate) home care workers participated. The psychosocial factors were measured by QPSnordic. HRQoL was measured by EuroQol 5 dimensions, from which responses were translated into quality-adjusted life year scores (QALY). Propensity scores were used with absolute risk differences (RD). Stratified analysis was used to test the buffer hypothesis of the demand-control-support model.RESULTS: Personnel with a high workload had a statistically significant 0.035 lower QALY than personnel with a normal workload. This difference was also statistically significant for the Visual Analogue Scale (RD 5.0) and the mobility (RD 0.033) and anxiety/depression scales (RD 0.20) dimensions of EQ-5D. For QALY, the effect of a high workload compared to a normal workload was higher, with low (RD 0.045, significant) compared with high (RD 0.015, non-significant) social support; while it was similar, and non-significant results, for low and high control.CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that lowered work burden would be beneficial for home care personnel. Furthermore, our results suggest that interventions aimed at increasing social support could reduce work-related illness.
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| 25. |
- Sun, Sun, et al.
(författare)
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Estimating a social value set for EQ-5D-5L in Sweden
- 2022
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Ingår i: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1477-7525. ; 20:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The study aims to elicit a value set based on the EQ-VT for the EQ-5D-5L that can be used to support decision-making in Sweden.Methods: Participants were recruited from the general population based on age, sex and urban/rural area quota sampling from five regions across Sweden. In total, 785 interviews were conducted from February 2020 to April 2021 using the EQVT 2.1 protocol, and both composite time trade-off (c-TTO) and discrete choice experiments (DCE) were used to elicit health preferences. A variety of models have been tested for the c-TTO data (generalized least square, Tobit, heteroskedastic models) and DCE data (conditional logit model), as well as the combined c-TTO and DCE data (hybrid modelling). Model selection was based on theoretical considerations, logical consistency of the parameter estimates, and significance of the parameters (p = 0.05). Model goodness-of-fit was assessed by AIC and BIC, and prediction accuracy was assessed in terms of mean absolute error. The predictions for the EQ-5D-5L health states between models were compared using scatterplots.Results: The preferred model for generating the value set was the heteroskedastic model based on the c-TTO data, with the health utilities ranging from -0.31 for the worst (55,555) to 1 for the best (11111) EQ-5D-5L states.Conclusion: This is the first c-TTO-based social value set for the EQ-5D-5L in Sweden. It can be used to support the health utility estimation in economic evaluations for reimbursement decision making in Sweden.
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| 26. |
- Sun, Sun, et al.
(författare)
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Is ultra-hypo-fractionated radiotherapy more cost-effective relative to conventional fractionation in treatment of prostate cancer? A cost–utility analysis alongside a randomized HYPO-RT-PC trial
- 2023
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Ingår i: European Journal of Health Economics. - : Springer. - 1618-7598 .- 1618-7601. ; 24, s. 237-246
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Economic evidence for comparing low fraction with ultra-hypo fractionated (UHF) radiation therapy in the treatment of intermediate-to-high-risk prostate cancer (PC) is lacking, especially in Europe. This study presents an economic evaluation performed alongside an ongoing clinical trial.Aim: To investigate up to 6 years’ follow-up whether conventional fractionation (CF, 78.0 Gy in 39 fractions, 5 days per week for 8 weeks) is more cost-effective than UHF (42.7 Gy in 7 fractions, 3 days per week for 2.5 weeks inclusive of 2 weekends) radiotherapy in treatment for patients with intermediate-to-high-risk PC.Method: HYPO-RT-PC trial is an open-label, randomized, multicenter (10 in Sweden; 2 in Denmark) phase-3 trial. Patients from Sweden (CF 434; UHF 445) were included in this study. The trial database was linked to the National Patient Registry (NPR). Costs for inpatient/non-primary outpatient care for each episode were retrieved. For calculating Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire was mapped to the EQ-5D-3L index. Multivariable regression analyses were used to compare the difference in costs and QALYs, adjusting for age and baseline costs, and health status. The confidence interval for the difference in costs, QALYs and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio effectiveness ratio (ICER) was estimated by the bootstrap percentile method.Results: No significant differences were found in ICER between the two arms after 6 years of follow-up.Conclusion: The current study did not support that the ultra-hypo-fractionated treatment was more cost-effective than the conventional fraction treatment up to the sixth year of the trial.
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| 27. |
- Sun, Sun, et al.
(författare)
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Mapping the obesity problems scale to the SF-6D : results based on the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg)
- 2023
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Ingår i: European Journal of Health Economics. - : Springer. - 1618-7598 .- 1618-7601. ; 24:2, s. 279-292
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Obesity Problem Scale (OP) is a widely applied instrument for obesity, however currently calculation of health utility based on OP is not feasible as it is not a preference-based measure. Using data from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg), we sought to develop a mapping algorithm to estimate SF-6D utility from OP. Furthermore, to test whether the mapping algorithm is robust to the effect of surgery.METHOD: The source data SOReg (n = 36 706) contains both OP and SF-36, collected at pre-surgery and at 1, 2 and 5 years post-surgery. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS), beta-regression and Tobit regression were used to predict the SF-6D utility for different time points respectively. Besides the main effect model, different combinations of patient characteristics (age, sex, Body Mass Index, obesity-related comorbidities) were tested. Both internal validation (split-sample validation) and validation with testing the mapping algorithm on a dataset from other time points were carried out. A multi-stage model selection process was used, accessing model consistency, parsimony, goodness-of-fit and predictive accuracy. Models with the best performance were selected as the final mapping algorithms.RESULTS: The final mapping algorithms were based on OP summary score using OLS models, for pre- and post-surgery respectively. Mapping algorithms with different combinations of patients' characteristics were presented, to satisfy the user with a different need.CONCLUSION: This study makes available algorithms enabling crosswalk from the Obesity Problem Scale to the SF-6D utility. Different mapping algorithms are recommended for the mapping of pre- and post-operative data.
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| 28. |
- Sun, Sun, et al.
(författare)
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Prediction of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) after bariatric surgery using regularized linear regression models : results from a Swedish nationwide quality register
- 2023
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Ingår i: Obesity Surgery. - : Springer. - 0960-8923 .- 1708-0428. ; 33:8, s. 2452-2462
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: To investigate whether the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) of the patients who underwent bariatric surgery could be predicted using their baseline information.MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients who received bariatric surgery in Sweden between January 1, 2011 and March 31, 2019 were obtained from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg). Baseline information included patients' sociodemographic characteristics, details regarding the procedure, and postsurgical conditions. QALYs were assessed by the SF-6D at follow-up years 1 and 2. The general and regularized linear regression models were used to predict postoperative QALYs.RESULTS: All regression models demonstrated satisfactory and comparable performance in predicting QALYs at follow-up year 1, with R2 and relative root mean squared error (RRMSE) values of about 0.57 and 9.6%, respectively. The performance of the general linear regression model increased with the number of variables; however, the improvement was ignorable when the number of variables was more than 30 and 50 for follow-up years 1 and 2, respectively. Although minor L1 and L2 regularization provided better prediction ability, the improvement was negligible when the number of variables was more than 20. All the models showed poorer performance for predicting QALYs at follow-up year 2.CONCLUSIONS: Patient characteristics before bariatric surgery including health related quality of life, age, sex, BMI, postoperative complications within six weeks, and smoking status, may be adequate in predicting their postoperative QALYs after one year. Understanding these factors can help identify individuals who require more personalized and intensive support before, during, and after surgery.
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| 29. |
- Sun, Sun, et al.
(författare)
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Sequential Multiple Imputation for Real-World Health-Related Quality of Life Missing Data after Bariatric Surgery
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 19:17
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- One of the main challenges for the successful implementation of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessments is missing data. The current study examined the feasibility and validity of a sequential multiple imputation (MI) method to deal with missing values in the longitudinal HRQoL data from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry. All patients in the SOReg who received bariatric surgery between 1 January 2011 and 31 March 2019 (n = 47,653) were included for the descriptive analysis and missingness pattern exploration. The patients who had completed the short-form 36 (SF-36) at baseline (year 0), and one-, two-, and five-year follow-ups were included (n = 3957) for the missingness pattern simulation and the sequential MI analysis. Eleven items of the SF-36 were selected to create the six domains of SF-6D, and the SF-6D utility index of each patient was calculated accordingly. The multiply-imputed variables in previous year were used as input to impute the missing values in later years. The performance of the sequential MI was evaluated by comparing the actual values with the imputed values of the selected SF-36 items and index at all four time points. At the baseline and year 1, where missing proportions were about 20% and 40%, respectively, there were no statistically significant discrepancies between the distributions of the actual and imputed responses (all p-values > 0.05). In year 2, where the missing proportion was about 60%, distributions of the actual and imputed responses were consistent in 9 of the 11 SF-36 items. However, in year 5, where the missing proportion was about 80%, no consistency was found between the actual and imputed responses in any of the SF-36 items. Relatively high missing proportions in HRQoL data are common in clinical registries, which brings a challenge to analyzing the HRQoL of longitudinal cohorts. The experimental sequential multiple imputation method adopted in the current study might be an ideal strategy for handling missing data (even though the follow-up survey had a missing proportion of 60%), avoiding significant information waste in the multivariate analysis. However, the imputations for data with higher missing proportions warrant more research.
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| 30. |
- Sun, Sun, et al.
(författare)
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SF-6D Normative Values Among Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery : Results Based on Real-World Evidence from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg)
- 2024
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Ingår i: Obesity Surgery. - : Springer. - 0960-8923 .- 1708-0428. ; 34:2, s. 558-567
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The SF-6D index can be used to calculate quality-adjusted life years in economic evaluations, which is required by reimbursement agencies and national advisory bodies, including the Swedish ones. However, despite that SF-36 has been largely applied among patients undergoing bariatric surgery, almost no study has accessed the short form six-dimensions (SF-6D) after bariatric surgery. AIM: To establish normative values for the SF-6D index among patients undergoing bariatric surgery.MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients who received bariatric surgery in Sweden between 2011-01-01 and 2019-03-31 were obtained from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg). Information includes patients' sociodemographic characteristics, details regarding the procedure, and postsurgical conditions. The SF-36 is applied at baseline and at follow-up years 1, 2, and 5. The multiple sequential imputation method was applied to handle missingness on SF-6D items. Based on the UK tariff, the SF-6D preference scores were calculated. The normative values for the mean (SD) SF-6D index were reported by timepoint and surgical complications for men and women, respectively. Multivariate analyses were applied to investigate how the SF-6D index is associated with timepoint, controlling for age, sex, BMI, and comorbidities in a stepwise manner.RESULTS: The SF-6D index increased at 1 year relative to baseline and was roughly maintained at the same level at 2 years. The normative value of the SF-6D index can be used in economic evaluations for bariatric surgery.
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| 31. |
- Swai, Elia Asanterabi, et al.
(författare)
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Adaptive adjustment to the needs of families caring for children and adolescents with physical disabilities in north-eastern Tanzania : a grounded-theory study
- 2024
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Ingår i: Global Health Action. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 17:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Family interactions, which are always multi-faceted, are complicated further by family members with disabilities. In resource-poor settings, policies and programmes that address the needs of and challenges faced by families are often inaccessible or unavailable. Approximately 13% of the families in Tanzania have at least one member with a disability, yet family-centred research on caring for disabled children and adolescents is scarce in this context.OBJECTIVE: The aim is to explore the needs and challenges faced by families that care for children and adolescents with physical disabilities in the Kilimanjaro Region of north-eastern Tanzania.METHODS: This qualitative study had a constructivist grounded-theory design. In-depth interviews, using a semi-structured interview guide based on the social-capital framework, were conducted with 12 female participants aged between 24 and 80. A conceptual model of family needs, inspired by Maslow's hierarchy of needs, informed the analysis.RESULTS: Challenging needs were grouped into five categories, which were linked to Maslow's hierarchy of needs and related to the central concept of 'adaptive adjustment': (1) 'barely surviving'; (2) 'safety needs in jeopardy'; (3) 'sociocultural protection'; (4) 'self-esteem far beyond reach', and (5) 'dreaming of self-actualisation'.CONCLUSION: Families caring for children and adolescents with physical disabilities in north-eastern Tanzania have needs that extend beyond the available and accessible resources. Families can adjust and adapt by avoiding certain situations, accepting the reality of their circumstances and exploring alternative ways of coping. A sustainable support system, including social networks, is essential for meeting basic needs and ensuring safety.
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| 32. |
- Swai, Elia Asanterabi, et al.
(författare)
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Children and adolescents with physical disabilities : describing characteristics and disability-related needs in the Kilimanjaro region, north-eastern Tanzania – a cross-sectional survey
- 2023
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Ingår i: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To describe the characteristics and disability-related needs of children and adolescents with physical disabilities in the Kilimanjaro region, North-Eastern Tanzania.Design: A cross-sectional community survey was conducted from November 2020 to June 2021. Trained research assistants interviewed primary children’s carers using a questionnaire based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-Children and Youth Framework. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics V.27. The Pearson χ2 test was used to examine differences between age, gender and self-reported needs. The independent t-test assessed difference in needs according to age and gender.Setting: Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania.Participants: Children and adolescents, aged 2–18 years, with physical disabilities (n=212).Results: Almost 40% had severe speech (n=84) and joint mobility (n=79) impairments, and more than half (n=124) had severe or complete difficulties walking. In aspects of self-care (caring for body parts, toileting, dressing, eating and drinking), most had severe and complete difficulties. Almost 70% (n=135) of households were located near health facilities without rehabilitation services. About one-quarter (n=51) had never received rehabilitation services. More than 90% (n=196) needed assistive devices, and therapeutic exercises (n=193). Over three-quarters needed nutritional supplements (n=162).Conclusion: Children and adolescents with physical disabilities in North-Eastern Tanzania have impaired speech and joint mobility, and difficulties in communication, self-care and walking. Rehabilitation services essential for addressing these impairments and activity limitations are either scarce or inaccessible. Action is needed to facilitate urban and rural access to rehabilitation services in order to improve the well-being of children and adolescents with physical disabilities.
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| 33. |
- Ubels, Jasper, et al.
(författare)
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Cost-Effectiveness of Rheumatic Heart Disease Echocardiographic Screening in Brazil : Data from the PROVAR+ Study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Global heart. - : Ubiquity Press. - 2211-8179 .- 2211-8160. ; 15:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: In recent years, new technologies - noticeably ultra-portable echocardiographic machines - have emerged, allowing for Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) early diagnosis. We aimed to perform a cost-utility analysis to assess the cost-effectiveness of RHD screening with handheld devices in the Brazilian context.Methods: A Markov model was created to assess the cost-effectiveness of one-time screening for RHD in a hypothetical cohort of 11-year-old socioeconomically disadvantaged children, comparing the intervention to standard care using a public perspective and a 30-year time horizon. The model consisted of 13 states: No RHD, Undiagnosed Asymptomatic Borderline RHD, Diagnosed Asymptomatic Borderline RHD, Untreated Asymptomatic Definite RHD, Treated Asymptomatic Definite RHD, Untreated Mild Clinical RHD, Treated Mild Clinical RHD, Untreated Severe Clinical RHD, Treated Severe Clinical RHD, Surgery, Post-Surgery and Death. The initial distribution of the population over the different states was derived from primary echo screening data. Costs of the different states were derived from the Brazilian public health system database. Transition probabilities and utilities were derived from published studies. A discount rate of 3%/year was used. A cost-effectiveness threshold of $25,949.85 per Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) averted is used in concordance with the 3x GDP per capita threshold in 2015.Results: RHD echo screening is cost-effective with an Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio of $10,148.38 per DALY averted. Probabilistic modelling shows that the intervention could be considered cost-effective in 70% of the iterations.Conclusion: Screening for RHD with hand held echocardiographic machines in 11-year-old children in the target population is cost-effective in the Brazilian context.Highlights: A cost-effectiveness analysis showed that Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) echocardiographic screening utilizing handheld devices, performed by non-physicians with remote interpretation by telemedicine is cost-effective in a 30-year time horizon in Brazil.The model included primary data from the first large-scale RHD screening program in Brazilian underserved populations and costs from the Unified Health System (SUS), and suggests that the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio of the intervention is considerably below the acceptable threshold for Brazil, even after a detailed sensitivity analysis.Considering the high prevalence of subclinical RHD in Brazil, and the significant economic burden posed by advanced disease, these data are important for the formulation of public policies and surveillance approaches.Cost-saving strategies first implemented in Brazil by the PROVAR study, such as task-shifting to non-physicians, computer-based training, routine use of affordable devices and telemedicine for remote diagnosis may help planning RHD control programs in endemic areas worldwide.
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| 34. |
- Vu Nu, Anh, et al.
(författare)
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A systematic review on the direct approach to elicit the demand-side cost-effectiveness threshold : implications for low- and middle-income countries
- 2024
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 19:2
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Several literature review studies have been conducted on cost-effectiveness threshold values. However, only a few are systematic literature reviews, and most did not investigate the different methods, especially in-depth reviews of directly eliciting WTP per QALY. Our study aimed to 1) describe the different direct approach methods to elicit WTP/QALY; 2) investigate factors that contribute the most to the level of WTP/QALY value; and 3) investigate the relation between the value of WTP/QALY and GDP per capita and give some recommendations on feasible methods for eliciting WTP/QALY in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A systematic review concerning select studies estimating WTP/QALY from a direct approach was carried out in seven databases, with a cut off date of 03/2022. The conversion of monetary values into 2021 international dollars (i$) was performed via CPI and PPP indexes. The influential factors were evaluated with Bayesian model averaging. Criteria for recommendation for feasible methods in LMICs are made based on empirical evidence from the systematic review and given the resource limitation in LMICs. A total of 12,196 records were identified; 64 articles were included for full-text review. The WTP/QALY method and values varied widely across countries with a median WTP/QALY value of i$16,647.6 and WTP/QALY per GDP per capita of 0.53. A total of 11 factors were most influential, in which the discrete-choice experiment method had a posterior probability of 100%. Methods for deriving WTP/QALY vary largely across studies. Eleven influential factors contribute most to the level of values of WTP/QALY, in which the discrete-choice experiment method was the greatest affected. We also found that in most countries, values for WTP/QALY were below 1 x GDP per capita. Some important principles are addressed related to what LMICs may be concerned with when conducting studies to estimate WTP/QALY.
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| 35. |
- Vu Quynh, Mai, et al.
(författare)
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An EQ-5D-5L value set for Vietnam
- 2020
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Ingår i: Quality of Life Research. - : Springer Netherlands. - 0962-9343 .- 1573-2649. ; 29, s. 1923-1933
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to develop an EQ-5D-5L value set based on the health preferences of the general adult population of Vietnam.METHODS: The EQ-VT protocol version 2.1 was applied. Multi-stage stratified cluster sampling was employed to recruit a nationally representative sample. Both composite time trade-off (C-TTO) and discrete choice experiment (DCE) methods were used. Several modelling approaches were considered including hybrid; tobit; panel and heteroscedastic models. First, models using C-TTO or DCE data were tested separately. Then possibility of combining the C-TTO and DCE data was examined. Hybrid models were tested if it was sensible to combine both types of data. The best-performing model was selected based on both the consistency of the results produced and the degree to which models used all the available data.RESULTS: Data from 1200 respondents representing the general Vietnamese adult population were included in the analyses. Only the DCE Logit model and the regular Hybrid model that uses all available data produced consistent results. As the priority was to use all available data if possible, the hybrid model was selected to generate the Vietnamese value set. Mobility had the largest effect on health state values, followed by pain/discomfort, usual activities, anxiety/depression and self-care. The Vietnam values ranged from - 0.5115 to 1.CONCLUSION: This is the first value set for EQ-5D-5L based on social preferences obtained from a nationally representative sample in Vietnam. The value set will likely play a key role in economic evaluations and health technology assessments in Vietnam.
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| 36. |
- Vu Thi Quynh, Mai, 1991-
(författare)
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A feasibility and applicability study of a health-related quality of life measurement in Vietnam
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Introduction: An evidence-based strategy is used the national social health-insurance programme in Vietnam to assess healthcare technologies. Health technology assessments (HTA) have become increasingly important within decision-making processes. This doctoral project involved developing a health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measurement to be used in HTA in Vietnam.Methodology: The doctoral project used a mixed-methods approach, which comprised a health-preference elicitation study using a combination of time-trade-off and discrete choice experiments method for the EQ-5D-5L, as recommended by the EuroQol Group (Objective 1). The project incorporated a validity study that utilised secondary data (Objective 2), a cost-utility analysis that utilised both secondary data and normative costing data (Objective 3), and a qualitative study that utilised empirical data (Objective 4). Additionally, the doctoral project resulted in an EQ-5D-5L reference dataset for the general population of Vietnam.Results: A generic preference-based HRQOL measurement was developed for the Vietnamese population using the EQ-5D-5L instrument. This tool can be utilised not only as an outcome measurement for HTA, but in other health-science disciplines. The EQ-5D-5L comprises a descriptive system with five questions, a visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS), and a value set that facilitates the assignment of health-state values (Sub-study 1). The doctoral project proposed an EQ-5D-5L reference dataset that could serve as a basis for HRQOL comparison in Vietnam (Sub-study 2). It has added evidence on the validity of the EQ-5D-5L for the Vietnamese population through a known-groups validation conducted on individuals with hypertension (Sub-study 2). This validation has facilitated the establishment of a favourable environment for the implementation of this tool in Vietnam. Additionally, the satisfactory performance of the EQ-5D-5L has been shown in producing data that is useful for the cost utility analysis in Vietnam (Sub-study 3). Despite concerns regarding the appropriateness of the EQ-5D-5L in reflecting HRQOL for disease-specific populations, the tool has been accepted and is commonly used in Vietnam (Sub-study 4).Conclusion: The outcomes of the doctoral project are a favourable HTA environment, facilitation of evidence-based decision-making, and contribution to the goal of achieving universal health coverage in Vietnam.
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- Vu Thi Quynh, Mai, et al.
(författare)
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Reference data among general population and known-groups validity among hypertensive population of the EQ-5D-5L in Vietnam
- 2022
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Ingår i: Quality of Life Research. - : Springer Nature. - 0962-9343 .- 1573-2649. ; 31, s. 539-550
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: This study aims to provide EQ-5D-5L population norms among the general population in Vietnam and to test EQ-5D-5L’ construction validity among people living with hypertension there.Methods: Descriptive statistics of the five dimensions and five levels, EQ-VAS and EQ-5D-5L indexes were categorised into gender and age groups for the EQ-5D-5L population norms. Known-groups testing was set for lower EQ-5D-5L outcomes among people who were aware of their hypertensive status, females, people with more comorbidities, less education, older ages, and higher body mass indexes. Level of confident interval was 95%.Results: The mean EQ-VAS and EQ-5D-5L indexes were 81.10 (SD: 13.35) and 0.94 (SD: 0.09) among the general population. The EQ-5D-5L outcomes were better among younger people, males, people with more education, employees, and single people. Respondents reported fewer problems with self-care and usual activities and tend to have problems at higher levels across older ages. The known-group testing showed statistically significant results. The mean EQ-VAS and EQ-5D-5L indexes of people in the diagnosed hypertensive group (71.48 and 0.94, respectively) were statistically significantly smaller than they were in the non-hypertensive and undiagnosed hypertensive group (76.65 and 0.97; 76.95 and 0.96 accordingly). Statistically significant associations of lower EQ-5D-5L indexes and EQ-VAS were found among people diagnosed for hypertension, people suffering from an incremental comorbidity, and obese people.Conclusion: This study has provided EQ-5D-5L population norms for the general population and evidence for known-groups validity of the EQ-5D-5L instrument among hypertensive people in Vietnam.
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