A new cost-effectiveness study of TB care models in Ukraine as an advocacy tool
‘Strengthening TB Control in Ukraine’ (STBCU) – a project funded by US Agency for International Development (USAID) – has released results of the pilot study of economic effectiveness and cost analysis of model of TB treatment in Ukraine. The study was conducted in Kriviy Rih (Dnipropetrovsk oblast).
The goal of the study was to identify costs of organizational component of key TB treatment models and to evaluate the models’ influence on TB patients’ adherence to treatment and treatment effectiveness. The objective of the study was to illustrate comparative costs and effectiveness of ambulatory (out-patient) TB care versus in-patient TB care.
The study used WHO protocol “Guidelines for cost and cost-effectiveness analysis of tuberculosis control”.
The study identified two main organizational TB treatment models:
- Combined in-and out-patient TB treatment model
- Out-patient TB treatment model
Taking into account that each of these models acts like a combination of approaches, the study has provided more detalisation about the facilities and players involved in TB treatment models. As a result, several organisational sub-models of TB treatment were identified that are seen differently in decision making and are combined in a “big picture” of complex TB care services.
Three key players involved in these TB treatment models were identified as:
- TB service
- Primary health care service
- Red Cross patronage service
The study has found that the out-patient organizational TB treatment model may be 5 times less costly and with higher TB patients’ treatment adherence than the in-patient model.
The results of the study can serve as an advocacy tool in addition to wide range of already available studies on effectiveness of out-patient treatment of TB patients.
More information on the study details and results is available at STBCU website.
Source: TB Europe Coalition