During the COVID-19 pandemic, it quickly became clear that people living with overweight and obesity (OAO) have a higher risk for more severe health outcomes. The objective of this study is to investigate how the health and economic impacts of COVID-19 are exacerbated by OAO. We estimated economic impacts of COVID-19 associated with OAO for eight countries using a cost-of-illness approach from a limited societal perspective. Direct medical costs and premature mortality costs between 2020 and 2030 were estimated. Country-specific data were sourced from published studies and global databases. Additional COVID-19 hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths among the population with OAO accounted for approximately 20% of hospitalizations, 43% of ICU admissions, and 17% of deaths from COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021 on average across the eight countries. As a percent of GDP, additional treatment and premature mortality costs ranged from between 0.0003% in Thailand to 0.62% in Brazil in 2020 and between 0.009% in Australia to 0.56% in Brazil in 2021. In future COVID-19 prevalence scenarios, keeping OAO prevalence at 2019 levels or reducing it by 50% will translate into average annual reductions of 17.4%-18.5% and 40.8%-41.4% in additional costs respectively between 2022 and 2030 across the eight countries. This study provides initial evidence on the significant economic impacts of COVID-19 on populations with OAO. Our findings support the need for strengthened political commitment and adequate prioritization of OAO prevention and reduction interventions to help increase resilience to public health emergencies in these and other countries.

Objective To quantify the costs associated with a stepped model of depression care—Integrated Chronic Care Clinics-Depression Module (IC3D)—in rural Malawi.Design Cross-sectional cost analysis.Setting Integrated chronic care clinics (n=14) throughout Neno District, Malawi.Interventions The stepped model of depression care provided behavioural therapy (Problem Management Plus (PM+)) to adults (aged 18+) with moderate depression and joint PM+ and antidepressant therapy (ADT) to those with moderate-to-severe and severe depression. The model incorporated two cost-saving features: treatment was integrated into existing chronic care services within the health system, and PM+ was group-based rather than one-on-one.Primary and secondary outcome measures We conducted time-driven activity-based costing to quantify the marginal economic cost of implementing PM+ and ADT, inclusive of training and supervision. We measured all costs in 2025 US dollars and quantified costs from a societal perspective—including human resources, infrastructure, equipment, consumables, indirect costs and opportunity costs.Results The marginal cost of PM+ was $90 per patient treated for five sessions over 2 months, while ADT was $138 for eight sessions over 8 months. In both instances, human resources (45% from PM+, 52% for ADT) and consumables (30% for PM+, 31% for ADT) represented primary health system cost drivers. In the first year of implementation, 15 002 depression screenings were conducted, 724 adults were evaluated with a diagnostic tool and 398 adults subsequently received care: 263 received PM+ alone, 31 received ADT alone and 104 received both PM+ and ADT. The total cost of introducing operations throughout Neno District was $62 806.Conclusions These findings indicate that integrating depression care services into the Malawian health system is financially feasible and successfully reached many individuals with major depressive disorder.Trial registration number NCT04777006.

Objective We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of an evidence-based collaborative care model for treatment of perinatal depression among women living with HIV in Uganda.Design Maternal Depression Treatment in HIV (M-DEPTH) is a cluster randomised controlled trial implemented from July 2019 to August 2023, during which 391 pregnant women with mild-to-severe depressive symptoms were randomised to receive stepped care for depression (M-DEPTH: behavioural and pharmacological treatments) or care as usual (CAU: hospital referral for severe cases), at one of eight public health facilities in Uganda.Methods We implemented time-driven, activity-based costing to determine the economic cost of M-DEPTH from a societal perspective, compared with CAU. Change in the prevalence of depressive disorder—from enrolment to 18 months postpartum—was quantified using the Patient Health Questionnaire, with depressive disorder assigned a disability weight according to the Global Burden of Disease project. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were expressed as cost per disability-adjusted life years (DALY) averted.Results The estimated economic cost of M-DEPTH was US$128.82 per participant, compared with $1.53 per participant for CAU. At baseline, prevalence of depressive disorder did not differ according to treatment assignment. Remission of depressive disorder was more prevalent among those assigned to M-DEPTH—across all time periods, including 18-month follow-up (aOR: 0.09; 95% CI 0.05 to 0.16; p<0.001). This yielded an ICER of $397 per DALY averted, when limiting benefits to those accrued over the study period. Sensitivity analyses generated estimates ranging from $162 to $418 per DALY averted.Conclusions M-DEPTH represents a financially feasible task-shifted model of evidence-based perinatal depression screening and treatment. The intervention is cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of less than half of median gross domestic product per capita in Uganda.Trial registration number NCT03892915.

Background Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many challenges in adolescent health have been exacerbated including increased cases of early marriages, domestic violence, higher rates of anxiety and depression, and reduced access to sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents. This study examines the impacts of the pandemic on adolescent health services utilization and potential adaptations in the Philippines. Methods The data used in this study was from a rapid telephone assessment survey of 148 adolescent-friendly health facilities (rural health units) in the Philippines. We employed a mixed-methods research approach comprising both quantitative and qualitative analyses in three phases. First, we conducted a descriptive analysis of the status of adolescent healthcare access and utilization during COVID-19. Next, we examined using multivariate ordered logistic regressions how staff availability and adolescent health (AH) service provision modalities influenced AH service utilization in terms of the average number of adolescents served per week during compared to before the pandemic. We also conducted a complementing qualitative analysis of the challenges and corresponding adaptive solutions to ensuring continuity of AH services in facilities. Results We find that two months into the pandemic, 79% of adolescent-friendly trained staff were reporting for duty and 64% of facilities reported no staff disruptions. However, only 13% of facilities were serving the same number of adolescents or greater than before COVID-19. The use of more modalities for AH service provision (including telehealth) by facilities was significantly associated with increased likelihood to report serving the same number of adolescent or greater than before COVID-19 compared to those who used only one modality. Conclusion Investments in multiple modalities of care provision, such as telehealth could improve AH services utilization and help sustain connection with adolescents during shocks, including future outbreaks or other stressors that limit physical access to health facilities.

Introduction The scope of the challenge of overweight and obesity (OAO) has not been fully realised globally, in part because much of what is known about the economic impacts of OAO come from high-income countries (HICs) and are not readily comparable due to methodological differences. Our objective is to estimate the current and future national economic impacts of OAO globally. Methods We estimated economic impacts of OAO for 161 countries using a cost-of-illness approach. Direct and indirect costs of OAO between 2019 and 2060 were estimated from a societal perspective. We assessed the effect of two hypothetical scenarios of OAO prevalence projections. Country-specific data were sourced from published studies and global databases. Results The economic impact of OAO in 2019 is estimated at 2.19% of global gross domestic product (GDP) ranging on average from US$20 per capita in Africa to US$872 per capita in the Americas and from US$6 in low-income countries to US$1110 in HICs. If current trends continue, by 2060, the economic impacts from OAO are projected to rise to 3.29% of GDP globally. The biggest increase will be concentrated in lower resource countries with total economic costs increasing by fourfold between 2019 and 2060 in HICs, whereas they increase 12–25 times in low and middle-income countries. Reducing projected OAO prevalence by 5% annually from current trends or keeping it at 2019 levels will translate into average annual reductions of US$429 billion or US$2201 billion in costs, respectively, between 2020 and 2060 globally. Conclusion This study provides novel evidence on the economic impact of OAO across different economic and geographic contexts. Our findings highlight the need for concerted and holistic action to address the global rise in OAO prevalence, to avert the significant risks of inaction and achieve the promise of whole-of-society gains in population well-being.

Background Out- of-pocket health expenditures (OOPs) constitute a significant proportion of total health expenditures in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), leading to an increased likelihood of exposure to financial catastrophe in the event of illness. Health insurance has the potential to reduce catastrophic health expenditures (CHE), but rigorous evidence of its sustained impact is limited, especially in LMICs. This study examined the short- and longer-term effects of a health insurance program in Kwara State, Nigeria on CHE. Methods The analysis is based on a panel dataset consisting of 3 waves of household surveys in program and comparison areas. The balanced data consists of 1,039 households and 3,450 individuals. We employed a difference-in-differences (DiD) regression approach to estimate intention-to-treat effects, and then computed average treatment effects on the treated by combining DiD with propensity score weighting and an instrumental variables analysis. CHE was measured as OOPs exceeding 10% of household consumption and 40% of capacity-to-pay (CTP). Results Using 10% of consumption as a CHE measure, we found that living in the program area was associated with a 4.3 percentage point (pp) decrease in CHE occurrence ( p < 0.05), while the effect on insured households was 5.7 pp ( p < 0.05). The longer-term impact four years after program introduction was not significant. Heterogeneity analyses show a reduction in CHE of 7.2 pp ( p < 0.01) in the short-term for the poorest tercile. No significant effects were found for the middle and richest terciles, nor in the longer-term. Households with a chronically ill member experienced a reduction in CHE of 9.4 pp ( p < 0.01) in the short-term, but not in the longer-term. Most estimates based on the 40% of CTP measure were not statistically significant. Conclusion These findings highlight the critical role of health insurance in reducing the likelihood of catastrophic health expenditures, especially for vulnerable populations such as the poor and the chronically ill, and by extension in achieving universal health coverage. They also show that the beneficial impacts of health insurance may attenuate over time, as households potentially adjust their health-seeking behavior to the new scheme.

BACKGROUND:Obesity is a growing public health challenge worldwide with significant health and economic impacts. However, much of what is known about the economic impacts of obesity comes from high-income countries and studies are not readily comparable due to methodological differences. Our objective is to demonstrate a method for estimating current and future national economic impacts of obesity and apply it across a sample of heterogeneous contexts globally.METHODS:We estimated economic impacts of overweight and obesity for eight countries using a cost-of-illness approach. Direct and indirect costs of obesity from 2019 to 2060 were estimated from a societal perspective as well as the effect of two hypothetical scenarios of obesity prevalence projections. Country-specific data were sourced from published studies and global databases.RESULTS:In per capita terms, costs of obesity in 2019 ranged from US$17 in India to US$940 in Australia. These economic costs are comparable to 1.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) on average across the eight countries, ranging from 0.8% of GDP in India to 2.4% in Saudi Arabia. By 2060, with no significant changes to the status quo, the economic impacts from obesity are projected to grow to 3.6% of GDP on average ranging from 2.4% of GDP in Spain to 4.9% of GDP in Thailand. Reducing obesity prevalence by 5% from projected levels or keeping it at 2019 levels will translate into an average annual reduction of 5.2% and 13.2% in economic costs, respectively, between 2020 and 2060 across the eight countries.CONCLUSION:Our findings demonstrate that the economic impacts of obesity are substantial across countries, irrespective of economic or geographical context and will increase over time if current trends continue. These findings strongly point to the need for advocacy to increase awareness of the societal impacts of obesity, and for policy actions to address the systemic roots of obesity.

BACKGROUND:Complex, high-risk patients present challenges for primary care staff. Intensive outpatient management teams aim to serve as a resource for usual primary care to improve care for high-risk patients without adding burden to the primary care staff. Whether such assistance can influence the primary care staff experiences is unknown. The objective of this study was to examine improvement in job satisfaction and intent to stay for primary care staff at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) who sought assistance from an intensive management program.METHODS:Longitudinal analysis of a staff cohort that completed 2 cross-sectional surveys 18 months apart, controlling for outcomes at time 1. Participants included 144 primary care providers at 5 geographically diverse VA health care systems who completed both surveys. Measured outcomes included job satisfaction and intent to stay within primary care at the VA (measured at time 2). Predictors included likelihood of using intensive management teams (measured at time 1). Covariates included outcomes and professional/practice characteristics (measured at time 1).RESULTS:The response rate for primary care staff that completed both surveys was 21%. Staff who indicated at time 1 that they were more likely to use intensive management teams for high-risk patients reported significantly higher satisfaction and intention to stay at VA primary care at time 2 (both P < .05).CONCLUSIONS:A VA primary care workforce might benefit from assistance from intensive management teams for high-risk patients. Additional work is needed to understand the mechanisms by which primary care staff benefit and how to optimize them.

Background Despite the large investments in donor-related health activities in areas of the globe prone to tension and conflict, few studies have examined in detail the role of these donor investments in human resources for health (HRH). Methods We used a mixed-methods research methodology comprising both quantitative and qualitative analyses to analyze the Enhanced Financial Reporting System of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria budget and expenditure data from 2003 to 2017 for 13 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). We analyzed additional detailed budgetary data over the period 2015–2017 for a sub-set of these countries. Two country-case studies were conducted in Afghanistan and Sudan for a more in-depth understanding of the HRH-related activities that occurred as a result of Global Fund grants. Results The results show that US$2.2 billion Global Fund dollars had been budgeted and US$1.6 billion were expended over the period 2003–2017 in 13 Eastern Mediterranean countries. The average expenditures for human resources for health (training and human resources) as a percentage of total expenditure are 28%. Additional detailed budgetary data analysis shows a more conservative investment in HRH with 13% of total budgets allocated to “direct” HRH activities such as salaries, training costs, and technical assistance. HRH-related activities supported by the Global Fund in Afghanistan and Sudan were similar, including pre-service and in-services training, hiring of program coordinators and staff, and top-ups for clinical staff. Conclusions HRH remains a key issue in strengthening the health systems of low- and middle-income countries. While this study suggests that Global Fund’s HRH investments in the EMR are not lagging behind the global average, there appears to be a need to further scale up these investments considering this region’s unique HRH challenges.

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), out-of-pocket health spending constitutes a significant proportion of household expenditures, thereby exposing households to a high risk of impoverishment and potential worsening of already poor health outcomes. With Pardee Initiative support, Adeyemi Okunogbe (cohort '13) explored health financing in SSA using quantitative and comparative case study methods.

BACKGROUND:The use of mobile technology in the health sector, often referred to as mHealth, is an innovation that is being used in countries to improve health outcomes and increase and improve both the demand and supply of health care services. This study assesses the actual cost-effectiveness of initiating and implementing the use of the mHealth as a supply side job aid for antenatal care. The study also estimates the cost-effectiveness ratio if mHealth was also used to encourage and track women through facility delivery.METHODS:The methodology utilized a retrospective, micro-costing technique to extract costing data from health facilities and administrative offices to estimate the costs of implementing the mHealth antenatal care program and estimate the cost of facility delivery for those that used the antenatal care services in the year 2014. Five different costing tools were developed to assist in the costing analysis.FINDINGS:The results show that the provision of tetanus toxoid vaccination and malaria prophylaxis during pregnancy and improved labor and delivery during facility delivery contributed the most to mortality reductions for women, neonates and stillbirths in mHealth facilities versus non-mHealth facilities. The cost-effectiveness ratio of this program for antenatal care and no demand-side generation for facility delivery is US$13,739 per life saved. The cost-effectiveness ratio adding in an additional demand-side generation for facility births reduces to US$9,806 per life saved.CONCLUSION:These results show that mHealth programs are inexpensive and save a number of lives for the dollar investment and could save additional lives and funds if women were also encouraged to seek facility delivery.

In 2013, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched two programs that monitor progress toward a new global goal to increase modern contraceptive use by 2020: Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020) and Track20. This summary of an evaluation of both programs is based on interviews with more than 260 stakeholders, statistical analysis of the PMA2020 survey, and analysis of stakeholder ratings of data maturity and sustainability.

This brief summarizes an evaluation of two programs to help monitor progress toward a global goal to increase modern contraceptive use by 2020. Both programs can improve promotion of country-driven agendas for data collection, use, and ownership.

In 2013, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched two programs to help monitor progress toward a new global goal to increase modern contraceptive use by 2020: Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020) and Track20. This evaluation of both programs is based on interviews with more than 260 stakeholders, statistical analysis of the PMA2020 survey, and analysis of stakeholder ratings of data maturity and sustainability.

Recent high-profile outbreaks, such as Ebola and Zika, have illustrated the transnational nature of infectious diseases. Countries that are most vulnerable to such outbreaks might be higher priorities for technical support. RAND created the Infectious Disease Vulnerability Index to help U.S. government and international agencies identify these countries and thereby inform programming to preemptively help mitigate the spread and effects of potential transnational outbreaks. The authors employed a rigorous methodology to identify the countries most vulnerable to disease outbreaks. They conducted a comprehensive review of relevant literature to identify factors influencing infectious disease vulnerability. Using widely available data, the authors created an index for identifying potentially vulnerable countries and then ranked countries by overall vulnerability score. Policymakers should focus on the 25 most-vulnerable countries with an eye toward a potential "disease belt" in the Sahel region of Africa. The infectious disease vulnerability scores for several countries were better than what would have been predicted on the basis of economic status alone. This suggests that low-income countries can overcome economic challenges and become more resilient to public health challenges, such as infectious disease outbreaks.

Background: Military sexual trauma (MST) and/or intimate partner violence (IPV) are common experiences in the growing group of women veterans using the Veterans Health Administration health care system. And even though MST screening is closely monitored at the facility level, little is known about individual primary care provider (PCP) behavior with regard to screening women for MST and IPV. Objectives: To understand how PCP experiences and beliefs regarding women's health care influence PCP-reported screening for MST and IPV. Research Design and Participants: We administered a cross-sectional online survey from September 2014 through April 2015 (supplemented by a mailed survey between April and May 2015) to 281 PCPs in 12 Veterans Health Administration medical centers. Measures and Analysis: Surveys measured PCP-reported screening frequency for MST and IPV, experience with women veterans, self-efficacy, gender-sensitive beliefs, and perceived barriers to providing comprehensive care for women. We used multivariable ordered logistic regression analysis to identify correlates of screening, weighted for nonresponse and adjusted for clustering. Results: Ninety-four PCPs (34%) completed the survey. Being a designated women's health provider (p < .05) and stronger self-efficacy beliefs about screening women for MST (p < .001) were associated with reporting more frequent screening for MST. Being a designated women's health provider (p <. 01), seeing women patients at least once per week (p <. 001), and self-efficacy beliefs about screening women for IPV (p < .001) were associated with reporting more frequent screening for IPV. Conclusions: Veterans Health Administration initiatives to enhance PCP opportunities to screen women veterans for trauma and to strengthen self-efficacy beliefs about comprehensive women's health care may increase screening of women veterans for MST and IPV. (C) 2017 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Background Despite the growing demand for health care among women veterans in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), little is known about the perspectives of primary care providers (PCPs) and other primary care staff about the care they provide to women veterans. We sought to understand whether barriers to, attitudes about, and practices in caring for women veterans were associated with two measures of implementation of the VHA patient-centered medical home for women veterans (self-efficacy and satisfaction). Methods We administered a cross-sectional survey by Internet from September 8, 2014, through April 27, 2015 (and by mail from December 16, 2014, through June 18, 2015) to all PCPs and affiliated primary care staff in 12 VHA medical centers. We used descriptive and bivariate analyses to characterize their barriers, attitudes, and practices regarding care for women veterans; and ordinary least squares regression to identify associations with satisfaction and self-efficacy regarding medical home implementation for women veterans among members of a VHA patient-centered medical home teamlet for women patients. Results Of 775 surveys sent, 288 were completed (94 PCPs and 194 staff) for a response rate of 37% (33% for PCPs; 39% for staff). On average, providers had one female patient for every five patients in their panels. Lower perceived barriers, higher gender-sensitive attitudes, and being a PCP were significantly associated with satisfaction and self-efficacy of patient-centered medical home for women patients. Conclusions Training efforts focused on eliminating perceived barriers and strengthening positive attitudes toward women may be more successful than changing women's health practice characteristics alone.