The economics of hepatitis B virus vaccination: an analysis of cost-effectiveness results for Switzerland

Objective: To assess and compare the costs and effectiveness of different vaccination strategies against hepatitis B in Switzerland. Design: A birth cohort of 85 000 individuals was followed over their lifetime, using a decision-tree analysis. Published data were used to simulate the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the cohort, the consecutive clinical outcomes and the associated costs. Five new vaccination scenarios were assessed and compared with a baseline strategy of vaccination of high-risk groups. The 5 new vaccination scenarios were: (i) systematic prenatal screening and vaccination of newborns at risk; (ii) universal vaccination of infants; (iii) universal vaccination of school children; (iv) universal vaccination of infants and school children; and (v) universal vaccination of infants, school children and adolescents. Results: The incremental cost per year of life saved for systematic prenatal screening and vaccination of newborns at risk compared with the baseline scenario was estimated to be 23 350 Swiss francs (SwF; 1996 values). The 4 universal vaccination scenarios had a much larger impact on the number of chronic infections and deaths prevented. The incremental cost per year of life saved for universal vaccination compared with systematic prenatal screening and vaccination of newborns at risk ranged from SwF6120 (infant vaccination strategy) to SwF10 200 (school children vaccination strategy). In the sensitivity analysis, prevalence, vaccine price and discount rate were key elements. Conclusion: Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios are lower with universal vaccination strategies than with selective vaccination. Furthermore, with universal vaccination strategies, increasingly ambitious strategies result in higher costs but also in more incremental years of life saved.[Authors]]]> Hepatitis B ; Immunization Programs ; Vaccination ; Cost-Benefit Analysis oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_CCABA53E0F5A 2022-05-07T01:27:12Z openaire documents urnserval <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_CCABA53E0F5A How important are interview methods and questionnaire designs in research on self-reported juvenile delinquency ? An experimental comparison of internet vs. paper-and-pencil questionnaires and different definitions of the reference period info:doi:10.1007/s11292-007-9025-1 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1007/s11292-007-9025-1 Lucia, Sonia Herrmann, Leslie Killias, Martin info:eu-repo/semantics/article article 2007 Journal of Experimental Criminology, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 39-64 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/1573-3750 <![CDATA[There has been relatively little change over recent decades in the methods used in research on self-reported delinquency. Face-to-face interviews and selfadministered interviews in the classroom are still the predominant alternatives envisaged. New methods have been brought into the picture by recent computer technology, the Internet, and an increasing availability of computer equipment and Internet access in schools. In the autumn of 2004, a controlled experiment was conducted with 1,203 students in Lausanne (Switzerland), where "paper-and-pencil" questionnaires were compared with computer-assisted interviews through the Internet. The experiment included a test of two different definitions of the (same) reference period. After the introductory question ("Did you ever..."), students were asked how many times they had done it (or experienced it), if ever, "over the last 12 months" or "since the October 2003 vacation". Few significant differences were found between the results obtained by the two methods and for the two definitions of the reference period, in the answers concerning victimisation, self-reported delinquency, drug use, failure to respond (missing data). Students were found to be more motivated to respond through the Internet, take less time for filling out the questionnaire, and were apparently more confident of privacy, while the school principals were less reluctant to allow classes to be interviewed through the Internet. The Internet method also involves considerable cost reductions, which is a critical advantage if self-reported delinquency surveys are to become a routinely applied method of evaluation, particularly so in countries with limited resources. On balance, the Internet may be instrumental in making research on self-reported delinquency far more feasible in situations where limited resources so far have prevented its implementation

The Economics of Hepatitis B Virus Vaccination: An Analysis of Cost-Effectiveness Results for Switzerland

Objective: To assess and compare the costs and effectiveness of different vaccination strategies against hepatitis B in Switzerland. Design: A birth cohort of 85 000 individuals was followed over their lifetime, using a decision-tree analysis. Published data were used to simulate the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the cohort, the consecutive clinical outcomes and the associated costs. Five new vaccination scenarios were assessed and compared with a baseline strategy of vaccination of high-risk groups. The 5 new vaccination scenarios were: (i) systematic prenatal screening and vaccination of newborns at risk; (ii) universal vaccination of infants; (iii) universal vaccination of school children; (iv) universal vaccination of infants and school children; and (v) universal vaccination of infants, school children and adolescents. Results: The incremental cost per year of life saved for systematic prenatal screening and vaccination of newborns at risk compared with the baseline scenario was estimated to be 23 350 Swiss francs (SwF; 1996 values). The 4 universal vaccination scenarios had a much larger impact on the number of chronic infections and deaths prevented. The incremental cost per year of life saved for universal vaccination compared with systematic prenatal screening and vaccination of newborns at risk ranged from SwF6120 (infant vaccination strategy) to SwF10 200 (school children vaccination strategy). In the sensitivity analysis, prevalence, vaccine price and discount rate were key elements. Conclusion: Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios are lower with universal vaccination strategies than with selective vaccination. Furthermore, with universal vaccination strategies, increasingly ambitious strategies result in higher costs but also in more incremental years of life saved.Adolescents, Children, Cost effectiveness, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis B vaccine, Infants, Neonates, Pharmacoeconomics, Vaccines

Impact of standardised review of intravenous antibiotic therapy 72 hours after prescription in two internal medicine wards.

Post-prescription review of hospital antibiotic therapy may contribute to more appropriate use. We estimated the impact of a standardised review of intravenous antibiotic therapy three days after prescription in two internal medicine wards of a university hospital. In one ward, we assessed the charts of patients under intravenous antibiotic therapy using a standardised review process and provided feedback to the prescriber. There was no intervention in the other ward. After six months we crossed the allocation between the two wards. In all, 204 courses of antibiotic therapy were included in the intervention periods and 226 in the control periods. Post-prescription review led to proposals for modification in 46% of antibiotic courses. Time to treatment modification was 22% shorter in the intervention periods compared with the control periods (3.9+/-5.2 days vs 5.0+/-6.0 days, P=0.007). Patients included in the intervention group had lower antibiotic consumption than patients in the control group, but the intervention had no significant impact on the overall antibiotic consumption of the two wards