A Systematic Review of Scope and Quality of Health Economic Evaluation Studies in Vietnam

<div><p>Introduction</p><p>The application of health economic evaluation (HEE) evidence can play an important role in strategic planning and policy making. This study aimed to assess the scope and quality of existing research, with the goal of elucidating implications for improving the use of HEE evidence in Vietnam.</p><p>Methods</p><p>A comprehensive search strategy was developed to search medical online databases (Medline, Google Scholar, and Vietnam Medical Databases) to select all types of HEE studies except cost-only analyses. Two researchers assessed the quality of selected studies using the Quality of Health Economic Studies (QHES) instrument.</p><p>Results</p><p>We selected 26 studies, including 6 published in Vietnam. The majority of these studies focused on infectious diseases (14 studies), with HIV being the most common topic (5 studies). Most papers were cost-effectiveness studies that measured health outcomes using DALY units. Using QHES, we found that the overall quality of HEE studies published internationally was much higher (mean score 88.7+13.3) than that of those published in Vietnam (mean score 67.3+22.9). Lack of costing perspectives, reliable data sources and sensitivity analysis were the main shortcomings of the reviewed studies.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>This review indicates that HEE studies published in Vietnam are limited in scope and number, as well as by several important technical errors or omissions. It is necessary to formalize the process of health economic research in Vietnam and to institutionalize the links between researchers and policy-makers. Additionally, the quality of HEE should be enhanced through education about research techniques, and the implementation of standard HEE guidelines.</p></div

<b>Classification of studies by disease type studied.</b>

<p><b>Classification of studies by disease type studied.</b></p

QHES scores by author nationality and publication source.

<p>QHES scores by author nationality and publication source.</p

ICERs of studies reported health outcomes by cost per case averted.

<p>ICERs of studies reported health outcomes by cost per case averted.</p

Responses to QHES questions.

<p>Responses to QHES questions.</p

ICERs of studies reported health outcomes by cost per LYS.

<p>ICERs of studies reported health outcomes by cost per LYS.</p

PRISMA flow chart of study selection.

<p>PRISMA flow chart of study selection.</p

Search strategy.

<p>Search strategy.</p

ICERs of studies reporting health outcomes by cost per DALY.

<p>ICERs of studies reporting health outcomes by cost per DALY.</p

The scope, methods and measures of selected studies.

<p>(Categories of stratification are not mutually exclusive).</p