Cost-utility analysis is one method of determining the cost effectiveness of nursing interventions. It is heralded by the World Health Organization as the measure to determine allocation of resources. This method of measurement includes calculation of both the cost of quality-adjusted life years (QALY) and the cost of disability-adjusted life years (DALY). The purpose of this article is to present cost-utility analysis as a relevant measure for describing the value of registered nurses. First the article will present a short overview of cost effectiveness, along with a discussion of two cost-effectiveness measures, cost-effective analysis and cost-utility analysis. Then the measurement of quality-adjusted life years and disability-adjusted life years will be presented. The article will conclude by challenging nurses to develop cost-utility analyses into a meaningful and useful methodology that can provide nursing with a process to measure the economic outcomes of our nursing interventions.

Cost-utility analysis is one method of determining the cost effectiveness of nursing interventions. It is heralded by the World Health Organization as the measure to determine allocation of resources. This method of measurement includes calculation of both the cost of quality-adjusted life years (QALY) and the cost of disability-adjusted life years (DALY). The purpose of this article is to present cost-utility analysis as a relevant measure for describing the value of registered nurses. First the article will present a short overview of cost effectiveness, along with a discussion of two cost-effectiveness measures, cost-effective analysis and cost-utility analysis. Then the measurement of quality-adjusted life years and disability-adjusted life years will be presented. The article will conclude by challenging nurses to develop cost-utility analyses into a meaningful and useful methodology that can provide nursing with a process to measure the economic outcomes of our nursing interventions.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

<p>The goals of this thesis are to evaluate quality of life (QoL) in adult patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in relation to population normative data, to construct a preference-weighted index (utility) from a disease-specific QoL measure and to assess it in a clinical context.</p><p>The study included samples from the general population and patients with GHD from four European populations: England & Wales, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. The country-specific patient cohorts were retrieved from KIMS (Pfizer International Metabolic Database). </p><p>A questionnaire was developed that contained items from existing QoL questionnaires including, among others, Quality of Life Assessment in Growth Hormone Deficiency in Adults (QoL-AGHDA) and the EQ-5D. The QoL-AGHDA is a disease-specific measure for use in adults with GHD. The EQ-5D is a generic instrument which describes health states for which country-specific preference-based weights are available. Thus, it was possible to generate preference-weighted indices (utilities) based on data generated by both instruments. </p><p>This thesis reports QoL-AGHDA normative values for the populations of England & Wales, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, and confirms the extent of QoL impairment in patients with GHD in comparison with the general population. Long-term GH replacement resulted in sustained improvements in overall QoL towards normative country-specific values, as well in most of the dimensions that were impaired before treatment. </p><p>For use in health economic evaluations, models for generating utilities (QoL-AGHDA_utility) from QoL-AGHDA were developed. It is believed that these models may facilitate medical decision making, given that they provide a tool for obtaining utilities in the absence of directly collected preference-weighted indices.</p><p>QoL-AGHDA_utility effectively monitored treatment effects in patients with GHD. Moreover, this study confirmed a QoL-AGHDA_utility deficit before treatment and a gain after starting GH replacement. </p><p>The novel aspect of the present approach was to apply preference-weighted indices derived from a disease-specific measure to assess QoL in the clinical context, together with patient demographic and clinical characteristics. The robustness of this analysis is reinforced by the fact that utilities in both general and patient populations were generated using the same methodology. </p>

The goals of this thesis are to evaluate quality of life (QoL) in adult patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in relation to population normative data, to construct a preference-weighted index (utility) from a disease-specific QoL measure and to assess it in a clinical context. The study included samples from the general population and patients with GHD from four European populations: England &amp; Wales, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. The country-specific patient cohorts were retrieved from KIMS (Pfizer International Metabolic Database). A questionnaire was developed that contained items from existing QoL questionnaires including, among others, Quality of Life Assessment in Growth Hormone Deficiency in Adults (QoL-AGHDA) and the EQ-5D. The QoL-AGHDA is a disease-specific measure for use in adults with GHD. The EQ-5D is a generic instrument which describes health states for which country-specific preference-based weights are available. Thus, it was possible to generate preference-weighted indices (utilities) based on data generated by both instruments. This thesis reports QoL-AGHDA normative values for the populations of England &amp; Wales, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, and confirms the extent of QoL impairment in patients with GHD in comparison with the general population. Long-term GH replacement resulted in sustained improvements in overall QoL towards normative country-specific values, as well in most of the dimensions that were impaired before treatment. For use in health economic evaluations, models for generating utilities (QoL-AGHDAutility) from QoL-AGHDA were developed. It is believed that these models may facilitate medical decision making, given that they provide a tool for obtaining utilities in the absence of directly collected preference-weighted indices. QoL-AGHDAutility effectively monitored treatment effects in patients with GHD. Moreover, this study confirmed a QoL-AGHDAutility deficit before treatment and a gain after starting GH replacement. The novel aspect of the present approach was to apply preference-weighted indices derived from a disease-specific measure to assess QoL in the clinical context, together with patient demographic and clinical characteristics. The robustness of this analysis is reinforced by the fact that utilities in both general and patient populations were generated using the same methodology.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Background Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is the leakage of urine when coughing, sneezing, or on exertion. It affects 10-35% of women, and can impair quality of life (QOL). First-line treatment is pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT). However, access barriers and embarrassment may prevent women from seeking care. There is a need for new, easily accessible ways to provide treatment. Aim To evaluate the treatment outcome, patient satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness of an Internet- based treatment programme for SUI. Methods We recruited 250 community-dwelling women aged 18-70 years, with SUI ≥1/week via our website. Participants were randomised to 3 months of PFMT with either an Internet-based programme (n=124), or a programme sent by post (n=126). We had no-face-to face contact with the participants, but the Internet group received individually tailored e-mail support from an urotherapist. Treatment outcome was evaluated after 4 months with intention-to-treat analysis. After treatment, we telephoned a strategic selection of participants (Internet n=13, postal n=8) to interview them about their experiences, and analysed the results according to grounded theory principles. We also performed a cost-utility analysis with a 1-year societal perspective, comparing the treatment programmes with each other and with a no-treatment alternative. To scrutinize our measure of QOL, we performed a reliability study of the ICIQ-LUTSqol questionnaire. Results Participants in both intervention groups achieved highly significant improvements (p&lt;0.001) with large effect sizes (&gt;0.8) in the primary outcomes symptom score (ICIQ-UI SF: mean change Internet 3.4 [SD 3.4], postal 2.9 [3.1]), and condition-specific QOL (ICIQ-LUTSqol: mean change Internet 4.8 [SD 6.1], postal 4.6 [SD 6.7]); however, the differences between the groups were not significant. Compared with the postal group, more participants in the Internet group perceived they were much or very much improved after treatment (40.9%, vs. 26.5%, p=0.01), reduced their use of incontinence aids (59.5% vs. 41.4%, p=0.02), and indicated satisfaction with the treatment programme (84.8% vs. 62.9%, p&lt;0.001). Results from the interviews fell into three categories: about life with SUI and barriers to seeking care; about the treatments and the patient-provider relationship; about the sense of empowerment many women experienced. A core category emerged: “Acknowledged but not exposed.” The extra cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained through use of the Internet-based programme compared with the postal programme was €200. The extra cost per QALY for the Internet-based programme compared with no treatment was €30,935. The condition-specific questionnaire ICIQ-LUTSqol is reliable in women with SUI, with high degrees of agreement between overall scores (Intraclass correlation coefficient 0.95, p&lt;0.001). Conclusion Internet-based treatment for SUI is a new, effective, and patient-appreciated treatment alternative, which can increase access to care in a sustainable way.

O câncer de colo de útero (CCU) é um dos mais danosos que afetam as mulheres, especialmente em países em desenvolvimento, onde os programas de prevenção (baseados no exame de Papanicolaou) não se mostram efetivos. Vacinas contra o HPV foram disponibilizadas em 2007 como prevenção primária do CCU. Apresentam boa eficácia e segurança, porém um elevado custo para sua incorporação. O objetivo desta dissertação é avaliar a incidência de câncer de colo de útero no estado de Roraima, seu impacto econômico, e o perfil sócio-econômico das portadoras de CCU tratada no SUS, além de realizar análises de custo-efetividade e custo-utilidade da inclusão da vacinação para o HPV aos programas preventivos vigentes. A dissertação é composta por 2 ensaios cujo tema unificador é a análise econômica de estratégias de combate ao CCU. No primeiro ensaio, todos os exames histopatológicos e citológicos emitidos em Roraima em 2009 foram revisados, juntamente com os prontuários médicos de todas as pacientes portadoras de CCU. Todos os procedimentos terapêuticos e diagnósticos realizados em 2009 em portadoras de CCU foram registrados. Prospectivamente foram entrevistadas as pacientes portadoras de CCU abordando tópicos sócio-econômicos. Foram registrados 90 casos de CCU em Roraima em 2009. A incidência correspondeu a 46,2 casos novos por 100.000 mulheres, a maior do Brasil. As portadoras do CCU demonstram perfil econômico desfavorável, exclusão social, e baixo conhecimento e adesão precária aos programas preventivos de saúde feminina. O impacto anual do CCU para gestão em saúde de Roraima é superior a R$8 mil por caso. Este ensaio ressalta a inequidade de acesso aos programas preventivos em Roraima, excluindo da cobertura de rastreio o subgrupo que mais se beneficiaria, e gerando custos elevados. O segundo ensaio realiza avaliações econômicas da incorporação da vacina para o HPV para o estado de Roraima. Foi desenvolvido um modelo de coorte de Markov como instrumento analítico de simulação da história natural do HPV até a progressão para CCU, levando em consideração os programas preventivos. As probabilidades de transição foram baseadas preferencialmente em dados empíricos locais e nacionais. Após calibração satisfatória e considerando valores de caso-base, a adição a vacinação para HPV reduziria em 35% a incidência de CCU, em cenário de realização de 3 testes de Papanicolaou ao longo da vida. A razão incremental de custo-efetividade foi de R$ 2.556 para cada ano de vida ajustado pela qualidade (AVAQ) poupado. As análises de sensibilidade confirmam a robustez deste resultado. A vacinação possui perfil favorável do ponto de vista de custo-utilidade, e sua inclusão no calendário vacinal resultaria em redução substancial da incidência e mortalidade por CCU em Roraima. / Invasive cervical cancer (ICC) is one of the most damaging that affect women, especially in developing countries, where preventive programs (based on the Pap smear) haven’t achieved effectiveness. HPV vaccines have recently been proposed as primary prevention of ICC. They show good efficacy and safety, but a high cost for its acquisition. Objectives: The objective of this dissertation is to evaluate the incidence of ICC in Roraima, its economic impact, and the socioeconomic profile of ICC carriers assisted in the public health system, and to perform a costeffectiveness and cost-utility analysis of adding HPV vaccination to current preventive programs. In the first essay, all histopathologic and cytologic reports issued in Roraima in 2009 were reviewed, along with the medical records of all patients diagnosed with ICC. All therapeutic and diagnostic procedures performed in 2009 in women with ICC cervix carcinoma were recorded. These patients were argued prospectively, addressing socio-economic topics. We registered 90 cases of cervical cancer in Roraima in 2009. The incidence corresponded to 46.2 new cases per 100,000 women. Carriers of the ICC showed unfavorable economic profile, social exclusion, deficient knowledge on ICC prevention and low adherence to the screening preventive programs. The annual impact of the ICC in Roraima is over R$ 8,000 per case. This essay highlights the inequity of access to preventive programs in Roraima, that excludes the subgroup of the population who would mostly benefit from screening, resulting in elevated costs. The second essay conducted economic evaluations of the incorporation of HPV vaccine to preventive programs in Roraima. A Markov cohort model was developed as an analytic tool to simulate the natural history of HPV and its progress to ICC, considering the current preventive programs. Transition probabilities were based mainly on empirical data of local and national studies. After satisfactory calibration values and considering the base case, the addition of HPV vaccination would reduce by 35% the incidence of ICC, in a scenario of three Pap tests throughout life. The incremental ratio of cost-effectiveness was R$ 2,556 for each year of quality-adjusted life (QALY) saved. The sensitivity analysis confirms the robustness of this result. Vaccination has a favorable profile in terms of cost-utility, and its inclusion in the immunization schedule would result in substantial reduction in incidence and mortality of ICC in Roraima.

A tese abordou questões relacionadas à economia da saúde, particularmente à visão econômica dos transplantes renais. Foi conduzida uma análise de custo-utilidade para verificar qual tratamento, transplante renal ou hemodiálise, possui menor razão de custo por anos de vida ajustados por qualidade. O resultado obtido corrobora as evidências internacionais, as quais indicam o transplante renal como estratégia mais custo-efetiva. No caso deste estudo, a razão de custo-utilidade para o transplante renal e hemodiálise foi de R$ 18.161,00/AVAQ e R$ 40.872,00/AVAQ, respectivamente. Apesar de o transplante renal ser uma estratégia dominante, a escassez de órgãos impede que essa estratégia seja amplamente utilizada, reduzindo, assim, os ganhos de eficiência na alocação dos recursos escassos. Nesse contexto, também foi alvo desta tese a questão da escassez de órgãos. Pelo levantamento feito, há tendência de aumento do desequilíbrio entre demanda e oferta de órgãos, visto que a primeira cresce rapidamente, enquanto a segunda mostra pequena tendência de crescimento. Assim, alternativas para contornar esse problema foram analisadas, especialmente as relacionadas a mudanças institucionais na lei de doação de órgãos. Entre elas, foi argüido que a lei de consentimento presumido seria a opção mais factível, por não ferir o pressuposto do altruísmo. Objetivando estimar quanto seria o eventual incremento na doação de órgãos por doador cadáver devido à lei de consentimento presumido, fez-se uso do ferramental da econometria da saúde, aplicando, para uma amostra de 34 países ao longo de cinco anos, o método de regressão quantílica para dados de painel. Os resultados obtidos nessa aplicação indicam que há benefício na adoção da lei de consentimento presumido, que tem um efeito positivo sobre a taxa de doação de órgãos, em torno de 21-26%, comparada à lei de consentimento informado. / The thesis broaches questions related to health economics, particularly the economic vision of renal transplants. A cost-utility analysis was conducted to assess which treatment, renal transplant or hemodialysis, has a lower cost rate per quality-adjusted life years. The result obtained corroborates the international evidence, which indicates renal transplant as the most cost effective strategy. In the case of this study, the cost-utility ratio for renal transplant and hemodialysis was US$ 11,157/QALY and US$ 25,110/QALY, respectively. In spite of renal transplant being the dominant strategy, the scarcity of organs hinders this strategy to be widely used, reducing in this way, the efficiency gain in the allocation of scarce resources. Within this context, the organ shortage was also a target issue of this thesis. Through the survey performed, there is a tendency towards the increase of unbalance between the demand and supply of organs, being that the first grows rapidly while the second shows small tendency towards growth. Within this context, the investigation target of this thesis was to look into possible alternatives to by-pass this problem, especially those related to institutional changes in the organ donation law. Among them, it was argued that the law of presumed consent would be the most feasible option, since it does not harm the presupposition of altruism. With the object of estimating what would be the eventual increase in organ donation, per cadaveric donor, due to the law of presumed consent, the health econometric tool of quantile regression method for panel data was used, applied to a sample of 34 countries during a five-year period. The results obtained in this application indicate that there is benefit in adopting the law of presumed consent, which has a positive effect on the organ donation rate, around 21 – 26%, compared to the law of informed consent.

A tese abordou questões relacionadas à economia da saúde, particularmente à visão econômica dos transplantes renais. Foi conduzida uma análise de custo-utilidade para verificar qual tratamento, transplante renal ou hemodiálise, possui menor razão de custo por anos de vida ajustados por qualidade. O resultado obtido corrobora as evidências internacionais, as quais indicam o transplante renal como estratégia mais custo-efetiva. No caso deste estudo, a razão de custo-utilidade para o transplante renal e hemodiálise foi de R$ 18.161,00/AVAQ e R$ 40.872,00/AVAQ, respectivamente. Apesar de o transplante renal ser uma estratégia dominante, a escassez de órgãos impede que essa estratégia seja amplamente utilizada, reduzindo, assim, os ganhos de eficiência na alocação dos recursos escassos. Nesse contexto, também foi alvo desta tese a questão da escassez de órgãos. Pelo levantamento feito, há tendência de aumento do desequilíbrio entre demanda e oferta de órgãos, visto que a primeira cresce rapidamente, enquanto a segunda mostra pequena tendência de crescimento. Assim, alternativas para contornar esse problema foram analisadas, especialmente as relacionadas a mudanças institucionais na lei de doação de órgãos. Entre elas, foi argüido que a lei de consentimento presumido seria a opção mais factível, por não ferir o pressuposto do altruísmo. Objetivando estimar quanto seria o eventual incremento na doação de órgãos por doador cadáver devido à lei de consentimento presumido, fez-se uso do ferramental da econometria da saúde, aplicando, para uma amostra de 34 países ao longo de cinco anos, o método de regressão quantílica para dados de painel. Os resultados obtidos nessa aplicação indicam que há benefício na adoção da lei de consentimento presumido, que tem um efeito positivo sobre a taxa de doação de órgãos, em torno de 21-26%, comparada à lei de consentimento informado. / The thesis broaches questions related to health economics, particularly the economic vision of renal transplants. A cost-utility analysis was conducted to assess which treatment, renal transplant or hemodialysis, has a lower cost rate per quality-adjusted life years. The result obtained corroborates the international evidence, which indicates renal transplant as the most cost effective strategy. In the case of this study, the cost-utility ratio for renal transplant and hemodialysis was US$ 11,157/QALY and US$ 25,110/QALY, respectively. In spite of renal transplant being the dominant strategy, the scarcity of organs hinders this strategy to be widely used, reducing in this way, the efficiency gain in the allocation of scarce resources. Within this context, the organ shortage was also a target issue of this thesis. Through the survey performed, there is a tendency towards the increase of unbalance between the demand and supply of organs, being that the first grows rapidly while the second shows small tendency towards growth. Within this context, the investigation target of this thesis was to look into possible alternatives to by-pass this problem, especially those related to institutional changes in the organ donation law. Among them, it was argued that the law of presumed consent would be the most feasible option, since it does not harm the presupposition of altruism. With the object of estimating what would be the eventual increase in organ donation, per cadaveric donor, due to the law of presumed consent, the health econometric tool of quantile regression method for panel data was used, applied to a sample of 34 countries during a five-year period. The results obtained in this application indicate that there is benefit in adopting the law of presumed consent, which has a positive effect on the organ donation rate, around 21 – 26%, compared to the law of informed consent.