Table 3 Recommendations for future research
From: Are vaccination programmes delivered by lay health workers cost-effective? A systematic review
To provide decision makers with adequate and useful data on the cost effectiveness of lay health worker interventions for vaccination, future evaluations of such programmes should: | |
|---|---|
Compare the costs of alternative options | • include a comparative analysis of costs and consequences of alternative courses of action, or at least a detailed costing of personnel and other resources associated with the intervention |
Standardize design, analysis and reporting | • address the current lack of standardization in the design, analysis and reporting of economic evaluations results; in the range of outcomes used; and in the reporting of contextual factors, to improve the comparability of these evaluations |
Examine the variability of interventions | • look explicitly at variability between interventions implemented in different locations (within or between countries) and explore how different levels of resources contribute to different levels and combinations of outcomes |
Explore types and levels of remuneration | • explore how different levels and methods of remuneration, and types of financial or non-financial incentives, impact on the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of programmes |
Vary the evaluation time frame | • explore the impacts on cost-effectiveness of incorporating a longer evaluation time-frame |
Capture the instrumental value of LHWs to the communities in which they work* | • assess the impact on cost-effectiveness of using an institutional economics framework, such addressing issues of implicit contracts and informational asymmetries; taking into account governance issues and institutional evolution and transition; and conducting a transaction cost analysis •develop approaches to account for volunteer labour in these programmes |