Who should be prioritized for renal transplantation?: Analysis of key stakeholder preferences using discrete choice experiments

Background Policies for allocating deceased donor kidneys have recently shifted from allocation based on Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) tissue matching in the UK and USA. Newer allocation algorithms incorporate waiting time as a primary factor, and in the UK, young adults are also favoured. However, there is little contemporary UK research on the views of stakeholders in the transplant process to inform future allocation policy. This research project aimed to address this issue. Methods Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) questionnaires were used to establish priorities for kidney transplantation among different stakeholder groups in the UK. Questionnaires were targeted at patients, carers, donors / relatives of deceased donors, and healthcare professionals. Attributes considered included: waiting time; donor-recipient HLA match; whether a recipient had dependents; diseases affecting life expectancy; and diseases affecting quality of life. Results Responses were obtained from 908 patients (including 98 ethnic minorities); 41 carers; 48 donors / relatives of deceased donors; and 113 healthcare professionals. The patient group demonstrated statistically different preferences for every attribute (i.e. significantly different from zero) so implying that changes in given attributes affected preferences, except when prioritizing those with no rather than moderate diseases affecting quality of life. The attributes valued highly related to waiting time, tissue match, prioritizing those with dependents, and prioritizing those with moderate rather than severe diseases affecting life expectancy. Some preferences differed between healthcare professionals and patients, and ethnic minority and non-ethnic minority patients. Only non-ethnic minority patients and healthcare professionals clearly prioritized those with better tissue matches. Conclusions Our econometric results are broadly supportive of the 2006 shift in UK transplant policy which emphasized prioritizing the young and long waiters. However, our findings suggest the need for a further review in the light of observed differences in preferences amongst ethnic minorities, and also because those with dependents may be a further priority.</p

The EVIDEM framework and its usefulness for priority setting across a broad range of health interventions

Contains fulltext : 98405.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Multi-criteria decision analysis for setting priorities on HIV/AIDS interventions in Thailand

Contains fulltext : 108744.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: A wide range of preventive, treatment, and care programs for HIV/AIDS are currently available and some of them have been implemented in Thailand. Policy makers are now facing challenges on how the scarce resources for HIV/AIDS control can be spent more wisely. Although effectiveness and cost-effectiveness information is useful for guiding policy decisions, empirical evidence indicates the importance of other criteria, such as equity and the characteristics of the target population, also play important roles in priority setting. This study aims to experiment with the use of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to prioritise interventions in HIV/AIDS control in Thailand. METHODS: We used MCDA to rank 40 HIV/AIDS interventions on the basis of the priority setting criteria put forward by three groups of stakeholders including policy makers, people living with HIV/AIDs (PLWHA), and village health volunteers (VHVs). MCDA incorporated an explicit component of deliberation to let stakeholders reflect on the rank ordering, and adapt where necessary. RESULTS: Upon deliberation, policy makers expressed a preference for programs that target high risk groups such as men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, and female sex workers. The VHVs preferred interventions that target the youth or the general population, and gave lower priority to programs that target high risk groups. PLWHA gave all interventions the same priority. The rank order correlation between the priorities as expressed before and after deliberation was 37% among the policy makers and 46% among the VHVs. CONCLUSION: This study documented the feasibility of MCDA to prioritize HIV/AIDS interventions in Thailand, and has shown the usefulness of a deliberative process as an integrated component of MCDA. MCDA holds potential to contribute to a more transparent and accountable priority setting process, and further application of this approach in the prioritisation of health interventions is warranted

Incorporating cost-effectiveness data in a fair process for priority setting efforts Comment on “Use of cost-effectiveness data in priority setting decisions: experiences from the national guidelines for heart diseases in Sweden”

Cost-effectiveness data is useful for use in priority setting decisions in order to improve the efficiency of resources used. This paper thereby responds to Eckard et al . which addressed the use of cost-effectiveness data in the actual prioritization decisions in the Swedish national clinical guidelines for heart diseases. Based on a set of experiences on the use of economic evaluation in priority setting processes, this paper emphasizes the potential approach to incorporating cost-effectiveness data in the prioritization process to enhance transparency of the decisions, and highlights the importance of designing a fair decision-making process that can enforce the sustained implementation of cost-effectiveness data

Sitting Posture Detection and Classification Using Machine Learning Algorithms on RapidMiner

Integrating pressure sensors into cushion pads presents a viable posture monitoring and classification solution in innovative health care and ergonomic design. In this study, a cushion pad with a pressure sensor implanted that can recognize and classify different postures using machine learning techniques is developed and evaluated. The principal objective is to augment postural awareness and avoid disorders of the muscles. The cushion pad system was created and used by combining software algorithms with hardware sensors. Using a variety of machine learning approaches, RapidMiner, a data science platform, was used to analyze the pressure data to classify postures. The following algorithms are tested using cross-validation for a robust evaluation: Decision Tree, Naive Bayes, Neural Network, Random Forest, and K-Nearest Neighbors (K-NN). The outcomes showed that the various algorithms' levels of accuracy varied. The Naive Bayes algorithm demonstrated a lesser accuracy of 55.83% compared to the Decision Tree algorithm's 84.49% accuracy. The Random Forest algorithm surpassed the others with an accuracy of 85.98%, while the Neural Network approach produced an accuracy of 82.26%. The k-NN algorithm also yielded promising results, with an accuracy of 82.01%. According to these results, the Random Forest algorithm outperforms the Decision Tree algorithm for posture categorization in this specific example.&nbsp; A workable approach for enhancing ergonomic health and avoiding posture-related illnesses is to integrate such machine learning models into a cushion pad with pressure sensor integration that can significantly help proactive posture management

Economic evaluation of diagnostic tests for Thai patients with tuberculosis: A dynamic transmission model approach

Conventional tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis is time-consuming, while newer molecular assays such as Xpert MTB/RIF and loop-mediated amplification test for TB (TB-LAMP) provide faster results but at a higher cost compared to sputum smear microscopy (SSM) with culture and drug susceptibility testing (DST) in Thailand. This study assessed the cost-utility of TB diagnostic algorithms as either initial or add-on tests from a societal perspective for TB diagnosis in the general Thai population. A dynamic transmission model was employed to evaluate five TB diagnostic algorithms over a 15-year period. Costs were calculated in 2023 Thai Baht, with results presented as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) compared to SSM with culture and DST. One-way and probability sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess parameter uncertainty. Compared to SSM with culture and DST, the ICER values (Baht per QALY gained) of TB-LAMP Add-On (3,563), Xpert MTB/RIF Add-On (3,670), and TB-LAMP Initial (6,429) indicated that these algorithms were cost-effective, while Xpert MTB/RIF Initial emerged as a cost-saving option. One-way sensitivity analysis results revealed that the utility of the first-line treatment exhibited the highest variability in ICERs, followed by the unit cost of Xpert MTB/RIF. The results supported the adoption of Xpert MTB/RIF as an initial test for the general Thai population. These findings provide evidence for policymakers to integrate molecular testing into Thailand’s Universal Coverage Scheme benefit package, aligning with national TB strategies to reduce TB incidence and mortality

Thai stakeholders’ awareness and perceptions of the patient adverse event reporting system for herbal medicines: a qualitative study

Background: In Thailand, the consumption of herbal medicines has been increasing. Adverse events (AEs) of herbal medicines have been identified through the spontaneous reporting system. However, the number of patients reporting AEs of herbal medicines remains limited. Aim: To explore the awareness and perceptions about the patient reporting system and to explore attitudes towards safety of herbal medicines, experiences, and intention to report AEs of herbal medicines. Method: Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with stakeholders (patients, community pharmacists, village health volunteers, and consumers who had experienced submitting a complaint about health products to the Consumers Foundation). Additionally, a focus group discussion was held with stakeholders (academics, herbal medicine manufacturers, healthcare professionals, policy maker who was responsible for promoting the use of herbal medicines, pharmacovigilance staff, patient, and representative from patient organisations). The data were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Fifty participants were interviewed and the focus group discussion included 12 participants. Patients had positive attitudes towards the safety of herbal medicines. Lack of awareness of the patient reporting system was identified. Nevertheless, all stakeholders acknowledged the importance of the safety monitoring of herbal medicines and indicated a willingness to report AEs via the patient reporting system in the future. A simple reporting system, a variety of reporting channels, the provision of feedback, and providing rewards would motivate patients to report AEs. Conclusion: Although there is a lack of awareness, this provides a great opportunity to improve patient AE reporting system for herbal medicines in Thailand

Cost-effectiveness modelling studies of all preventive measures against rabies: A systematic review.

Rabies is one of the most feared infectious diseases worldwide, predominantly occurring in Asia and Africa where rabies is endemic in domestic dog populations. Whereas previous studies have demonstrated mass dog vaccination and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) as the most effective control strategies, successful rabies elimination has yet to be realized as these recognized effective interventions continue to face challenges of limited accessibility. In the light of new evidence towards improving programmatic feasibility and clinical practice in rabies control especially among endemic countries, a systematic review was undertaken to identify cost-effectiveness modelling studies of rabies preventive measures and to provide a critical review of published evidence through comparative evaluation and model quality assessment, and a synthesis of key findings based thereon. Our search through MEDLINE and SCOPUS identified a total of 17 studies which mostly focused on estimating the impact of increasing PEP and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) access, human rabies elimination scenarios using mass dog vaccinations only or complemented with PEP strategy. While no significant methodological inconsistency across studies was identified and the extent of reporting is generally high, we note several points for quality and internal validity improvement. Assessment of modelling approach showed that decision tree models had similar pathways. The results of the studies suggest that interventions would be cost-effective at the cost-effectiveness threshold of 1 to 3 times per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as recommended by the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health's GDP based thresholds, compared with no intervention in rabies endemic countries. When compared across studies which reported incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) as cost per QALY gained or DALY averted in international dollars adjusted by purchasing power parity conversion rate, PEP vaccination yields less cost per DALY averted or QALY gained due to one year-horizon assessment compared to canine vaccination at 4- or 10-year-time horizon

ผลการบริบาลทางเภสัชกรรมในทารกคลอดก่อนกำหนดที่ได้รับอาหารทางหลอดเลือดดำ Outcomes of Pharmaceutical Care in Premature Newborns Receiving Parenteral Nutrition

Objective: To investigate clinical outcomes of pharmaceutical care servicein premature newborns receiving parenteral nutrition (PN), and acceptanceof the service in preventing and solving inappropriate of PN formula.Method: This prospective descriptive study purposively included prematurenewborns in Smutprakarn hospital, Thailand, between Jan. 3 and Jun. 30,2014 by purposive sampling. A pharmacist monitored the change of bodyweight and evaluated clinical outcomes throughout the PN period. Thepharmacist suggested the intervention on issues found regarding PN eg.production-related and PN-related complication problems. The interventionswere followed up. Results: Of the 45 premature newborns included, 27boys were found. Their average birth weight was 1,432.44 ± 288.06 gm.Thirty premature newborns (66%) received PN through peripheral line. In aweight loss period, their weights decreased by 10.59 ± 5.83% and later theweight increased by 22.30 ± 7.91 g/day. A total of 271 pharmacist’sinterventions were done in preventing and solving the inappropriate PNformula. The majority of interventions involved changing the quantities ofprotein in the formula to prevent metabolic complications caused by PN(phlebitis). There were 175 (64.58%) interventions accepted of which 166interventions (95.95%) could prevent and solve the problem. Conclusion:Pharmaceutical care service in premature newborns who received PNpositively resulted in the great clinical outcomes and the pharmacist’sintervention could prevent and solve the inappropriate PN formula.Key words: pharmaceutical care, parenteral nutrition, premature newborn