Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Aug 14;9(8):e103825.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103825. eCollection 2014.

A systematic review of scope and quality of health economic evaluation studies in Vietnam

Bach Xuan Tran  1 , Vuong Minh Nong  2 , Rachel Marie Maher  2 , Phuong Khanh Nguyen  3 , Hoat Ngoc Luu  2
Affiliations

A systematic review of scope and quality of health economic evaluation studies in Vietnam

Bach Xuan Tran et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Introduction: 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.

Methods: 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.

Results: 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.

Conclusion: 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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. PRISMA flow chart of study selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2. ICERs of studies reported health outcomes by cost per case averted.
Figure 3
Figure 3. ICERs of studies reported health outcomes by cost per LYS.
Figure 4
Figure 4. ICERs of studies reporting health outcomes by cost per QALY.
Figure 5
Figure 5. ICERs of studies reporting health outcomes by cost per DALY.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lindholm L, Thanh NX (2003) The role of health economics in Vietnam: a tentative research agenda. Scand J Public Health Suppl 62: 66–69. - PubMed
    1. Young J (2005) Research, policy and practice: why developing countries are different. Journal of International Development 17: 727–734.
    1. Peterson LE, Goodman C, Karnes EK, Chen CJ, Schwartz JA (2009) Assessment of the quality of cost analysis literature in physical therapy. Phys Ther 89: 733–755. - PubMed
    1. Ofman JJ, Sullivan SD, Neumann PJ, Chiou CF, Henning JM, et al. (2003) Examining the value and quality of health economic analyses: implications of utilizing the QHES. J Manag Care Pharm 9: 53–61. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Acharya A, Adam T, Baltussen R, Evans D, Hutubessy R, et al... (2003) Making Choices in Health: WHO Guide to Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources