Cost-effectiveness of community health workers in tuberculosis control in Bangladesh
OBJECTIVE: To compare the cost-effectiveness of the tuberculosis (TB) programme run by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), which uses community health workers (CHWs), with that of the government TB programme which does not use CHWs. METHODS: TB control statistics and cost data for Jul...
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| Format: | Article |
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The World Health Organization
2002-01-01
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| Series: | Bulletin of the World Health Organization |
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0042-96862002000600007 |
| _version_ | 1797285256140685312 |
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| author | Islam Md. Akramul Wakai Susumu Ishikawa Nobukatsu Chowdhury A.M.R. Vaughan J. Patrick |
| author_facet | Islam Md. Akramul Wakai Susumu Ishikawa Nobukatsu Chowdhury A.M.R. Vaughan J. Patrick |
| author_sort | Islam Md. Akramul |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | OBJECTIVE: To compare the cost-effectiveness of the tuberculosis (TB) programme run by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), which uses community health workers (CHWs), with that of the government TB programme which does not use CHWs. METHODS: TB control statistics and cost data for July 1996 - June 1997 were collected from both government and BRAC thanas (subdistricts) in rural Bangladesh. To measure the cost per patient cured, total costs were divided by the total number of patients cured. FINDINGS: In the BRAC and government areas, respectively, a total of 186 and 185 TB patients were identified over one year, with cure rates among sputum-positive patients of 84% and 82%. However, the cost per patient cured was US$ 64 in the BRAC area compared to US$ 96 in the government area. CONCLUSION: The government programme was 50% more expensive for similar outcomes. Although both the BRAC and government TB control programmes appeared to achieve satisfactory cure rates using DOTS (a five-point strategy), the involvement of CHWs was found to be more cost-effective in rural Bangladesh. With the same budget, the BRAC programme could cure three TB patients for every two in the government programme. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T17:59:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-40578b9d88f9486baf3f36ca4e73161c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0042-9686 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T17:59:34Z |
| publishDate | 2002-01-01 |
| publisher | The World Health Organization |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Bulletin of the World Health Organization |
| spelling | doaj.art-40578b9d88f9486baf3f36ca4e73161c2024-03-02T11:00:39ZengThe World Health OrganizationBulletin of the World Health Organization0042-96862002-01-01806445450Cost-effectiveness of community health workers in tuberculosis control in BangladeshIslam Md. AkramulWakai SusumuIshikawa NobukatsuChowdhury A.M.R.Vaughan J. PatrickOBJECTIVE: To compare the cost-effectiveness of the tuberculosis (TB) programme run by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), which uses community health workers (CHWs), with that of the government TB programme which does not use CHWs. METHODS: TB control statistics and cost data for July 1996 - June 1997 were collected from both government and BRAC thanas (subdistricts) in rural Bangladesh. To measure the cost per patient cured, total costs were divided by the total number of patients cured. FINDINGS: In the BRAC and government areas, respectively, a total of 186 and 185 TB patients were identified over one year, with cure rates among sputum-positive patients of 84% and 82%. However, the cost per patient cured was US$ 64 in the BRAC area compared to US$ 96 in the government area. CONCLUSION: The government programme was 50% more expensive for similar outcomes. Although both the BRAC and government TB control programmes appeared to achieve satisfactory cure rates using DOTS (a five-point strategy), the involvement of CHWs was found to be more cost-effective in rural Bangladesh. With the same budget, the BRAC programme could cure three TB patients for every two in the government programme.http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0042-96862002000600007Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/prevention and controlCommunity health aides/utilizationCommunity health aides/economicsHealth personnel/utilizationNational health programs/organization and administrationRural health services/manpowerCost-benefit analysisComparative studyBangladesh |
| spellingShingle | Islam Md. Akramul Wakai Susumu Ishikawa Nobukatsu Chowdhury A.M.R. Vaughan J. Patrick Cost-effectiveness of community health workers in tuberculosis control in Bangladesh Bulletin of the World Health Organization Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/prevention and control Community health aides/utilization Community health aides/economics Health personnel/utilization National health programs/organization and administration Rural health services/manpower Cost-benefit analysis Comparative study Bangladesh |
| title | Cost-effectiveness of community health workers in tuberculosis control in Bangladesh |
| title_full | Cost-effectiveness of community health workers in tuberculosis control in Bangladesh |
| title_fullStr | Cost-effectiveness of community health workers in tuberculosis control in Bangladesh |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cost-effectiveness of community health workers in tuberculosis control in Bangladesh |
| title_short | Cost-effectiveness of community health workers in tuberculosis control in Bangladesh |
| title_sort | cost effectiveness of community health workers in tuberculosis control in bangladesh |
| topic | Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/prevention and control Community health aides/utilization Community health aides/economics Health personnel/utilization National health programs/organization and administration Rural health services/manpower Cost-benefit analysis Comparative study Bangladesh |
| url | http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0042-96862002000600007 |
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