Does scale matter? The costs of HIV-prevention interventions for commercial sex workers in India
OBJECTIVE: To explore how the scale of a project affects both the total costs and average costs of HIV prevention in India. METHODS: Economic cost data and measures of scale (coverage and service volume indicators for number of cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) referred, number of STIs...
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| Language: | English |
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The World Health Organization
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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=S0042-96862005001000011&lng=en&tlng=en |
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| author | Lorna Guinness Lilani Kumaranayake Bhuvaneswari Rajaraman Girija Sankaranarayanan Gangadhar Vannela P. Raghupathi Alex George |
| author_facet | Lorna Guinness Lilani Kumaranayake Bhuvaneswari Rajaraman Girija Sankaranarayanan Gangadhar Vannela P. Raghupathi Alex George |
| author_sort | Lorna Guinness |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | OBJECTIVE: To explore how the scale of a project affects both the total costs and average costs of HIV prevention in India. METHODS: Economic cost data and measures of scale (coverage and service volume indicators for number of cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) referred, number of STIs treated, condoms distributed and contacts made with target groups) were collected from 17 interventions run by nongovernmental organizations aimed at commercial sex workers in southern India. Nonparametric methods and regression analyses were used to look at the relationship between total costs, unit costs and scale. FINDINGS: Coverage varied from 250 to 2008 sex workers. Annual costs ranged from US$ 11 274 to US$ 52 793. The median cost per sex worker reached was US$ 19.21 (range = US$ 10.00-51.00). The scale variables explain more than 50% of the variation in unit costs for all of the unit cost measures except cost per contact. Total costs and unit costs have non-linear relationships to scale. CONCLUSION: Average costs vary with the scale of the project. Estimates of resource requirements based on a constant average cost could underestimate or overestimate total costs. The results highlight the importance of improving scale-specific cost information for planning. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T18:53:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e48936e8fbf4b33a0bb15e270552b38 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0042-9686 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T18:53:27Z |
| publisher | The World Health Organization |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Bulletin of the World Health Organization |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e48936e8fbf4b33a0bb15e270552b382024-03-02T00:59:09ZengThe World Health OrganizationBulletin of the World Health Organization0042-9686831074775510.1590/S0042-96862005001000011S0042-96862005001000011Does scale matter? The costs of HIV-prevention interventions for commercial sex workers in IndiaLorna Guinness0Lilani Kumaranayake1Bhuvaneswari Rajaraman2Girija Sankaranarayanan3Gangadhar Vannela4P. Raghupathi5Alex George6London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineIndian Institute of TechnologyEmory UniversityCentre for Health and Social Sector StudiesUniversity of HyderabadCentre for Health and Social Sector StudiesOBJECTIVE: To explore how the scale of a project affects both the total costs and average costs of HIV prevention in India. METHODS: Economic cost data and measures of scale (coverage and service volume indicators for number of cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) referred, number of STIs treated, condoms distributed and contacts made with target groups) were collected from 17 interventions run by nongovernmental organizations aimed at commercial sex workers in southern India. Nonparametric methods and regression analyses were used to look at the relationship between total costs, unit costs and scale. FINDINGS: Coverage varied from 250 to 2008 sex workers. Annual costs ranged from US$ 11 274 to US$ 52 793. The median cost per sex worker reached was US$ 19.21 (range = US$ 10.00-51.00). The scale variables explain more than 50% of the variation in unit costs for all of the unit cost measures except cost per contact. Total costs and unit costs have non-linear relationships to scale. CONCLUSION: Average costs vary with the scale of the project. Estimates of resource requirements based on a constant average cost could underestimate or overestimate total costs. The results highlight the importance of improving scale-specific cost information for planning.http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0042-96862005001000011&lng=en&tlng=enHIV infectionsHIV infectionsProstitutionSexually transmitted diseasesContact tracingCondomsCosts and cost analysisIndia |
| spellingShingle | Lorna Guinness Lilani Kumaranayake Bhuvaneswari Rajaraman Girija Sankaranarayanan Gangadhar Vannela P. Raghupathi Alex George Does scale matter? The costs of HIV-prevention interventions for commercial sex workers in India Bulletin of the World Health Organization HIV infections HIV infections Prostitution Sexually transmitted diseases Contact tracing Condoms Costs and cost analysis India |
| title | Does scale matter? The costs of HIV-prevention interventions for commercial sex workers in India |
| title_full | Does scale matter? The costs of HIV-prevention interventions for commercial sex workers in India |
| title_fullStr | Does scale matter? The costs of HIV-prevention interventions for commercial sex workers in India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does scale matter? The costs of HIV-prevention interventions for commercial sex workers in India |
| title_short | Does scale matter? The costs of HIV-prevention interventions for commercial sex workers in India |
| title_sort | does scale matter the costs of hiv prevention interventions for commercial sex workers in india |
| topic | HIV infections HIV infections Prostitution Sexually transmitted diseases Contact tracing Condoms Costs and cost analysis India |
| url | http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0042-96862005001000011&lng=en&tlng=en |
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