Patient Preferences for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Care in South Africa: A Discrete Choice Experiment.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the trade-offs low-resource setting community members were willing to make in regard to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest care using a discrete choice experiment survey. METHODS: We administered a discrete choice experiment survey to a sample of community members 18 years or older across South Africa between April and May 2022. Participants were presented with 18 paired choice tasks comprised of 5 attributes (distance to closest adequate facility, provider of care, response time, chances of survival, and transport cost) and a range of 3 to 5 levels. We used mixed logit models to evaluate respondents' preferences for selected attributes. RESULTS: Analyses were based on 2228 responses and 40 104 choice tasks. Patients valued care with the shortest response time, delivered by the highest qualified individuals, which placed them within the shortest distance of an adequate facility, gave them the highest chance of survival, and costed the least. In addition, patients preferred care delivered by their family members over care delivered by the lay public. The highest mean willingness-to-pay for increased survival is 11 699 South African rand (ZAR), followed by distance to health facility (8108 ZAR), and response time (5678 ZAR), and the lowest for increasing specialization of provider (1287 ZAR). CONCLUSIONS: In low-resource settings, it may align with patients' preference to include targeted resuscitation training for family members of individuals with high-risk for cardiac arrest as a part of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest intervention strategies.

A novel approach to estimate the impact of health workforce investments on health outcomes through increased coverage of HIV, TB and malaria services.

BACKGROUND: Globally, HIV, TB and malaria account for an estimated three million deaths annually. The Global Fund partnered with the World Health Organization to assist countries with health workforce planning in these areas through the development of an integrated health workforce investment impact tool. Our study illustrates the development of a user-friendly tool (with two MS Excel calculator subcomponents) that computes associations between human resources for health (HRH) investment inputs and reduced morbidity and mortality from HIV, TB, and malaria via increased coverage of effective treatment services. METHODS: We retrieved from the peer-reviewed literature quantitative estimates of the relation among HRH inputs and HRH employment and productivity. We converted these values to additional full-time-equivalent doctors, nurses and midwives (DNMs). We used log-linear regression to estimate the relation between DNMs and treatment service coverage outcomes for HIV, TB, and malaria. We then retrieved treatment effectiveness parameters from the literature to calculate lives saved due to expanded treatment coverage for HIV, TB, and malaria. After integrating these estimates into the tool, we piloted it in four countries. RESULTS: In most countries with a considerable burden of HIV, TB, and malaria, the health workforce investments include a mix of pre-service education, full remuneration of new hires, various forms of incentives and in-service training. These investments were associated with elevated HIV, TB and malaria treatment service coverage and additional lives saved. The country case studies we developed in addition, indicate the feasibility and utility of the tool for a variety of international and local actors interested in HRH planning. CONCLUSIONS: The modelled estimates developed for illustrative purposes and tested through country case studies suggest that HRH investments result in lives saved across HIV, TB, and malaria. Furthermore, findings show that attainment of high targets of specific treatment coverage indicators would require a substantially greater health workforce than what is currently available in most LMICs. The open access tool can assist with future HRH planning efforts, particularly in LMICs.

Indirect COVID-19 health effects and potential mitigating interventions: Cost-effectiveness framework.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic led to important indirect health and social harms in addition to deaths and morbidity due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. These indirect impacts, such as increased depression and substance abuse, can have persistent effects over the life course. Estimated health and cost outcomes of such conditions and mitigation strategies may guide public health responses. METHODS: We developed a cost-effectiveness framework to evaluate societal costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost due to six health-related indirect effects of COVID-19 in California. Short- and long-term outcomes were evaluated for the adult population. We identified one evidence-based mitigation strategy for each condition and estimated QALYs gained, intervention costs, and savings from averted health-related harms. Model data were derived from literature review, public data, and expert opinion. RESULTS: Pandemic-associated increases in prevalence across these six conditions were estimated to lead to over 192,000 QALYs lost and to approach $7 billion in societal costs per million population over the life course of adults. The greatest costs and QALYs lost per million adults were due to adult depression. All mitigation strategies assessed saved both QALYs and costs, with five strategies achieving savings within one year. The greatest net savings over 10 years would be achieved by addressing depression ($242 million) and excessive alcohol use ($107 million). DISCUSSION: The COVID-19 pandemic is leading to significant human suffering and societal costs due to its indirect effects. Policymakers have an opportunity to reduce societal costs and health harms by implementing mitigation strategies.

Implementation of a Multisite Financial Reimbursement Program in Cancer Clinical Trials Integrated With Patient Navigation: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.

PURPOSE: Cancer clinical trial participants face considerable indirect costs associated with participation, such as travel and lodging, which may contribute to poor enrollment. Here, we report the findings in IMproving Patient Access to Cancer clinical Trials, a pilot feasibility study investigating the efficacy of offering a financial reimbursement program (FRP) during a therapeutic clinical trial discussion with or without additional outreach in improving patient enrollment. METHODS: Study participants for this study were recruited at two National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers (CCCs) from April 8, 2019, to September 19, 2019. Eligible participants were adults with a cancer diagnosis being approached to consider enrollment in a clinical trial. Participants were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive no follow-up (usual care) or a follow-up telephone call to facilitate FRP utilization stratified by study site. The target enrollment was 132 patients, with 66 patients in each study arm. The primary outcome was the consent rate to the multisite interventional study on the FRP among participants enrolling in clinical trials. RESULTS: The study had a 78% consent rate and enrolled a total of 132 participants, of whom 51% were non-White compared with 28% of CCC treatment clinical trial participants in 2019. No difference in enrollment in clinical trials between the two study arms was observed as the proportion of enrollment was 70% for both study arms. The most common reason for not enrolling in a clinical trial was due to ineligibility determined through screening procedures (75%). CONCLUSION: The current study observed that implementation of FRP at CCCs is feasible and serves a diverse patient population. Future studies will measure the impact of programs on overall clinical trial accrual and among racial/ethnic minorities.

Disparities in PET Imaging for Prostate Cancer at a Tertiary Academic Medical Center.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences between patients receiving 18F-fluciclovine and 68Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen (68Ga-PSMA-11) for biochemically recurrent prostate cancer at a tertiary medical center. Methods: All 18F-fluciclovine and 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET studies performed at the University of California San Francisco from October 2015 to January 2020 were reviewed. Age, race/ethnicity, primary language, body mass index, insurance type, and home address were obtained through the electronic medical record. A logistic regression model was used to evaluate the predictor variables. Results: In total, 1,502 patients received 68Ga-PSMA-11 and 254 patients received 18F-fluciclovine. Black patients had increased odds of receiving imaging with 18F-fluciclovine versus 68Ga-PSMA-11 compared with non-Hispanic White patients (odds ratio, 3.88; 95% CI, 1.90-7.91). There were no other statistically significant differences. Conclusion: In patients receiving molecular imaging for prostate cancer at a single U.S. tertiary medical center, access to 68Ga-PSMA-11 for Black patients was limited, compared with non-Hispanic White patients, by a factor of nearly 4.

Family monetary incentives as a value-based care model for oral hygiene: rationale and design of the BEhavioral EConomics for Oral health iNnovation (BEECON) trial.

BACKGROUND: Effective prevention-focused, value-based strategies are needed to improve oral health. Despite evidence that monetary incentives can motivate healthy behavior, well-powered studies have yet to examine incentives for improving children's oral hygiene. AIM: Describe the rationale and design of the BEhavioral EConomics for Oral health iNnovation (BEECON) trial, which tests lottery-based monetary incentives as a consumer-oriented, value-based care model for improving children's oral hygiene. DESIGN: Phase II, stratified, permuted block randomized, controlled, two-arm, parallel groups, prevention trial. SETTING: Study visits occur at three Los Angeles, CA health clinics. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred and forty-four parent-child dyads with a child aged 6-48 months. INTERVENTIONS: Eligible dyads were randomized in equal allocation to one of two groups: lottery incentive group or waitlist (delayed incentive) control group. Weekly lottery incentives were offered for 6 months based on Bluetooth-recorded toothbrushing frequency. Both groups received weekly text message feedback on toothbrushing performance. OUTCOMES: The primary outcome was toothbrushing performance from baseline to 6 months, measured as the mean number of qualifying half-day Bluetooth-recorded episodes per week when the child's teeth were brushed. Secondary outcomes included toothbrushing performance sustainability through 12 months and dental caries status. CONCLUSIONS: BEECON offers a consumer-oriented approach to promoting value-based oral health care. We hypothesize that lottery-based incentives can improve oral hygiene in young children. Study results will inform programming efforts to enhance oral disease prevention in young children. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03576326.

Understanding patients' preferences for surgical management of urethral stricture disease.

OBJECTIVES: To understand how prioritization of treatment attributes and treatment choice varies by patient characteristics, we sought to specifically determine how demographic variables affect patient treatment preference. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Male patients with urethral stricture disease participated in a choice-based conjoint (CBC) analysis exercise evaluating six treatment attributes associated with internal urethrotomy and urethroplasty. Demographic and past symptom data were collected. Stratified analysis of demographic variables, including age, education, income, was conducted using a mixed effect logistic regression model to evaluate the coefficient size and confidence intervals between the treatments attribute preferences of each strata. RESULTS: 169 patients completed the CBC exercise and were included in our analysis. Overall success of the procedure is the most important treatment attribute to patients and this persists across strata. Older patients (≥65) express preferences for better success rates and fewer future procedures, whereas younger patients prefer a less invasive approach and are more willing to accept additional procedures if needed. Patients with lower levels of education preferred open reconstruction and had a stronger preference against multiple future procedures, whereas those with higher levels of education preferred endoscopic treatment and had a less strong preference against multiple future procedures. Low-income individuals express statistically significant stronger negative preferences against high copay costs compared to high-income individuals. CONCLUSION: These results can help to inform physicians' counseling about surgical management of urethral stricture disease to better align patient preferences with treatment selection and encourage shared decision making.