Methodological issues to consider when collecting data to estimate poverty impact in economic evaluations in low-income and middle-income countries

Sweeney, Sedona and Vassall, Anna and Foster, Nicola and Simms, Victoria and Ilboudo, Patrick and Kimaro, Godfather and Mudzengi, Don and Guinness, Lorna (2016) Methodological issues to consider when collecting data to estimate poverty impact in economic evaluations in low-income and middle-income countries. Health Economics, 25 (Supp 1). pp. 42-52. ISSN 1057-9230

Abstract

Out‐of‐pocket spending is increasingly recognized as an important barrier to accessing health care, particularly in low‐income and middle‐income countries (LMICs) where a large portion of health expenditure comes from out‐of‐pocket payments. Emerging universal healthcare policies prioritize reduction of poverty impact such as catastrophic and impoverishing healthcare expenditure. Poverty impact is therefore increasingly evaluated alongside and within economic evaluations to estimate the impact of specific health interventions on poverty. However, data collection for these metrics can be challenging in intervention‐based contexts in LMICs because of study design and practical limitations. Using a set of case studies, this letter identifies methodological challenges in collecting patient cost data in LMIC contexts. These components are presented in a framework to encourage researchers to consider the implications of differing approaches in data collection and to report their approach in a standardized and transparent way. © 2016 The Authors. Health Economics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.