Operational research on the economics of insecticide-treated mosquito nets: lessons of experience.
Over the last 10 years or so, awareness has grown of the importance of including an economic component in studies evaluating the potential of new interventions against the main tropical diseases such as malaria. There has been a tendency to regard this as a simple addition to carry out, not requiring specialised knowledge or skills, or substantial time and resources. One consequence has been the rather slow development of knowledge on economic aspects, with a literature that is both small and of uneven quality. This review draws on the experience of supporting the addition of an economic component to the large African trials of the impact of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, as well as on a broader knowledge of the literature on the economics of malaria, to discuss what type of economic information can be useful and what questions it can be used to answer, how the information can be obtained, what pitfalls are likely to be encountered in interpretation, and what needs to be done to improve the quantity and quality of studies.
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, U.K. a.mills.@lshtm.ac.uk
A
A
Mills
D001512:Bedding and Linens / Q000191:economics; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005869:Ghana; D006295:Health Resources; D006801:Humans; D007306:Insecticides / Q000191:economics*; D008288:Malaria / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000191:economics*
D007306:Insecticides