title: Study of implementation and direct cost estimates for diagnostic tests for human visceral leishmaniasis in an urban area in Brazil.
abstract: This work reports the process and costs of comprehensively implementing two tests to decentralize the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in an endemic city in Brazil: a rapid test (IT LEISH) and a direct agglutination test (DAT-LPC). The implementation began by training health professionals to perform the tests. Estimation of the training costs considered the proportional remuneration of all professionals involved and the direct costs of the tests used for training. The study was conducted between November 2011 and November 2013. During that time, 17 training sessions were held, and 175 professionals were trained. The training cost for each professional was US$ 7.13 for the IT LEISH and US$ 9.93 for the DAT-LPC. The direct costs of the IT LEISH and DAT-LPC were estimated to be US$ 6.62 and US$ 5.44, respectively. This first evaluation of the implementation of these diagnostic tests indicates the feasibility of decentralizing both methods to extend access to VL diagnosis in Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Tália Santana Machado de
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Assis
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Paloma Nogueira
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Peruhype-Magalhães
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luciana Inácia
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rabello
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D001938:Brazil; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000175:diagnosis*