Open AccessRationale and opportunities in estimating the economic burden of seasonal influenza across countries using a standardized WHO tool and manual
Author(s) -
Chaiyakunapruk Nathorn,
Kotirum Surachai,
Newall Anthony T.,
Lambach Philipp,
Hutubessy Raymond C. W.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
influenza and other respiratory viruses
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.743
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1750-2659
pISSN - 1750-2640
DOI - 10.1111/irv.12491
Subject(s) - disease burden , seasonal influenza , burden of disease , public health , economic cost , estimation , environmental health , standardization , indirect costs , medicine , business , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , covid-19 , economics , computer science , population , nursing , neoclassical economics , pathology , management , accounting , operating system
Influenza disease burden is recognized as one of the major public health problems globally. Much less is known about the economic burden of influenza especially in low‐ and middle‐income countries ( LMIC s). A recent systematic review on the economic burden of influenza in LMIC s suggests that information is scarce and/or incomplete and that there is a lack of standardized approaches for cost evaluations in LMIC s. WHO commissioned and publicized a Manual for estimating the economic burden of seasonal influenza to support the standardization of estimates of the economic burden of seasonal influenza across countries. This article aims to describe the rationale of this manual development and opportunities that lie in collecting data to help policymakers estimate the economic burden of seasonal influenza. It describes a manual developed by WHO to help such estimation and also links to relevant literature and tools to ensure robustness of applied methods to assess the economic burden associated with seasonal influenza, including direct medical costs, direct non‐medical costs and indirect costs.