Open AccessShort-term general, gynecologic, orthopedic, and pediatric surgical mission trips in Nicaragua: A cost-effectiveness analysis
Author(s) -
Keyanna P. Taylor,
Anna Fernández Ortiz,
Jason Paltzer
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of global health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.581
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 2047-2986
pISSN - 2047-2978
DOI - 10.7189/jogh.11.04024
Subject(s) - specialty , trips architecture , medicine , cost–benefit analysis , cost effectiveness , orthopedic surgery , family medicine , surgery , engineering , political science , risk analysis (engineering) , transport engineering , law
Background Short-term surgical missions facilitated by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) may be a possible platform for cost-effective international global surgical efforts. The objective of this study is to determine if short-term surgical mission trips provided by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Esperança to Nicaragua from 2016 to 2020 are cost-effective. Methods Using a provider perspective, the costs of implementing the surgical trips were collected via Esperança’s previous trip reports. The reports and patient data were analyzed to determine disability-adjusted life years averted from each surgical procedure provided in Nicaragua from 2016-2020. Average cost-effectiveness ratios for each surgical trip specialty were calculated to determine the average cost of averting one disability-adjusted life year. Results Esperança’s surgical missions’ program in Nicaragua from 2016 to 2020 was found to be cost-effective, with pediatric and gynecology surgical specialties being highly cost-effective and general and orthopedic surgical specialties being moderately cost-effective. These results were echoed in both scenarios of the sensitivity analysis, except for the orthopedic specialty which was found to not be cost-effective when testing an increased discount rate. Conclusions The cost-effectiveness of short-term surgical missions provided by NGOs can be cost-effective, but limitations include inconsistent data from a societal perspective and lack of an appropriate counterfactual. Future studies should examine the capacity for NGOs to collect adequate data and conduct rigorous economic evaluations.