A Systematic Review of the Costs Relating to Non-pharmaceutical Interventions Against Infectious Disease Outbreaks

Janetta E. Skarp (), Laura E. Downey, Julius W. E. Ohrnberger, Lucia Cilloni, Alexandra B. Hogan, Abagael L. Sykes, Susannah S. Wang, Hiral Anil Shah, Mimi Xiao and Katharina Hauck
Additional contact information
Janetta E. Skarp: Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA)
Laura E. Downey: Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA)
Julius W. E. Ohrnberger: Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA)
Lucia Cilloni: Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA)
Alexandra B. Hogan: Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA)
Abagael L. Sykes: Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA)
Susannah S. Wang: Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA)
Hiral Anil Shah: Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA)
Mimi Xiao: Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA)
Katharina Hauck: Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA)

Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 2021, vol. 19, issue 5, No 6, 673-697

Abstract: Abstract Background Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are the cornerstone of infectious disease outbreak response in the absence of effective pharmaceutical interventions. Outbreak strategies often involve combinations of NPIs that may change according to disease prevalence and population response. Little is known with regard to how costly each NPI is to implement. This information is essential to inform policy decisions for outbreak response. Objective To address this gap in existing literature, we conducted a systematic review on outbreak costings and simulation studies related to a number of NPI strategies, including isolating infected individuals, contact tracing and quarantine, and school closures. Methods Our search covered the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases, studies published between 1990 and 24 March 2020 were included. We included studies containing cost data for our NPIs of interest in pandemic, epidemic, and outbreak response scenarios. Results We identified 61 relevant studies. There was substantial heterogeneity in the cost components recorded for NPIs in outbreak costing studies. The direct costs of NPIs for which costing studies existed also ranged widely: isolating infected individuals per case: US$141.18 to US$1042.68 (2020 values), tracing and quarantine of contacts per contact: US$40.73 to US$93.59, social distancing: US$33.76 to US$167.92, personal protection and hygiene: US$0.15 to US$895.60. Conclusion While there are gaps and heterogeneity in available cost data, the findings of this review and the collated cost database serve as an important resource for evidence-based decision-making for estimating costs pertaining to NPI implementation in future outbreak response policies.

Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40258-021-00659-z Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:aphecp:v:19:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1007_s40258-021-00659-z

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/40258

DOI: 10.1007/s40258-021-00659-z

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Health Economics and Health Policy is currently edited by Timothy Wrightson

More articles in Applied Health Economics and Health Policy from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().