Economic Evaluation of malaria in pregnancy preventive alternative drugs (Eco-MiPPAD)

Objectives

The primary objective of the study was to calculate the incremental cost-effectiveness of mefloquine compared with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine as a treatment for the prevention of malaria in pregnancy. In the short term, it will be considered the cost-effectiveness analysis of the two trials in relation to the intervention’s efficacy on mothers’ health (in particular on malaria and anaemia during pregnancy) and on neonatal health (birth weight, neonatal mortality and morbidity). In the medium term, the cost-effective analysis of the two trials in relation to the intervention’s efficacy on infants’ health will be done in terms of the interventions’ direct influence on morbidity and mortality reduction during the first year of life, and on the morbidity and mortality reduction as a consequence of a lower prevalence of low birth weight. 

The secondary objectives of the project included:

1. Constructing a cost-effectiveness model for the economic evaluation of IPTp, which can provide policy makers with evaluation tools that can be used if changes in the intervention need to be considered in the future.
2. Testing to determine the variables that have the greatest effect on the costeffectiveness in the estimated model.
3. Determining the levels of several important variables (incidence of malaria, protective efficacy, babies’ weight at birth, etc.) beyond which the intervention ceases to be cost-effective.