Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30888265›Full record

Trial reportGlobal health action2019

Costs and cost-effectiveness of three point-of-use water treatment technologies added to community-based treatment of severe acute malnutrition in Sindh Province, Pakistan.

Eleanor Rogers, Hannah Tappis, Shannon Doocy, Karen Martínez, Nicolas Villeminot, Ann Suk, Deepak Kumar, Silke Pietzsch, Chloe Puett

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Global health action, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Eleanor Rogersa Independent Consultant , UK.
Hannah Tappisb Department of International Health , Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of International Health , Baltimore , MD , USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4289-5418
Shannon Doocyb Department of International Health , Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of International Health , Baltimore , MD , USA.
Karen Martínezc Operations department , Action Against Hunger USA , New York , NY , USA.
Nicolas Villeminotc Operations department , Action Against Hunger USA , New York , NY , USA.
Ann Sukd Programme department , Action Against Hunger Pakistan , Islamabad , Pakistan.
Deepak Kumard Programme department , Action Against Hunger Pakistan , Islamabad , Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0001-5525-6765
Silke Pietzschc Operations department , Action Against Hunger USA , New York , NY , USA.
Chloe Puettc Operations department , Action Against Hunger USA , New York , NY , USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5163-5933
ActionAid · USJohns Hopkins University · USPakistan Army · PK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSevere acute malnutrition (SAM) is a major global public health concern. Despite the cost-effectiveness of treatment, ministries of health are often unable to commit the required funds which limits service coverage.

objectiveA randomised controlled trial was conducted in Sindh Province, Pakistan, to assess whether adding a point of use water treatment to the treatment of SAM without complications improved its cost-effectiveness. Three treatment strategies - chlorine disinfection (Aquatabs); flocculent disinfection (Procter and Gamble Purifier of Water [P&G PoW]) and Ceramic Filters - were compared to a standard SAM treatment protocol.

methodsAn institutional perspective was adopted for costing, considering the direct and indirect costs incurred by the provider. Combining the cost of SAM treatment and water treatment, an average cost per child was calculated for the combined interventions for each arm. The costs of water treatment alone and the incremental cost-effectiveness of each water treatment intervention were also assessed.

resultsThe incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for Aquatabs was 24 US dollars (USD), making it the most cost-effective strategy. The P&G PoW arm was the next least expensive strategy, costing an additional 149 USD per additional child recovered, though it was also the least effective of the three intervention strategies. The Ceramic Filters intervention was the most costly strategy and achieved a recovery rate lower than the Aquatabs arm and marginally higher than the P&G PoW arm.

conclusionsThis study found that the addition of a chlorine or flocculent disinfection point-of-use drinking water treatment intervention to the treatment of SAM without complications reduced the cost per child recovered compared to standard SAM treatment. To inform the feasibility of future implementation, further research is required to understand the costs of government implementation and the associated costs to the community and beneficiary household of receiving such an intervention in comparison with the existing SAM treatment protocol.

Indexed as

Cost-Benefit AnalysisChildChild, PreschoolHumansInfantPakistanRural PopulationSevere Acute MalnutritionWater Purificationcommunity-based management of acute malnutrition; severe acute malnutrition, point-of-use water treatment, cost-effectivenessTherapeutic feeding programmes

Identifiers

PMID30888265
PMCPMC6427553
OpenAlexW2922845890

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.