Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36376860›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2022

How much does effective health facility inspection cost? An analysis of the economic costs of Kenya's Joint Health Inspection innovations.

Timothy Chege, Francis Wafula, Eric Tama, Irene Khayoni, Dosila Ogira, Njeri Gitau, Catherine Goodman

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

7 authors.

Timothy ChegeInstitute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University, 59857, Ole Sangale Road, 00200, Nairobi, Kenya. tchege@strathmore.edu.
Francis WafulaInstitute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University, 59857, Ole Sangale Road, 00200, Nairobi, Kenya.
Eric TamaInstitute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University, 59857, Ole Sangale Road, 00200, Nairobi, Kenya.
Irene KhayoniInstitute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University, 59857, Ole Sangale Road, 00200, Nairobi, Kenya.
Dosila OgiraInstitute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University, 59857, Ole Sangale Road, 00200, Nairobi, Kenya.
Njeri GitauInternational Finance Corporation, Work Bank Group, 30577, Upper Hill Road, 00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
Catherine GoodmanDepartment of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel, WC1E 7HT, London, UK.

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/P014291/1Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn most low- and middle-income countries, health facility regulation is fragmented, ineffective and under-resourced. The Kenyan Government piloted an innovative regulatory regime involving Joint Health Inspections (JHI) which synthesized requirements across multiple regulatory agencies; increased inspection frequency; digitized inspection tools; and introduced public display of regulatory results. The pilot significantly improved regulatory compliance. We calculated the costs of the development and implementation of the JHI pilot and modelled the costs of national scale-up in Kenya.

methodsWe calculated the economic costs of three phases: JHI checklist development, start-up activities, and first year of implementation, from the providers' perspective in three pilot counties. Data collection involved extraction from expenditure records and key informant interviews. The annualized costs of JHI were calculated by adding annualized development and start-up costs to annual implementation costs. National level scale-up costs were also modelled and compared to those of current standard inspections.

resultsThe total economic cost of the JHI pilot was USD 1,125,600 (2017 USD), with the development phase accounting for 19%, start-up 43% and the first year of implementation 38%. The annualized economic cost was USD 519,287, equivalent to USD 206 per health facility visit and USD 311 per inspection completed. Scale up to the national level, while replacing international advisors with local staff, was estimated to cost approximately USD 4,823,728, equivalent to USD 103 per health facility visit and USD 155 per inspection completed. This compares to an estimated USD 86,997 per year (USD 113 per inspection completed) spent on a limited number of inspections prior to JHI.

conclusionInformation on costs is essential to consider affordability and value for money of regulatory interventions. This is the first study we are aware of costing health facility inspections in sub-Saharan Africa. It has informed debates on appropriate inspection design and potential efficiency gains. It will also serve as an important benchmark for future studies, and a key input into cost-effectiveness analyses.

Indexed as

Health Care CostsHealth ExpendituresCost-Benefit AnalysisHealth FacilitiesHumansKenyaCost analysisDigital innovationRegulation

Identifiers

PMID36376860
PMCPMC9664811

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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.