Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40065386›Full record

ArticleBMC research notes2025

Time and cost involved in measuring access to medicines: the case of Albania.

E Petro, I R Joosse, A C M Siebers, T Martopullo, R P M Hart, A K Mantel-Teeuwisse, H A van den Ham, F Suleman

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC research notes, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. 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

8 authors.

E PetroLocal Healthcare Unit, Durres, Albania. erionapetro@hotmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-1471-3861
I R JoosseWHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Policy and Regulation, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7677-8589
A C M SiebersWHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Policy and Regulation, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-0004-4910
T MartopulloLady of Good Counsel University, Tirana, Albania.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0005-6837-0483
R P M HartWHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Policy and Regulation, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
A K Mantel-TeeuwisseWHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Policy and Regulation, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8782-0698
H A van den HamWHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Policy and Regulation, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands. h.a.vandenham@uu.nl.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1339-9818
F SulemanWHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Policy and Evidence Based Practice, Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8559-9168

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThis study aimed to assess the resources involved in collecting data for both the WHO/Health Action International (HAI) methodology and the Sustainable Development Goal 3.b.3 indicator to determine the availability and affordability of medicines. Medicines from the WHO Global Core List (GCL) and a basket of pediatric medicines were chosen to reflect a comprehensive range of medicines. The objective was to analyze the time, financial, and human resource investments required to conduct such research in an upper-middle-income country like Albania.

resultsData collection, including travel required approximately 3.5 h per survey area, with a total of 36 h estimated across six areas, not including data analysis. Each survey area was visited by four data collectors. Although collecting this type of data was initially perceived as laborious, our findings revealed that this was primarily due to the pre-survey preparation rather than the data collection process itself. Transportation costs were calculated by including car rental and fuel costs and totaled 120 euro. This exploratory assessment offers valuable insights into the practical challenges of evaluating access to medicines, which can help improve data collection strategies and inform evidence-based policy development to enhance medicine availability and affordability in the future.

Indexed as

Health Services AccessibilityAlbaniaData CollectionHumansTime FactorsWorld Health OrganizationAccess to medicinesAlbaniaCost expendituresData collectionEssential medicinesMonitoring toolsResearch methodology

Identifiers

PMID40065386
PMCPMC11895194

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.