Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40196441›Full record

ArticleBMJ public health2025

Modelling the economic impact of substandard uterotonics on postpartum haemorrhage in Nigeria: safeguarding medicine quality can reduce costs and contribute towards universal health coverage.

Yi-Fang Ashley Lee, Colleen R Higgins, Petra Procter, Sara Rushwan, Chimezie Anyakora, Ahmet Metin Gülmezoglu, Lester Chinery, Sachiko Ozawa

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ public health, 2025. 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

8 authors.

Yi-Fang Ashley LeeDivision of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8648-9465
Colleen R HigginsDivision of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7900-9539
Petra ProcterConcept Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland.
Sara RushwanConcept Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland.
Chimezie AnyakoraSchool of Science and Technology, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria.
Ahmet Metin GülmezogluConcept Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-4674-0998
Lester ChineryConcept Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland.
Sachiko OzawaDivision of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7608-9038

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Little evidence exists on the economic threat that substandard uterotonics pose to postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), maternal mortality, and national health systems. For clinical emergencies such as PPH, the quality of the uterotonic drugs required for prevention and treatment plays a central role in whether a severe outcome or fatality occurs and has a direct knock-on effect on the cost of further treatment and care. We modelled the health and economic burden of substandard uterotonics on PPH in Nigeria. Methods: A decision-tree model was built to simulate women giving birth in various healthcare settings, using uterotonics of varying quality, and facing PPH risks. We used the Demographic and Health Survey for care-seeking data and the Cochrane review for uterotonic effectiveness. Trial data from the Early detection of postpartum haemorrhage and treatment using the WHO MOTIVE bundle (E-MOTIVE) was applied for health outcomes by oxytocin quality. Scenarios were compared with and without substandard uterotonics. Results: We estimated that using substandard uterotonics led to avertable out-of-pocket and productivity losses totaling US$89 million (~₦ 68.4 billion) annually in Nigeria. These avertable losses were the result of using substandard uterotonics in 1.6 million mothers. Without substandard uterotonics, healthcare providers can avert nearly 75 000 preventable PPH cases, reduce uterotonic use, save blood transfusions and avert around 1500 maternal deaths due to PPH annually in Nigeria. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that use of quality-assured uterotonics would result in substantial reductions in the economic and health burden of PPH and contribute to decreasing maternal mortality and morbidity. Use of substandard uterotonics leads to increased out-of-pocket expenses and costs to health systems, which should be prevented to promote universal health coverage (UHC). Medicines quality assurance improves health outcomes and results in cost savings for governments to scale their implementation of UHC.

Indexed as

economicsFemalePublic HealthPublic Health Practice

Identifiers

PMID40196441
PMCPMC11973754

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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.