ArticleFrontiers in public health2025
Comparative study: mapping treatment costs, best practices, and challenges across Africa.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This paper presents the findings of the Siemens Healthineers SHIFT Innovation Pan-Africa Capacity Building Program, which aims to improve access and affordability of healthcare across Africa through knowledge sharing and the transfer of best practices. The study focuses on comparing the cost of treating liver cancer, lung cancer, coronary artery disease (CAD), and stroke in different African countries. These conditions represent a major and growing share of the non-communicable disease (NCD) burden across the African continent. They are also strategic focus areas for Siemens Healthineers due to their high clinical impact, complex diagnostic requirements, and the significant health system resources needed for effective management. These diseases serve as suitable proxies for assessing broader access challenges because they require timely detection, advanced imaging, laboratory diagnostics, specialized treatment pathways, and long-term follow-up care. Any gaps in diagnostic capacity, equipment availability, clinical workflow efficiency, workforce skills, or financing structures become immediately visible along these patient pathways. Comparing the differences with the best practices and challenges of each country, the programme aims to facilitate cross-cultural learning to bridge the gap between high- and low-value treatments. The study draws on detailed data on medical expenditure in several African countries, including public and private health services. Cost differences are analyzed taking into account medical procedures, drugs, diagnostic tests and hospital costs. In addition, the factors contributing to these cost variations, including healthcare delivery, resource availability, regulatory framework, and socio-economic factors, examined to develop standardized strategies to reduce medical costs and improve overall health outcomes. The results of this study will be a valuable resource for policy makers, healthcare providers and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and take targeted actions. Ultimately, the aim is to improve access, affordability and quality of healthcare across Africa and ensure that life-saving treatments are readily available and affordable for all people on the continent.
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Registered trials
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.