1
|
Wang DE, Hassanein M, Razvi Y, Shaul RZ, Denburg A. Institutional Priority-Setting for Novel Drugs and Therapeutics: A Qualitative Systematic Review. Int J Health Policy Manag 2024; 13:7494. [PMID: 38618836 PMCID: PMC11016276 DOI: 10.34172/ijhpm.2024.7494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is a lack of guidance on approaches to formulary management and funding for high-cost drugs and therapeutics by individual healthcare institutions. The objective of this review was to assess institutional approaches to resource allocation for such therapeutics, with a particular focus on paediatric and rare disease populations. METHODS A search of Embase and MEDLINE was conducted for studies relevant to decision-making for off-formulary, high-cost drugs and therapeutics. Abstracts were evaluated for inclusion based on the Simple Multiple-Attribute Rating Techniques (SMART) criteria. A framework of 30 topics across 4 categories was used to guide data extraction and was based on findings from the initial abstract review and previous health technology assessment (HTA) publications. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted using QSR NVivo 12 software. RESULTS A total of 168 studies were included for analysis. Only 4 (2%) focused on paediatrics, while 21 (12%) centred on adults and the remainder (85%) did not specify. Thirty-two (19%) studies discussed the importance of high-cost therapeutics and 34 (23%) focused on rare/orphan drugs. Five themes were identified as being relevant to institutional decision-making for high-cost therapeutics: institutional strategy, substantive criteria, procedural considerations, guiding principles and frameworks, and operational activities. Each of these themes encompassed several sub-themes and was complemented by a sixth category specific to paediatrics and rare diseases. CONCLUSION The rising cost of novel drugs and therapeutics underscores the need for robust, evidence-based, and ethically defensible decision-making processes for health technology funding, particularly at the hospital level. Our study highlights practices and themes to aid decision-makers in thinking critically about institutional, substantive, procedural, and operational considerations in support of legitimate decisions about institutional funding of high-cost drugs and therapeutics, as well as opportunities and challenges that exist for paediatric and rare disease populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E. Wang
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Maram Hassanein
- Department of Bioethics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Yasmeen Razvi
- Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Child Health Evaluative Sciences, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Randi Zlotnik Shaul
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Bioethics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Child Health Evaluative Sciences, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Avram Denburg
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Child Health Evaluative Sciences, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Division of Paediatric Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Jörgensen E, Wood L, Lynch MA, Spencer N, Gunnlaugsson G. Child Rights during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Learning from Child Health-and-Rights Professionals across the World. Children (Basel) 2023; 10:1670. [PMID: 37892333 PMCID: PMC10605735 DOI: 10.3390/children10101670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of a child rights-based approach to policymaking and crisis management. Anchored in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 3P framework-provision, protection, and participation-forms the foundation for health professionals advocating for children's rights. Expanding it with two additional domains-preparation and power-into a 5P framework has the potential to enhance child rights-based policies in times of crisis and future pandemics. The study aimed to (1) gather perspectives from child health-and-rights specialists on how children's rights were highlighted during the early phase of the pandemic in their respective settings; and (2) evaluate the usefulness of the 5P framework in assessing children's visibility and rights. A qualitative survey was distributed among child health-and-rights professionals; a total of 68 responses were analysed in Atlas.ti 9 from a multi-disciplinary group of policymakers and front-line professionals in eight world regions. As framed by the 5Ps, children's rights were generally not safeguarded in the initial pandemic response and negatively impacted children's health and wellbeing. Further, children lacked meaningful opportunities to raise their concerns to policymakers. The 5P framework holds the potential to shape an ethical child rights-based decision-making framework for future crises, both nationally and globally.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eva Jörgensen
- Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics, School of Social Sciences, University of Iceland, Sæmundargata 2-6, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland;
| | - Laura Wood
- Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YU, UK;
| | - Margaret A. Lynch
- Department of Paediatrics, King’s College, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, UK;
| | - Nicholas Spencer
- Division of Mental Health and Wellbeing, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 9JD, UK;
| | - Geir Gunnlaugsson
- Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics, School of Social Sciences, University of Iceland, Sæmundargata 2-6, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland;
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Erku D, Yigzaw N, Tegegn HG, Gartner CE, Scuffham PA, Garedew YT, Shambel E. Framing, moral foundations and health taxes: interpretive analysis of Ethiopia's tobacco excise tax policy passage. BMJ Glob Health 2023; 8:e012058. [PMID: 37813449 PMCID: PMC10565163 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-012058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In 2019-2020, the Ethiopian government ratified a suite of legislative measures that includes levying a tax on tobacco products. This study aims to examine stakeholders' involvement, position, power and perception regarding the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority (EFDA) bill (Proclamation No.1112/2019). This includes their meaning-making and interaction with each other during the bill's formulation, adoption and implementation stages. METHODS We employed a mixed-methods design drawing on three sources of data: (1) policy documents and media articles from government and/or civil society groups (n=27), (2) audio and video transcripts of parliamentary debates and (3) qualitative stakeholder interviews. RESULTS Policy actors in both the public health camp and tobacco industry employed several framing moves, engaged in distinctive patterns of moral rhetoric, and strategically invoked moral languages to galvanise support for their policy objectives. Central to this framing debate are issues of public health and the danger of tobacco, and the protection of 'the economy and personal freedom'. The public health camp's arguments and persuasiveness-which led to the passage of the EFDA bill-centred around discrediting tobacco industry's cost-benefit assessments through frame disconnection, or by polarising their own position that the financial, psychological and lost productivity costs incurred by tobacco use outweighs any tax revenue. CONCLUSIONS A successful cultivation of an epistemic community and engagement of policy entrepreneurs-both from government agencies and civil society organisations-was critical in creating a united front and a compelling affirmative policy narrative, thereby influence excise tax policy outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Erku
- Centre for Applied Health Economics, Griffith University, Southport, Queensland, Australia
- Menzies Health Research Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - Nigusse Yigzaw
- Institute of Public Health, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia
| | - Henok Getachew Tegegn
- Centre for Applied Health Economics, Griffith University, Southport, Queensland, Australia
- School of Rural Medicine, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Coral E Gartner
- School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Paul A Scuffham
- Centre for Applied Health Economics, Griffith University, Southport, Queensland, Australia
- Menzies Health Research Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - Yordanos Tegene Garedew
- Health Policy and Systems Research, EPIC Research and Training Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Ehetemariam Shambel
- Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Directorate, Federal Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Pucchio A, Rieder M. High-Cost Drug Policies in Canadian Children's Hospitals: An Exploratory Study. J Pediatr Pharmacol Ther 2023; 28:343-347. [PMID: 37795289 PMCID: PMC10547051 DOI: 10.5863/1551-6776-28.4.343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Over the past decade a number of effective but costly drugs have entered the therapeutic arena. Ethical and logistical challenges associated with including children in research and policy have produced variability in public policy on funding pediatric drugs, with inconsistent coverage across Canada. The purpose of this study was to explore the processes for funding high-cost pediatric drugs in Canadian children's hospitals. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional, text-based survey of all 19 chairs of Canadian departments of pediatrics about the funding and accessibility of high-cost drugs. Thematic qualitative analysis was performed to organize, sort, and code verbatim written responses and follow-up correspondence. RESULTS Responses were received from all 19 Canadian departments of pediatrics surveyed (100% response rate). Three major themes emerged about pediatric high-cost drug policies: inconsistency between funding processes, variability in funding sources, and frustration with the current system. In aggregate, a clear concern emerged that current funding options were heterogenous and inadequate to meet patient needs. CONCLUSIONS There was widespread consensus from respondents that current options for funding pediatric high-cost drugs were inadequate and that there was need for urgent action to address this problem. Policy changes are needed to sustain and improve access to high-cost drugs for Canadian children. We propose 3 solutions, including the creation of a national framework for funding high-cost pediatric drugs, increased incorporation of pediatric considerations in drug research and development, and a multidisciplinary drug summit on pediatric therapeutics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aidan Pucchio
- School of Medicine (AP), Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Michael Rieder
- Departments of Paediatrics, Physiology & Pharmacology and Medicine (MR), University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Wang Y, Xu YA, Wu J, Kim HM, Fetterman JL, Hong T, McLaughlin ML. Moralization of E-cigarette Use and Regulation: A Mixed-Method Computational Analysis of Opinion Polarization. Health Commun 2023; 38:1666-1676. [PMID: 35057690 DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2022.2027640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
E-cigarette use, or vaping, is undergoing a process of moralization in which issues about vaping evolve from being morally neutral to having discernible moral implications. Using Moral Foundations Theory, this study compared the moral narratives underlying polarized views about e-cigarette use and regulation. We integrated computational and human strategies by conducting the Chow test on the time series data and classification, topic modeling, and Chi-square tests on posts (N = 2,669) from 26 pro-vaping and 19 anti-vaping Facebook Pages. The observation period (August 1, 2019 to March 5, 2020) encompassed the outbreak of "e-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury" (EVALI), deaths and subsequent legislation. Results revealed that pro-vaping posts were more likely than anti-vaping posts to mention Fairness/cheating and Authority/subversion, involving a conspiracy belief in an "e-cigarettes vs. Big Tobacco" rivalry, while anti-vaping posts were more likely to mention Sanctity/degradation. There were no significant differences between pro-vaping and anti-vaping posts in the likelihood of mentioning Care/harm or Loyalty/betrayal. Nevertheless, according to the topic modeling results, the use of moral foundations varied between pro-vaping and anti-vaping narratives, with the meanings of Care/harm and Loyalty/betrayal dependent on the post author's group affiliation. Health interventions can tailor persuasive messages to different moral values and debunk misinformation about public health policies to mitigate the vaping epidemic. Theoretical implications are also discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yunwen Wang
- Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California
| | - Yusi Aveva Xu
- Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California
| | - Jiaxi Wu
- College of Communication, Boston University
| | - Hye Min Kim
- Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California
| | - Jessica L Fetterman
- Evans Department of Medicine and Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, School of Medicine, Boston University
| | - Traci Hong
- College of Communication, Boston University
| | - Margaret L McLaughlin
- Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Gauvreau CL, Wight L, Subasri M, Palmer A, Hayeems R, Croker A, Abelson J, Fraser B, Bombard Y, Moore Hepburn C, Wilson MG, Denburg A. Access to novel drugs and therapeutics for children and youth: Eliciting citizens' values to inform public funding decisions. Health Expect 2023; 26:715-727. [PMID: 36639959 PMCID: PMC10010086 DOI: 10.1111/hex.13697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The unique evidentiary, economic and ethical challenges associated with health technology assessment (HTA) of precision therapies limit access to novel drugs and therapeutics for children and youth, for whom such challenges are amplified. We elicited citizens' perspectives about values-based criteria relevant to the assessment of paediatric precision therapies to inform the development of a child-tailored HTA framework. METHODS We held four citizen panels virtually in May-June 2021, informed by a plain-language citizen brief summarizing global and local evidence about the challenges, policy and programmatic options and implementation strategies related to enhancing access to precision therapies for Canadian children and youth. Panellists were recruited through a nationally representative database, medical/patient networks and social media. We inductively coded and thematically analysed panel transcripts to generate themes and identify priority values. RESULTS The perspectives of panellists (n = 45) coalesced into four overlapping themes, with attendant subthemes, relevant to a child-tailored HTA framework: (1) Childhood Distinctions: vulnerability, 'fair innings', future potential, family impacts; (2) Voice: agency of children and youth; lived versus no lived experience; (3) One versus Many: disease severity, rarity, equity, unmet need and (4) Health System Governance: funding, implementation inequities, effectiveness and safety. Participants broadly agreed that childhood distinctions, particularly family impacts, justify child-tailored HTA. Dissent arose over whose voice should inform HTA and how such perspectives are best incorporated. CONCLUSIONS Citizens can offer unique insights into criteria relevant to the development or revision of HTA frameworks to capture holistic, societally responsive dimensions of value attached to unique contexts or populations, including children. Balancing the hopes and expectations of patients and caregivers for access to expensive but potential life-altering therapies against the opportunity costs borne by encompassing health systems is a fundamental challenge that will require rigorous methods to elicit, weigh and reconcile varied views. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION A patient advocate served on the steering committee of this study and co-authored this article. Key informants for the Citizen Brief included patient advocates and caregivers; a separate patient advocate reviewed the Brief before dissemination. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from the general public and caregivers of children, with written consent.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cindy L Gauvreau
- Child Health Evaluative Sciences Program, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lisa Wight
- Child Health Evaluative Sciences Program, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mathushan Subasri
- Child Health Evaluative Sciences Program, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Antonia Palmer
- Ac2orn: Advocacy for Canadian Childhood Oncology Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Robin Hayeems
- Child Health Evaluative Sciences Program, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alysha Croker
- Centre for Policy, Pediatrics and International Collaboration, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Julia Abelson
- Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Brent Fraser
- Pharmaceutical Reviews, CADTH, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yvonne Bombard
- Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Ontario Institute of Cancer Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Charlotte Moore Hepburn
- Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Pediatric Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Michael G Wilson
- McMaster Health Forum, Health Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Avram Denburg
- Child Health Evaluative Sciences Program, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Vassilakou T. New and Old Challenges in Pediatric Health Policies. Children 2022; 9:1196. [PMID: 36010086 PMCID: PMC9407002 DOI: 10.3390/children9081196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
|