HEOR News

Changing Life Expectancy in European Countries 1990–2021: A Subanalysis of Causes and Risk Factors From the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 (The Lancet Public Health)

In assessing how changes in risk factors and cause-specific death rates in different European countries related to changes in life expectancy in those countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers found that Norway, Iceland, Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden maintained improvements in life expectancy after 2011 through better maintenance of reductions in mortality from cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms, underpinned by decreased exposures to major risks. Read more

Excess Mortality and Years of Life Lost From 2020 to 2023 in France: A Cohort Study of the Overall Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mortality (BMJ Public Health)

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a long-lasting effect, with 4 consecutive years of excess mortality and a growing impact on people under 60, particularly men, suggesting lingering and profound disruption to the healthcare system.
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Cost-effectiveness of Pembrolizumab With Chemoradiotherapy for Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer (JAMA Network Open)

While adding concurrent and adjuvant pembrolizumab to first-line treatment with chemoradiotherapy and brachytherapy for patients with newly diagnosed, locally advanced cervical cancer significantly improved survival in these patients, at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY), the addition is not cost-effective at current prices.
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Implementation Strategies of Financial Navigation and Its Effects on Alleviating Financial Toxicity Among Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review (BMJ Quality and Safety)

Using the theoretical framework of implementation science, researchers determined that financial navigation is a potentially beneficial intervention for lessening the financial toxicity of cancer survivors, but more high-level evidence is needed for further validation.
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Institute for Clinical and Economic Review Publishes Special Report on COPD Therapies as Part of CMS Public Comment Process on Medicare Drug Price Negotiations (ICER)

According to ICER’s analysis, Trelegy Ellipta (fluticasone furoate, umeclidinium, and vilanterol inhalation powder) and Breo Ellipta (fluticasone furoate and vilanterol inhalation powder), both once-daily inhalers for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), have comparable or incremental net health benefits to generic therapies needing to be administered twice a day.
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Is Supported Employment Effective for Disability Insurance Recipients With Mental Health Conditions? Evidence From a Randomized Experiment in Belgium (Journal of Health Economics)

Compared to regular rehabilitation, Supported Employment increases the probability that Disability Insurance recipients with mental health conditions work while on claim, and there are significant effects for regular employment that is not publicly subsidized, since subsidized employment increases the cost of return-to-work programs, potentially during the whole career of the beneficiaries.
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Scaling Up Structured Lifestyle Interventions to Improve the Management of Cardiometabolic Diseases in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review of Strategies, Methods and Outcomes (BMJ Public Health)

Dietary changes, physical activity, tobacco cessation, and alcohol intake are just some methods that have been proven effective at preventing and managing cardiometabolic disease, and the implementation of structured lifestyle interventions using different strategies such as engaging family and community to cocreate adaptations and early resource assessment can lead to improved outcomes of scale-up implementation.
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A Virtual Cardiometabolic Health Program Among African Immigrants in the USA Pilot Cluster-Randomized Clinical Trial (JAMA Open)

This pilot cluster-randomized clinical trial that included 60 African immigrants tested the effectiveness of a culturally adapted, virtual lifestyle intervention on control of blood pressure and hemoglobin A1c levels among African immigrants with cardiometabolic health risk factors. Participants in the study, who received a 6-month culturally adapted lifestyle intervention based on the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) curriculum, delivered via virtual group sessions by a lifestyle coach of African origin, achieved reductions in systolic and diastolic measures.
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Primary Care Quality and Provider Disparities in China: A Standardized-Patient-Based Study (The Lancet Regional Health Western Pacific)

As the world’s largest developing country, China has made significant investments in primary care over the past decade, but researchers documented a poor quality of primary care in China, with notable disparities across different providers. Urban community health centers provided relatively reliable primary care, and online platforms outpaced rural clinics, county hospitals, and migrant clinics in many areas, showcasing their potential to enhance access to quality healthcare resources in underresourced rural regions.
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NICE Joins International Collaboration on HTA Methods Research (NICE)

The UK’s NICE has joined with the US-based Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) and the Canadian Drug Agency (CDA-AMC) to establish the Health Economics Methods Advisory (HEMA), a new international initiative to research and evaluate health technology assessment methods. HEMA’s aim is to critically and independently research some of the most pressing topics in global health economics and health technology assessment methods.
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