Cost containment in a school deworming programme targeting over 2.7 million children in Vietnam

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2007 May;101(5):461-4. doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2006.07.008. Epub 2006 Oct 18.

Abstract

Vietnam is one of the countries in the world most affected by soil-transmitted helminthiases. Large areas of the country, such as the Northern Uplands and the North and Central Coast, are reported as having infection rates of 75-85% for Ascaris lumbricoides, 38-40% for Trichuris trichiura and 27-28% for hookworm infections. Periodical deworming of schoolchildren is therefore strongly recommended. Managers of the Helminth Control Programme decided to apply a number of measures to improve cost efficiency in order to deworm as many schoolchildren as possible with the limited financial resources available. This low-cost intervention targeted over 2.7 million schoolchildren. Coverage was estimated at over 95% and the cost for each treated child was US$ 0.03, which represents a saving of approximately 50% of costs presently reported in the literature. This article describes the measures applied that resulted in cost containment but maintained high treatment coverage.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anthelmintics / adverse effects
  • Anthelmintics / economics*
  • Anthelmintics / therapeutic use
  • Attitude of Health Personnel
  • Child
  • Cost Control
  • Drug Costs / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Health Care Costs / statistics & numerical data*
  • Helminthiasis / economics
  • Helminthiasis / prevention & control*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • School Health Services / economics*
  • Soil / parasitology
  • Vietnam

Substances

  • Anthelmintics
  • Soil