Skip Navigation

The European Journal of Public Health 1997 7(2):153-161; doi:10.1093/eurpub/7.2.153
© 1997 by European Journal of Public Health
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (21)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by BALTUSSEN, R.M.P.M.
Right arrow Articles by FURTH, R. V.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by BALTUSSEN, R.M.P.M.
Right arrow Articles by FURTH, R. V.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Cost-effectiveness of vaccination against pneumococcal pneumonia in The Netherlands

R.M.P.M. BALTUSSEN1,, A.J.H.A. AMENT1, R.M. LEIDL1,2 and R. VAN FURTH3

1 Department of Health Organization, Policy and Economics, Maastricht University The Netherlands
2 Department of Health Economics, University of Ulm Germany
3 Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Leiden The Netherlands

R.M.P.M. Baltussen, MSc, Department of Health Organization, Policy and Economics, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht. The Netherlands, tel. {boxplus}31 43 3881713, fax {boxplus}31 43 3670960

Because of the prevalence of pneumococcal pneumonia and the substantial morbidity and mortality associated with many pneumococcal infections, considerable efforts have been made in disease prevention, using a polyvalent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine. Although the WHO has endorsed a policy of universal vaccination of all elderly people, the economic aspects of such a policy have not been determined. Using a decision tree framework, this paper examines the cost-effectiveness of various strategies of pneumococcal vaccination for the elderly in The Netherlands. For various age categories, the economic attractiveness of the vaccination of all individuals as well as the vaccination of only those individuals with a specific disease has been calculated. We conclude that, allowing for some uncertainty regarding key variables such as the vaccine efficacy and the hospital admission rate, the vaccination of all individuals above the age of 65 years is comparable in terms of cost-effectiveness to many existing health care interventions. The vaccination of individuals above the age of 55 years with chronic lung disease or chronic heart disease is similarly attractive from an economic point of view, as is the vaccination of individuals above the age of 65 years with diabetes mellitus.

Keywords: cost-effectiveness, decision tree, economic evaluation, pneumococcal pneumonia, vaccine


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Med Decis MakingHome page
F. Ahmed, E. E. Elbasha, B. L. Thompson, J. R. Harris, and V.-P. Sneller
Cost-Benefit Analysis of a New HEDIS Performance Measure for Pneumococcal Vaccination
Med Decis Making, October 1, 2002; 22(5_suppl): S58 - S66.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Eur Respir JHome page
A. Ortqvist
Pneumococcal vaccination: current and future issues
Eur. Respir. J., July 1, 2001; 18(1): 184 - 195.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.