Cost of maternal health services in low and middle-income countries: protocol for a systematic review

Banke-Thomas, Aduragbemi, Omolade Abejirinde, Ibukun-Oluwa, Banke-Thomas, Oluwasola, Maikano, Adamu and Ameh, Charles ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2341-7605 (2019) 'Cost of maternal health services in low and middle-income countries: protocol for a systematic review'. BMJ Open, Vol 9, Issue 8, e027822.

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Abstract

Introduction
There is substantial evidence that maternal health services across the continuum of care are effective in reducing morbidities and mortalities associated with pregnancy and childbirth. There is also consensus regarding the need to invest in the delivery of these services towards the global goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage in low/middle-income countries (LMICs). However, there is limited evidence on the costs of providing these services. This protocol describes the methods and analytical framework to be used in conducting a systematic review of costs of providing maternal health services in LMICs.

Methods
African Journal Online, CINAHL Plus, EconLit, Embase, Global Health Archive, Popline, PubMed and Scopus as well as grey literature databases will be searched for relevant articles which report primary cost data for maternal health service in LMICs published from January 2000 to June 2019. This search will be conducted without implementing any language restrictions. Two reviewers will independently search, screen and select articles that meet the inclusion criteria, with disagreements resolved by discussions with a third reviewer. Quality assessment of included articles will be conducted based on cost-focused criteria included in globally recommended checklists for economic evaluations. For comparability, where feasible, cost will be converted to international dollar equivalents using purchasing power parity conversion factors. Costs associated with providing each maternal health services will be systematically compared, using a subgroup analysis. Sensitivity analysis will also be conducted. Where heterogeneity is observed, a narrative synthesis will be used. Population contextual and intervention design characteristics that help achieve cost savings and improve efficiency of maternal health service provision in LMICs will be identified.

Ethics and dissemination
Ethical approval is not required for this review. The plan for dissemination is to publish review findings in a peer-reviewed journal and present findings at high-level conferences that engage the most pertinent stakeholders.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	W General Medicine. Health Professions > W 74 Medical economics. Health care costs W General Medicine. Health Professions > W 26.5 Informatics. Health informatics WA Public Health > WA 30 Socioeconomic factors in public health (General) WA Public Health > Health Problems of Special Population Groups > WA 310 Maternal welfare WA Public Health > Health Problems of Special Population Groups > WA 395 Health in developing countries WQ Obstetrics > WQ 100 General works
Faculty: Department:	Clinical Sciences & International Health > International Public Health Department
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027822
Depositing User:	Rachel Dominguez
Date Deposited:	27 Aug 2019 11:29
Last Modified:	06 Sep 2019 09:15
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/11468

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