IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/hepoli/v118y2014i1p127-134.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Considering economic analyses in the revision of the preventive vaccination law: A new direction for health policy-making in Japan?

Author

Listed:
  • Akazawa, Manabu
  • Yongue, Julia
  • Ikeda, Shunya
  • Satoh, Toshihiko

Abstract

Evidence of a significant vaccine policy shift can be witnessed not only in the number of new vaccines available in Japan but also in the way that vaccine policy is being formulated. In 2010, policy makers decided for the first time ever to commission economic analyses as a reference in their consideration of subsidy allocation. This research offers a firsthand account of the recent changes in vaccine policies by examining the decision-making process from the perspective of the researchers commissioned to perform the economic evaluations. In order to understand the vaccine policy-making process, a review was made of all the documents that were distributed and discussed during the government committee meetings from February 2010 when the revision of the Preventive Vaccination Law was initially proposed to May 2012 when the final recommendations were made. Economic evaluations were conducted for seven vaccines under consideration in the routine immunization program (Haemophilus influenzae type b or Hib, pneumococcal disease for children and adults, human papillomavirus, varicella, mumps, and hepatitis B). All were cost-effective options, except the Hib and hepatitis B vaccines. Nonetheless, all the vaccines were recommended equally for inclusion in the routine immunization program. While it is significant that policy-makers decided to commission economic assessments at all, various issues remain regarding the influence of external pressure, the choice of evaluation methods and the implications of using cost-effectiveness analyses on the future of Japanese health policy-making.

Suggested Citation

  • Akazawa, Manabu & Yongue, Julia & Ikeda, Shunya & Satoh, Toshihiko, 2014. "Considering economic analyses in the revision of the preventive vaccination law: A new direction for health policy-making in Japan?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 127-134.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:118:y:2014:i:1:p:127-134
    DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2014.07.016
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168851014001973
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.healthpol.2014.07.016?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shimazawa, Rumiko & Ikeda, Masayuki, 2012. "The vaccine gap between Japan and the UK," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(2), pages 312-317.
    2. Takeru Shiroiwa & Yoon‐Kyoung Sung & Takashi Fukuda & Hui‐Chu Lang & Sang‐Cheol Bae & Kiichiro Tsutani, 2010. "International survey on willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) for one additional QALY gained: what is the threshold of cost effectiveness?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(4), pages 422-437, April.
    3. Șerban Georgescu, 2012. "Japan," Conjunctura economiei mondiale / World Economic Studies, Institute for World Economy, Romanian Academy.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shun-ichiro Bessho & Yoko Ibuka, 2016. "Vaccination policy of Japanese municipalities," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2016-004, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.
    2. Shun‐ichiro Bessho & Yoko Ibuka, 2019. "Interdependency in vaccination policies among Japanese municipalities," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(2), pages 299-310, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fischer, Barbara & Telser, Harry & Zweifel, Peter & von Wyl, Viktor & Beck, Konstantin & Weber, Andreas, 2023. "The value of a QALY towards the end of life and its determinants: Experimental evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    2. Kato, Takao & Kodama, Naomi, 2015. "Work-Life Balance Practices, Performance-Related Pay, and Gender Equality in the Workplace: Evidence from Japan," IZA Discussion Papers 9379, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Maria Rubio-Valera & María Teresa Peñarrubia-María & Maria Iglesias-González & Martin Knapp & Paul McCrone & Marta Roig & Ramón Sabes-Figuera & Juan V. Luciano & Juan M. Mendive & Ana Gabriela Murruga, 2019. "Cost-effectiveness of antidepressants versus active monitoring for mild-to-moderate major depressive disorder: a multisite non-randomized-controlled trial in primary care (INFAP study)," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(5), pages 703-713, July.
    4. Thomas Grochtdreis & Hans-Helmut König & Alexander Dobruschkin & Gunhild von Amsberg & Judith Dams, 2018. "Cost-effectiveness analyses and cost analyses in castration-resistant prostate cancer: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-25, December.
    5. Vincent T Janmaat & Marco J Bruno & Suzanne Polinder & Sylvie Lorenzen & Florian Lordick & Maikel P Peppelenbosch & Manon C W Spaander, 2016. "Cost-Effectiveness of Cetuximab for Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(4), pages 1-10, April.
    6. Ryen, Linda & Svensson, Mikael, 2014. "The Willingness to Pay for a QALY: a Review of the Empirical Literature," Karlstad University Working Papers in Economics 12, Karlstad University, Department of Economics.
    7. Takizawa, Osamu & Urushihara, Hisashi & Tanaka, Shiro & Kawakami, Koji, 2015. "Price difference as a predictor of the selection between brand name and generic statins in Japan," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(5), pages 612-619.
    8. Claudia Schulz & Gisela Büchele & Raphael S. Peter & Dietrich Rothenbacher & Christian Brettschneider & Ulrich C. Liener & Clemens Becker & Kilian Rapp & Hans-Helmut König, 2021. "Health-economic evaluation of collaborative orthogeriatric care for patients with a hip fracture in Germany: a retrospective cohort study using health and long-term care insurance claims data," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(6), pages 873-885, August.
    9. Murayama, Hiroshi & Nofuji, Yu & Matsuo, Eri & Nishi, Mariko & Taniguchi, Yu & Fujiwara, Yoshinori & Shinkai, Shoji, 2015. "Are neighborhood bonding and bridging social capital protective against depressive mood in old age? A multilevel analysis in Japan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 171-179.
    10. Jorge Barros-Garcia-Imhof & Andrés Jiménez-Alfonso & Inés Gómez-Acebo & María Fernández-Ortiz & Jéssica Alonso-Molero & Javier Llorca & Alejandro Gonzalez-Castro & Trinidad Dierssen-Sotos, 2022. "Perception of Medical Students on the Need for End-of-Life Care: A Q-Methodology Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-16, June.
    11. David Brain & Ruth Tulleners & Xing Lee & Qinglu Cheng & Nicholas Graves & Rosana Pacella, 2019. "Cost-effectiveness analysis of an innovative model of care for chronic wounds patients," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(3), pages 1-13, March.
    12. Hoa‐Thi‐Minh Nguyen & Tom Kompas & Roslyn I. Hickson, 2014. "Aid and the Control of Tuberculosis in Papua New Guinea: Is Australia's Assistance Cost‐Effective?," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(2), pages 364-378, May.
    13. Andrew Gallagher & Violetta Shersher & Duncan Mortimer & Helen Truby & Terry Haines, 2023. "The Cost-Effectiveness of Adjunctive Lifestyle Interventions for the Management of Cancer: A Systematic Review," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 225-242, March.
    14. Najme Moradi & Arash Rashidian & Shirin Nosratnejad & Alireza Olyaeemanesh & Marzieh Zanganeh & Leila Zarei, 2019. "The Worth of a Quality-Adjusted Life-Year in Patients with Diabetes: An Investigation Study using a Willingness-to-Pay Method," PharmacoEconomics - Open, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 311-319, September.
    15. Samuel Herzog & Marian Shanahan & Peter Grimison & Anh Tran & Nicole Wong & Nicholas Lintzeris & John Simes & Martin Stockler & Rachael L. Morton, 2018. "Systematic Review of the Costs and Benefits of Prescribed Cannabis-Based Medicines for the Management of Chronic Illness: Lessons from Multiple Sclerosis," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 67-78, January.
    16. Dastan Bamwesigye, 2023. "Willingness to Pay for Alternative Energies in Uganda: Energy Needs and Policy Instruments towards Zero Deforestation 2030 and Climate Change," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-21, January.
    17. Susan Geertshuis & Otto Krickl, 2013. "Value Judgements and Continuing Education," International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning, International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia, vol. 2(1), pages 123-141.
    18. Tajika, Tomoya, 2015. "Japanese government and utilitarian behavior," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 90-107.
    19. Yilmaz Akyüz, 2014. "Internationalization of Finance and Changing Vulnerabilities in Emerging and Developing Economies," UNCTAD Discussion Papers 217, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    20. Henrik Andersson & James K. Hammitt & Kristian Sundström, 2015. "Willingness to Pay and QALYs: What Can We Learn about Valuing Foodborne Risk?," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(3), pages 727-752, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:118:y:2014:i:1:p:127-134. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu or the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/healthpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.