Dynamic Transmission Economic Evaluation of Infectious Disease Interventions in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries: A Systematic Literature Review

Economic evaluation using dynamic transmission models is important for capturing the indirect effects of infectious disease interventions. We examine the use of these methods in low‐ and middle‐income countries, where infectious diseases constitute a major burden. This review is comprised of two parts: (1) a summary of dynamic transmission economic evaluations across all disease areas published between 2011 and mid‐2014 and (2) an in‐depth review of mosquito‐borne disease studies focusing on health economic methods and reporting. Studies were identified through a systematic search of the MEDLINE database and supplemented by reference list screening. Fifty‐seven studies were eligible for inclusion in the all‐disease review. The most common subject disease was HIV/AIDS, followed by malaria. A diverse range of modelling methods, outcome metrics and sensitivity analyses were used, indicating little standardisation. Seventeen studies were included in the mosquito‐borne disease review. With notable exceptions, most studies did not employ economic evaluation methods beyond calculating a cost‐effectiveness ratio or net benefit. Many did not adhere to health care economic evaluations reporting guidelines, particularly with respect to full model reporting and uncertainty analysis. We present a summary of the state‐of‐the‐art and offer recommendations for improved implementation and reporting of health economic methods in this crossover discipline. © 2016 The Authors. Health Economics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.