Checklist for reporting an economic evaluation of health interventions

This checklist is relevant to economic evaluations of health interventions and is based on the CHEERS guidelines.  Read more


Complete now

Or download and complete offline

Instructions

Complete this checklist by entering the page numbers from your manuscript where readers will find each of the items listed below.

Your article may not currently address all the items on the checklist. Please modify your text to include the missing information. If you are certain that an item does not apply, please write "n/a" and provide a short explanation.

Download your completed checklist and include it as an extra file when you submit to a journal.

Title

1.

Identify the study as an economic evaluation or use more specific terms such as “cost-effectiveness analysis”, and describe the interventions compared.

Abstract

2.

Provide a structured summary of objectives, perspective, setting, methods (including study design and inputs), results (including base case and uncertainty analyses), and conclusions.

Introduction

3.

Background and objectives

Provide an explicit statement of the broader context for the study. Present the study question and its relevance for health policy or practice decisions.

Methods

4.

Target population and subgroups

Describe characteristics of the base case population and subgroups analysed, including why they were chosen.

5.

Setting and location

State relevant aspects of the system(s) in which the decision(s) need(s) to be made.

6.

Study perspective

Describe the perspective of the study and relate this to the costs being evaluated.

7.

Comparators

Describe the interventions or strategies being compared and state why they were chosen.

8.

Time horizon

State the time horizon(s) over which costs and consequences are being evaluated and say why appropriate.

9.

Discount rate

Report the choice of discount rate(s) used for costs and outcomes and say why appropriate.

10.

Choice of health outcomes

Describe what outcomes were used as the measure(s) of benefit in the evaluation and their relevance for the type of analysis performed.

11a

Meaurement of effectiveness

Single study-based estimates: Describe fully the design features of the single effectiveness study and why the single study was a sufficient source of clinical effectiveness data.

11b

Measurement of effectiveness

Synthesis-based estimates: Describe fully the methods used for identification of included studies and synthesis of clinical effectiveness data.

12.

Measurement and valuation of preference based outcomes

If applicable, describe the population and methods used to elicit preferences for outcomes.

Estimating resources and costs

13a

Single study-based economic evaluation: Describe approaches used to estimate resource use associated with the alternative interventions. Describe primary or secondary research methods for valuing each resource item in terms of its unit cost. Describe any adjustments made to approximate to opportunity costs.

Methods

13b

Estimating resources and costs

Model-based economic evaluation: Describe approaches and data sources used to estimate resource use associated with model health states. Describe primary or secondary research methods for valuing each resource item in terms of its unit cost. Describe any adjustments made to approximate to opportunity costs.

14.

Currency, price date, and conversion

Report the dates of the estimated resource quantities and unit costs. Describe methods for adjusting estimated unit costs to the year of reported costs if necessary. Describe methods for converting costs into a common currency base and the exchange rate.

15.

Choice of model

Describe and give reasons for the specific type of decision analytical model used. Providing a figure to show model structure is strongly recommended.

16.

Assumptions

Describe all structural or other assumptions underpinning the decision-analytical model.

17.

Analytical methods

Describe all analytical methods supporting the evaluation. This could include methods for dealing with skewed, missing, or censored data; extrapolation methods; methods for pooling data; approaches to validate or make adjustments (such as half cycle corrections) to a model; and methods for handling population heterogeneity and uncertainty.

Results

18.

Study parameters

Report the values, ranges, references, and, if used, probability distributions for all parameters. Report reasons or sources for distributions used to represent uncertainty where appropriate. Providing a table to show the input values is strongly recommended.

19.

Incremental costs and outcomes

For each intervention, report mean values for the main categories of estimated costs and outcomes of interest, as well as mean differences between the comparator groups. If applicable, report incremental cost-effectiveness ratios.

20a

Characterising uncertainty

Single study-based economic evaluation: Describe the effects of sampling uncertainty for the estimated incremental cost and incremental effectiveness parameters, together with the impact of methodological assumptions (such as discount rate, study perspective).

20b

Characterising uncertainty

Model-based economic evaluation: Describe the effects on the results of uncertainty for all input parameters, and uncertainty related to the structure of the model and assumptions.

21.

Characterising heterogeneity

If applicable, report differences in costs, outcomes, or cost effectiveness that can be explained by variations between subgroups of patients with different baseline characteristics or other observed variability in effects that are not reducible by more information.

Discussion

22.

Study findings, limitations, generalisability, and current knowledge

Summarise key study findings and describe how they support the conclusions reached. Discuss limitations and the generalisability of the findings and how the findings fit with current knowledge.

Other

23.

Source of funding

Describe how the study was funded and the role of the funder in the identification, design, conduct, and reporting of the analysis. Describe other non-monetary sources of support.

24.

Conflict of interest

Describe any potential for conflict of interest of study contributors in accordance with journal policy. In the absence of a journal policy, we recommend authors comply with International Committee of Medical Journal Editors recommendations.


To acknowledge this checklist in your methods, please state "We used the CHEERS checklist when writing our report [citation]". Then cite this checklist as Husereau D, Drummond M, Petrou S, Carswell C, Moher D, Greenberg D, Augustovski F, Briggs AH, Mauskopf J, Loder E. Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) statement..


The CHEERS checklist is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY-NC