Publications by authors named "Nelly Mejia"

Introduction: There is limited information about vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) surveillance cost. To address this gap, retrospective micro-costing studies of pre-COVID-19 pandemic VPD surveillance were conducted in Nepal and Ethiopia. Based on these evaluations-the sole cost evaluations on comprehensive VPD surveillance-this article provides methodological considerations and recommendations for other countries planning to conduct VPD surveillance costing studies to inform planning and budgeting.

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Background: Seasonal influenza illness and acute respiratory infections can impose a substantial economic burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We assessed the cost of influenza illness and acute respiratory infections across household income strata.

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a prior systematic review of costs of influenza and other respiratory illnesses in LMICs and contacted authors to obtain data on cost of illness (COI) for laboratory-confirmed influenza-like illness and acute respiratory infection.

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Background: After a pilot project in 2014-15 Zimbabwe introduced the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine nationally in 2018 for girls aged 10-14 years through a primarily school-based vaccination campaign with two doses administered at 12-month intervals. In 2019, a first dose was delivered to a new cohort of girls in grade 5 of girls age 10 years if out-of-school (OOS), along with a second dose to the 2018 multiple cohorts. Additional effort was made to identify and mobilize OOS girls by Village Health Workers (VHWs) in the community.

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Introduction: In 2018, Senegal introduced human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into its routine immunization program for all nine-year-old girls nationwide. We evaluated the costs of Senegal's introduction of HPV vaccine via this delivery approach.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, incremental, ingredients-based cost evaluation from the provider perspective.

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Background: The objective of this study was to estimate the cost of illness from enteric fever (typhoid and paratyphoid) at selected sites in Pakistan.

Methods: We implemented a cost-of-illness study in 4 hospitals as part of the Surveillance for Enteric Fever in Asia Project (SEAP) II in Pakistan. From the patient and caregiver perspective, we collected direct medical, nonmedical, and indirect costs per case of enteric fever incurred since illness onset by phone after enrollment and 6 weeks later.

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Background: We conducted a cost of illness study to assess the economic burden of pediatric enteric fever (typhoid and paratyphoid) in Bangladesh. Results can inform public health policies to prevent enteric fever.

Methods: The study was conducted at 2 pediatric health facilities in Dhaka.

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Background: Enteric fever is endemic in Nepal and its economic burden is unknown. The objective of this study was to estimate the cost of illness due to enteric fever (typhoid and paratyphoid) at selected sites in Nepal.

Methods: We implemented a study at 2 hospitals in Nepal to estimate the cost per case of enteric fever from the perspectives of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers.

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This article presents a selection of practical issues, questions, and tradeoffs in methodological choices to consider when conducting a cost of illness (COI) study on enteric fever in low- to lower-middle-income countries. The experiences presented are based on 2 large-scale COI studies embedded within the Surveillance for Enteric Fever in Asia Project II (SEAP II), in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan; and the Severe Typhoid Fever Surveillance in Africa (SETA) Program in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Madagascar. Issues presented include study design choices such as controlling for background patient morbidity and healthcare costs, time points for follow-up, data collection methods for sensitive income and spending information, estimating enteric fever-specific health facility cost information, and analytic approaches in combining patient and health facility costs.

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Latinas in the United States are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer (BC) compared to non-Latinas. Literacy-appropriate and culturally sensitive cancer communication interventions can help address existing racial/ethnic BC disparities. We formatively developed a new BC prevention brochure for Spanish-speaking Latinas (≥35 years).

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Population aging coupled with high poverty rates among older persons and a lack of access to social-security benefits or traditional support systems have led governments in low and middle-income countries to introduce non-contributory pension programs for the elderly. This article reviews a non-contributory pension program introduced in Mexico in 2007 that has since expanded greatly. We use a variety of sources to estimate current and future costs of this program.

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Introduction: The objective of this study was to examine whether an association exists between the number and type of food outlets in a neighborhood and dietary intake and body mass index (BMI) among adults in Los Angeles County. We also assessed whether this association depends on the geographic size of the food environment.

Methods: We analyzed data from the 2011 Los Angeles County Health Survey.

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Recently, the phenomenon of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) has come to the fore due to the risks associated to this situation. The contribution of this paper is in its analysis of this population's composition, dynamics, poverty patterns, individual and family characteristics, as well as projections for 2030. In addition, we propose a classification for NEET's that could be used for the design of public policies and that was used to identify that this population will tend to decreased due to the proportion of women who study and join the labor force and that, in the future, the unemployed will outnumber other groups.

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