An economic evaluation of the LINKEDin study: an intervention to reduce initial loss to follow-up among tuberculosis patients in South Africa
Tuberculosis (TB) patients who are diagnosed but not registered and initiated on TB treatment are categorised as initial loss to follow-up (ILTFU). ILTFU is a key driver of morbidity and mortality associated with TB and is a contributing factor to high TB transmission rates. LINKEDin was a quasi-exp...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
February 11, 2026
|
| In: |
PLOS ONE
Year: 2026, Volume: 21, Issue: 2, Pages: 1-12 |
| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0342708 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0342708 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0342708 
|
| Author Notes: | Michael Strauss, Muhammad Osman, Sue-Ann Meehan, Florian M. Marx, Anneke C. Hesseling, Andrew Boulle, Pren Naidoo, Gavin George |
| Summary: | Tuberculosis (TB) patients who are diagnosed but not registered and initiated on TB treatment are categorised as initial loss to follow-up (ILTFU). ILTFU is a key driver of morbidity and mortality associated with TB and is a contributing factor to high TB transmission rates. LINKEDin was a quasi-experimental study which evaluated two specific interventions for reducing ILTFU in three high-TB burden provinces in South Africa, conducted from October 2018 to December 2020. As part of LINKEDin, we undertook a micro-costing from the healthcare provider perspective using an activity-based costing approach. Cost estimates included the cost of the operation of an integrated provincial health data centre in the Western Cape, apportioned to the TB activities it supported in the province. Cost estimates were linked to intervention outcomes to understand the incremental cost of the intervention per additional patient linked to care compared to rates of ILTFU in the absence of the interventions. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to account for uncertainty in the intervention outcomes, and for periods where the implementation of the intervention was interrupted due to COVID-19 related disruptions. Costing data were collected between August 2020 and March 2021. The total cost of implementing the LINKEDin intervention in the WC and KZN was |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Veröffentlicht: 11. Februar 2026 Gesehen am 09.04.2026 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0342708 |