How is the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) used in the global health community? Results of a mixed-methods LiST user study

Angela R Stegmuller,Kate Litvin,Timothy Roberton,Andrew Self

doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4750-5

Angela R Stegmuller, Kate Litvin + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4750-5

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Abstract

BackgroundThe Lives Saved Tool (LiST) is a computer-based model that estimates the impact of scaling up key interventions to improve maternal, newborn and child health. Initially developed to inform the Lancet Child Survival Series of 2003, the functionality and scope of LiST have been expanded greatly over the past 10 years. This study sought to “take stock” of how LiST is now being used and for what purposes.MethodsWe conducted a quantitative survey of LiST users, qualitative interviews with a smaller sample of LiST users and members of the LiST team at Johns Hopkins University, and a literature review of studies involving LiST analyses.ResultsLiST is being used by donors, international organizations, governments, NGOs and academic institutions to assist program evaluation, inform strategic planning and evidenced-based decision-making, and advocate for high-impact interventions. Some organizations have integrated LiST into internal workflows and built in-house capacity for using LiST, while other organizations rely on the LiST team for support and to outsource analyses. In addition to being a popular stand-alone software, LiST is used as a calculation engine for other applications.ConclusionsThe Lives Saved Tool has been reported to be a useful model in maternal, newborn, and child health. With continued commitment, LiST should remain as a part of the international health toolkit used to assess maternal, newborn and child health programs.

Highlights

The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) is a computer-based model that estimates the impact of scaling up key interventions to improve maternal, newborn and child health
The integration of LiST into Spectrum allowed the implementation of demography, family planning and HIV/ Impact Module (AIDS) interventions into LiST projections via the Demographic Projection (DemProj), AIDS Impact (AIM) and Family Planning (FamPlan) modules [9]
We present results on four topics: the people and organizations that are using LiST, the purposes for the LiST analyses that are conducted, organizations’ institutional capacity for LiST and other third-party models that build upon LiST

Summary

Introduction

The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) is a computer-based model that estimates the impact of scaling up key interventions to improve maternal, newborn and child health. Developed to inform the Lancet Child Survival Series of 2003, the functionality and scope of LiST have been expanded greatly over the past 10 years. The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) is based on a modeling approach developed over ten years ago to estimate the impact of scaling up community-based interventions on child mortality for the 2003 Lancet Child Survival Series [1, 2]. The Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group (CHERG) previously reviewed the best available evidence of the effectiveness of interventions in the model [11, 12]. The LiST team commissions outside experts to review the model’s assumptions and

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