Socioeconomic Burden Of Disease Research Articles

Combating Metabolic Syndrome through Non-Pharmacological Strategies: A Literature Review

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) represents a constellation of interlinked metabolic abnormalities, encompassing hypertension (HTN), insulin resistance diabetes, obesity, and atherogenic dyslipidemia. It is observed that people suffering from these symptoms of metabolic syndrome are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular diseases (CVDS) and five times more likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) during their lifetime. The alarming increase in the incidence of MetS, in population worldwide, has made it an epidemic. In today’s world people are more susceptible to MetS due to their sedentary lifestyle, bad eating habits, and various forms of stress. Knowing the socioeconomic burden of disease of MetS on global health throughout the years has brought attention towards its management and therapeutic approach and rightly so, this has also created the need for new, innovative, and non-traditional methods of managing MetS, as the current available treatments of MetS have limited efficacy. In this review, we highlight the prevalence, definition and also summarize the latest non-traditional therapies of MetS worldwide.

Clinical and Socioeconomic Burden of Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Iceland.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a very common pathogen, causes variable disease severity. In addition to considerable clinical burden on children, their families and healthcare facilities, RSV infections in children also carry significant direct and indirect socioeconomic burden. We analyzed data from 5 consecutive RSV seasons (2015-2020) and used virologically confirmed RSV infections and age <5 years as case definition. Clinical information was retrieved from electronic patient records. Costs were estimated by assuming an annual 30% attack rate and a combination of direct medical costs and calculations of societal costs of lost productivity. A total of 716 children younger than 5 years of age had confirmed RSV infection of which 254 needed hospitalizations, most of whom were previously healthy. The median length of admission was 3.6 days and 13 patients needed intensive care. The hospital admission incidence rate was 2.5/1000 children/year, but 9.1 for children younger than 1 years of age. The total annual cost of RSV was estimated at €4.3 million, of which 10% was direct healthcare costs. The clinical and socioeconomic disease burden of RSV in Iceland is substantial despite slightly lower hospital admission rates than other high-income countries. The prevention of RSV in young children, either through maternal or infant vaccination, has the potential to decrease both clinical and financial impact of the annual epidemics.

Assessing the Clinical and Socioeconomic Burden of Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Children Aged Under 5 Years in Primary Care: Protocol for a Prospective Cohort Study in England and Report on the Adaptations of the Study to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BackgroundRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) commonly causes lower respiratory tract infections and hospitalization in children. In 2019-2020, the Europe-wide RSV ComNet standardized study protocol was developed to measure the clinical and socioeconomic disease burden of RSV infections among children aged <5 years in primary care. RSV has a recognized seasonality in England.ObjectiveWe aimed to describe (1) the adaptations of the RSV ComNet standardized study protocol for England and (2) the challenges of conducting the study during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThis study was conducted by the Oxford-Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre—the English national primary care sentinel network. We invited all (N=248) general practices within the network that undertook virology sampling to participate in the study by recruiting eligible patients (registered population: n=3,056,583). Children aged <5 years with the following case definition of RSV infection were included in the study: those consulting a health care practitioner in primary care with symptoms meeting the World Health Organization’s definition of acute respiratory illness or influenza-like illness who have laboratory-confirmed RSV infection. The parents/guardians of these cases were asked to complete 2 previously validated questionnaires (14 and 30 days postsampling). A sample size of at least 100 RSV-positive cases is required to estimate the percentage of children that consult in primary care who need hospitalization. Assuming a swab positivity rate of 20% in children aged <5 years, we estimated that 500 swabs are required. We adapted our method for the pandemic by extending sampling planned for winter 2020-2021 to a rolling data collection, allowing verbal consent and introducing home swabbing because of increased web-based consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsThe preliminary results of the data collection between International Organization for Standardization (ISO) weeks 1-41 in 2021 are described. There was no RSV detected in the winter of 2020-2021 through the study. The first positive RSV swab collected through the sentinel network in England was collected in ISO week 17 and then every week since ISO week 25. In total, 16 (N=248, 6.5%) of the virology-sampling practices volunteered to participate; these were high-sampling practices collecting the majority of eligible swabs across the sentinel network—200 (43.8%) out of 457 swabs, of which 54 (N=200, 27%) were positive for RSV.ConclusionsMeasures to control the COVID-19 pandemic meant there was no circulating RSV last winter; however, RSV has circulated out of season, as detected by the sentinel network. The sentinel network practices have collected 40% (200/500) of the required samples, and 27% (54/200) were RSV positive. We have demonstrated the feasibility of implementing a European-standardized RSV disease burden study protocol in England during a pandemic, and we now need to recruit to this adapted protocol.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/38026

Sport and migraine-a dynamic relationship.

Migraine is the most common primary headache, characterized by a high life and socio-economic burden of disease, with a complex and intriguing pathophysiology: changes in cortical excitability, neurovascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, the last linking migraine to cardiovascular risk and comorbidities. Moderate endurance exercise is recommended in prevention of cardiovascular disease, improving cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, mood and cognitive functions too. Multiple levels of evidence support a role of aerobic exercise in migraine prevention and treatment: exertion reduces pain intensity, frequency, duration of attacks, and medication use; moreover, lower cardiovascular fitness levels increase the lifetime risk of developing migraine. Different biochemical mediators are involved both in physical exertion and in migraine, as serotonin, acetylcholine, and endogenous opioids, playing a crucial role in pain-modulation and inhibition pathways, leading to analgesia. Despite many positive effects, exercise could be harmful, due to predisposing factors as the disfunction of the exercise-induced analgesia, together with other exercise-related factors (short warm up, incorrect rest phases, excessive training) and common migraine triggers. Furthermore, primary exercise headache and other sport headaches, often migraine-like, have been accurately described. In conclusion, aerobic exercise can be a useful tool for migraine therapy; otherwise, exceeding in exercise could lead to a harmful effect with a worsening of pain perception, sometimes acting as a trigger for migraine or migraine-like headaches. Additional studies are needed to better understand the most suitable way of performing exercise, to increase patients' compliance and to gain the maximum beneficial effect.

216P Socio-economic burden of disease: Survivorship costs for breast cancer

216P Socio-economic burden of disease: Survivorship costs for breast cancer

Socio-economic burden of disease: Survivorship costs for bladder cancer

BackgroundIn this cost-of-illness study, we analysed the socio-economic burden of bladder cancer survivorship for the ten years after initial treatment in Germany during 2000, 2010 and 2020. MethodsBladder cancer follow-up guidelines were extracted from the European Association of Urology. Per patient costs were estimated with a micro-costing approach considering direct and indirect medical expenses derived from literature and official scales of tariffs. Three perspectives covering costs for patients, providers, and insurers were included to estimate societal costs. ResultsMean 10-year follow-up costs per patient amounted to EUR 2214 for low-risk, EUR 4758 for medium-risk, and EUR 11,325 for high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) in 2020. The mean economic burden of muscle-invasive and metastatic bladder cancer (MIBC) was EUR 8994 per patient. Overall expenditure rose by 65% from 2000 to 2020 across all cancer stages (p < 0.001). While insurers covered 38% of costs in 2000, only 31% of costs were reimbursed in 2020 (p < 0.001). 58% of high-risk NMIBC follow-up resources were consumed by physician-patient visits and 17% by medical imaging (x-ray, CT-IVU, ultrasound). Spending was unevenly distributed across follow-up years (years 1–2: 43%, years 3–5: 29%, years 5–10: 28%). ConclusionsThe rising socio-economic burden of follow-ups signifies the relevance of cancer survivorship for the healthcare system and society. This burden must be evenly distributed across stakeholders and considered in cost-effectiveness evaluations of novel anti-cancer drugs.Policy summaryPersonalized, equitable, and effective follow-up schedules covered by insurance funds are necessary to care for cancer survivors.

Measuring Trends in the Socioeconomic Burden of Disease in Korea, 2007-2015.

This study estimated the direct and indirect socioeconomic costs of 238 diseases and 22 injuries from a social perspective in Korea from 2007 to 2015. The socioeconomic cost of each disease group was calculated based on the Korean Standard Disease Classification System. Direct costs were estimated using health insurance claims data provided by the National Health Insurance Service. The numbers of outpatients and inpatients with the main diagnostic codes for each disease were selected as a proxy indicator for estimating patients’ medical use behavior by disease. The economic burden of disease from 2007 to 2015 showed an approximately 20% increase in total costs. From 2007 to 2015, communicable diseases (including infectious, maternal, pediatric, and nutritional diseases) accounted for 8.9-12.2% of the socioeconomic burden, while non-infectious diseases accounted for 65.7-70.7% and injuries accounted for 19.1-22.8%. The top 5 diseases in terms of the socioeconomic burden were self-harm (which took the top spot for 8 years), followed by cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer, ischemic heart disease, and upper respiratory infections in 2007. Since 2010, the economic burden of conditions such as low back pain, falls, and acute bronchitis has been included in this ranking. This study expanded the scope of calculating the burden of disease at the national level by calculating the burden of disease in Koreans by gender and disease. These findings can be used as indicators of health equality and as useful data for establishing community-centered (or customized) health promotion policies, projects, and national health policy goals.

Sex Difference in the Socioeconomic Burden of Osteoporosis among South Koreans.

Background: The prevalence of osteoporosis is increasing with the aging of the population and the socioeconomic burden. The purpose of this study was to determine the socioeconomic burden of osteoporosis in Korea. Methods: The prevalence of osteoporosis was analyzed using 2017 National Patients Sample and Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. Direct costs were divided into healthcare and non-healthcare costs, and indirect costs were calculated by assessing the cost of loss of productivity for labor loss due to disease. Results: The prevalence of osteoporosis diagnosis was 1.91% in total, which was 13 times higher in women than in men (3.57% vs. 0.26%). The socioeconomic cost of osteoporosis was 299.1 million USD based on main diagnosis, and the cost was 13 times higher in women than in men (277.6 vs. 21.5 million USD). The total cost based on main and secondary diagnosis was 981.8 million USD. Similarly, the cost was seven times higher in women than in men (862.4 vs. 119.4 million USD). Conclusions: Osteoporosis increases the socioeconomic burden of disease, and it is significantly higher in women than in men. The policy support for the implementation of prevention and management programs would be necessary to reduce the burden of osteoporosis.

CLINICAL COURSE, TREATMENT AND PROGNOSIS OF CEREBROVASCULAR DISORDERS IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) significantly increases the risk of stroke, dementia, and other cognitive and mental disorders. Atherosclerotic type of cardiovascular disorders (CVD) is the main cause of death in patients with DM2. Aim. In this review, we aimed to outline risk factors, clinical characteristics and outcomes of stroke in patients with DM2. The obtained information can be used to improve prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of cerebral vascular disorders in DM2. Materials and Methods. We conducted a systematic review of prognostic and risk factors of cerebral vascular disorders in DM2. Our search included 50 articles from PUBMED published in the last few years. We compared statistical data from Azerbaijan with those from other countries. Results. Hyperglycemia, obesity, insulin resistance and arterial hypertension (AH) are all risk factors of brain microvascular dysfunctions in patients with diabetes mellitus. Furthermore, obesity, AH, dyslipidemias, smoking and genetic predisposition to CVD, chronic kidney disorders, and albuminuria are all risk factors of cardiovascular disorders in DM2. The possible outcomes can be a stroke, cognitive dysfunction, and depressive disorders. For Azerbaijan, main risk factors is an atherosclerotic type of CVD. Conclusion. Due to the high socio-economic burden of disease there is an urgent need in new approaches aimed at prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of cerebral vascular disorders in patients with DM2 in Azerbaijan.

Evaluation of a standardised protocol to measure the disease burden of respiratory syncytial virus infection in young children in primary care

BackgroundA better understanding of the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in primary care is needed for policymakers to make informed decisions regarding new preventive measures and treatments. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a protocol for the standardised measurement of the disease burden of RSV infection in primary care in children aged < 5 years.MethodsThe standardised protocol was evaluated in Italy and the Netherlands during the 2019/20 winter. Children aged < 5 years who consulted their primary care physician, met the WHO acute respiratory infections (ARI) case definition, and had a laboratory confirmed positive test for RSV (RT-PCR) were included. RSV symptoms were collected at the time of swabbing. Health care use, duration of symptoms and socio-economic impact was measured 14 days after swabbing. Health related Quality of life (HRQoL) was measured using the parent-proxy report of the PedsQL™4.0 generic core scales (2–4 years) and PedsQL™4.0 infant scales (0–2 years) 30 days after swabbing. The standardised protocol was evaluated in terms of the feasibility of patient recruitment, data collection procedures and whether parents understood the questions.ResultsChildren were recruited via a network of paediatricians in Italy and a sentinel influenza surveillance network of general practitioners in the Netherlands. In Italy and the Netherlands, 293 and 152 children were swabbed respectively, 119 and 32 tested RSV positive; for 119 and 12 children the Day-14 questionnaire was completed and for 116 and 11 the Day-30 questionnaire. In Italy, 33% of the children had persistent symptoms after 14 days and in the Netherlands this figure was 67%. Parents had no problems completing questions concerning health care use, duration of symptoms and socio-economic impact, however, they had some difficulties scoring the HRQoL of their young children.ConclusionRSV symptoms are common after 14 days, and therefore, measuring disease burden outcomes like health care use, duration of symptoms, and socio-economic impact is also recommended at Day-30. The standardised protocol is suitable to measure the clinical and socio-economic disease burden of RSV in young children in primary care.

Development of a dynamic fall risk profile in elderly nursing home residents: A free field gait analysis based study

Falls in nursing home residents are associated with a significant individual and socioeconomic burden of disease. To trigger and tailor individual intervention programs, solid early detection measures of residents at risk are needed. Aim of this study was thus to test the capability of a free field gait analysis insole to determine its usefulness in determining fall risk.In an observational study gait data of 22 nursing home residents over the age of 75 years was collected over one week with a measuring insole. Clinical scores were performed at baseline (POMA; DGI, TUG). For 6 months before and after the insole measurement, the fall events per resident were recorded. Correlation analysis as well as receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were performed.The average resident age was 88.2 years (range 78–99), 15 had at least one fall event. There was no significant correlation between clinical assessment and fall risk. Moderate correlations between different temporospatial parameters and fall risk were seen. Pressure distribution during gait was markedly changed in fallers. Differences between fallers and non-fallers as well as cut off values for increased fall risk in the ROC analysis could be determined.The introduced measurement protocol suggests that patients at risk for falling can be detected without any additional office visits. Based on the introduced protocol in a limited patient setting, further large scale studies should now determine the effect of prevention measures triggered by gait analysis, the specific risk reduction and the associated personal and socioeconomic advantages.

Socioeconomic Burden of Disease Due to Asthma in South Korea.

This study aimed to estimate the socioeconomic burden of asthma in South Korea. The data were obtained from the National Patient Sample of 2014. The direct costs included health care and non-health care costs, and the indirect costs included loss of productivity. To estimate the prevalence of asthma, this study used both primary diagnoses and treatment-based criteria. The prevalence of asthma was 3.7% using primary diagnosis-based criteria. The total costs of asthma were $645.8 million. The direct and indirect costs were $553.9 million and $92.0 million, respectively. When the treatment-based criteria were applied, the prevalence decreased to 1.8% and the total costs decreased to $465.1 million. The direct and indirect costs were $394.9 million and $70.2 million, respectively. In the future, the cost of asthma, derived from various perspectives, should be regularly estimated and used as a basis for lowering the burden of disease due to asthma.

Changing Demographic Profiles of Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury: An Aging Concern.

Background: Trauma continues to be a common cause of mortality in Singapore. By understanding the epidemiology of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), healthcare professionals can be better equipped to tackle the increasing socioeconomic burden of disease, adopting better strategies in healthcare planning.Methodology: A retrospective review of 367 patients admitted with TBI to a tertiary medical institution from January to December 2014 was performed, studying demographic profiles, injury details and outcomes of these patients. Data was retrieved from the National Trauma Registry and the institution's database.Results: Two hundred thirty-four of the 367 patients included in this study fell into two age groups-−19 to 40 years and ≥65 years. 58% of the TBI population were aged >60. Predominant mechanism of injuries in these groups were road traffic accidents and unwitnessed falls respectively. 39% of the Elderly group were on antiplatelet/anticoagulant agents (p < 0.001). While aggressive surgical intervention was more common in younger patients (p < 0.001), the elderly group had significantly longer lengths of hospital stay (p < 0.001). Though Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) scores at discharge were not significantly different between the two groups, elderly patients showed greater percentages of post-injury improvement subsequently.Conclusion: The demographics of TBI patients appears to have shifted toward an older population as compared to a decade ago, with an increased incidence of falls, highlighting a huge healthcare concern. We hope that this study will drive further nationwide studies in future, looking at the incidence and prevalence of TBI, and with the focus on tackling preventable causes of TBI.

Measuring the Economic Burden of Disease and Injury in Korea, 2015.

BackgroundDisease burden can be represented by health-related parameters such as disability-adjusted life years and economic burden. Economic burden is an important index, as it estimates the maximum possible cost reduction if a disease is prevented. This study aimed to determine the economic burden of 238 diseases and 22 injuries in Korea in 2015.MethodsEconomic burden was estimated with a human resources approach from a social perspective, and direct and indirect costs were calculated from insurance claims data and a cause of death database. Direct costs were divided into medical costs (including hospital admission, outpatient visit, and medication use) and nonmedical costs (including transportation and caregiver costs). Indirect costs from lost productivity, either from the use of healthcare service or premature death, were analyzed.ResultsIn 2015, the estimated economic burden was USD 133.7 billion (direct: USD 65.5 billion, indirect: USD 68.2 billion). The total cost of communicable diseases was USD 16.0 billion (11.9%); non-communicable diseases, USD 92.3 billion (69.1%); and injuries, USD 25.4 billion (19.0%). Self-harm had the highest costs (USD 8.3 billion), followed by low back pain (LBP, USD 6.6 billion). For men, self-harm had the highest cost (USD 7.1 billion), while LBP was the leading cost (USD 3.7 billion) for women.ConclusionA high percentage of Korea's total socioeconomic disease burden is due to chronic diseases; however, unnoticed conditions such as infectious diseases, injuries, and LBP are high in certain age groups and differ by gender, emphasizing the need for targeted social interventions to manage and prevent disease risk factors.

Back to Basics in Asthma and COPD: Optimising the Patient Journey

The objective of this symposium was to build on the guiding principles of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to address some of the most frequently encountered challenges in the management of chronic airway disease, using a mix of scientific information and guidance based on clinical practice. Prof Mäkelä opened the symposium by reviewing key achievements from the Finnish asthma, COPD, and allergy programmes. He also highlighted how these co-ordinated educational programmes were responsible for driving an improvement in Finnish public health and reducing the socioeconomic burden of disease. Prof Chrystyn then addressed some of the common misconceptions associated with high-resistance dry powder inhalers; he explained how the properties of these devices make them suitable for use by a broader range of patients than perceived by many clinicians. Next, Prof Lavorini addressed the real-world use of inhalers by highlighting how specific errors in recent real-life studies are associated with a loss of disease control and how the Easyhaler® (Orion Corporation, Espoo, Finland) meets many of the needs of doctors and patients. Finally, Prof Canonica focussed on precision and personalised medicine in chronic airway disease, with an emphasis on how clinicians can optimise patient adherence and, consequently, treatment in daily practice.

Estimating the Incidence of Cases and Deaths Resulting from Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease and Its Related Socioeconomic Disease Burden in Republic of Korea (2010 - 2014).

ObjectivesHand, Foot and Mouth disease (HFMD) is a highly contagious viral disease that affects young children and frequently causes epidemics. A vaccine is available in China (enterovirus 71) and, the Republic of Korea took the first step to develop a new vaccine. New vaccine development requires that disease burden is calculated in advance so the financial cost, morbidity and mortality can be measured.MethodsData from National Sentinel Surveillance and health insurance systems of 1 million claimants were used. Direct medical and non-medical costs, indirect (caregiving and premature death) costs, cases and related deaths were summarized.ResultsFrom 2010 to 2014, there were an estimated 3,605 to 9,271 cases of HFMD, with 1 to 3 deaths. The estimated socioeconomic disease burden ranged from 80.5 to 164.2 million USD and was similar to that of hepatitis A (93.6–103.8 million USD). Among each costs, costs of caregiving consisted of highest proportion mainly due to hiring caregivers (50% – 60%) or opportunity costs from day off (62% – 69%).ConclusionConsidering the social impact of HFMD, the estimated socioeconomic disease burden is not high and government policies need to focus on reducing the loss of work in caregivers.

Checklist for the Development and Assessment of Cost-of-Illness Studies

Cost-of-illness (CoI) studies are important instruments for estimating the socioeconomic burden of specified diseases. CoI studies provide important information about the cost structure of a disease, the resulting research need, approaches to improve aspects of care and, monetary consequences from different perspectives. This information can be useful for healthcare research and health policy. Due to heterogeneity of available Cost-of-Illness studies, the working group 'Health Economics' of the German Network for Healthcare Research (DNVF) in accordance with the German Society for Health Economics (DGGÖ) developed an instrument for the planning, conduct and assessment of CoI studies. The checklist was developed based on a systematic literature search of published national and international checklists as well as guidelines and recommendations for development and assessment of CoI studies and health economic evaluations. Structure and subject matter of the generic checklist was designed, approved and, finally, examined in a pretest by the working group. Based on the results of the literature search (n=2 454), 58 articles were used for the identification of relevant criteria for the checklist. With respect to the results of the pretest, 6 dimensions were included in the checklist: (i) general aspects, (ii) identification of resources, (iii) description and quantification of resource consumption, (iv) valuation of resources (v) analysis and presentation of results and (vi) discussion and conclusion. In total, the 6 dimensions were operationalized through 37 items. This checklist is an initial approach to improve transparency and understanding of CoI studies in terms of the extent, structure and development of the socioeconomic burden of diseases. The checklist supports the comparability of different studies and facilitates study conception.

Inflammatory mechanisms in tendinopathy - towards translation.

Tendinopathy is a multifactorial spectrum of tendon disorders that affects different anatomical sites and is characterized by activity-related tendon pain. These disorders are common, account for a high proportion (∼30%) of referrals to musculoskeletal practitioners and confer a large socioeconomic burden of disease. Our incomplete understanding of the mechanisms underpinning tendon pathophysiology continues to hamper the development of targeted therapies, which have been successful in other areas of musculoskeletal medicine. Debate remains among clinicians about the role of an inflammatory process in tendinopathy owing to a lack of clinical correlation. The advent of modern molecular techniques has highlighted the presence of immune cells and inflammatory mechanisms throughout the spectrum of tendinopathy in both animal and human models of disease. Key inflammatory mediators - such as cytokines, nitric oxide, prostaglandins and lipoxins - play crucial parts in modulating changes in the extracellular matrix within tendinopathy. Understanding the links between inflammatory mechanisms, tendon homeostasis and resolution of tendon damage will be crucial in developing novel therapeutics for human tendon disease.

Could daratumumab be used to treat severe allergy?

In the management of allergic diseases, targeting IgE using biologicals is a current research focus. This proof of concept shows that plasma cell depletion using daratumumab results in decreased total and allergen-specific IgE levels.

VP25 African Countries Are Working Together To Enhance Medicine Use

INTRODUCTION:The socioeconomic burden of diseases is increasing in Africa. For instance in 2011, 70 percent of the world's human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) population resided in sub-Sahara Africa. There are also growing rates of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), which necessitates newer more expensive antibiotics adding to costs. There is also a growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), three out of four patients with hypertension currently live in low and middle income countries (LMICs), with prevalence rates up to 30 to 45 percent among adults in Africa. Alongside this, up to 70 percent of total healthcare expenditure is spent on medicines in LMICs; much of this out-of-pocket. Consequently, there is an urgent need to strengthen collaborative research to improve medicine use.METHODS:Summary of groups working together in Africa including the Medicines Utilisation Research in Africa (MURIA) group.RESULTS:African Strategies for Health identifies and advocates best practices, as well as works with others to develop sustainable solutions. Pharmacology for Africa (PharfA) organises and promotes pharmacology on the African continent, including research in clinical pharmacology, alongside the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) sub-division. International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Africa co-ordinates activities from the different African country chapters. The South African Health Technology Assessment Society (SAHTAS) is a scientific and professional society for all those who produce, use, or encounter Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in Southern Africa, and the World Health Organization (WHO) International and Regional groups are improving antibiotic drug utilization capabilities in Africa. The MURIA group was established in 2015 (1). Ongoing collaborative research includes (i) initiatives to optimize antibiotic use; (ii) methods to enhance adherence to anti-infective prescribing guidance, (iii) approaches to improve adherence to HIV and NCDs; (iv) researching current anti-hypertensive utilization patterns and knowledge; (v) approaches to enhance Drugs and Therapeutic Committees (DTC) activities, and (vi) strengthening medicine utilization capabilities (2,3). These activities have already strengthened research ties across Africa.CONCLUSIONS:A number of groups are already working across Africa to enhance appropriate medicine use, and should continue. Ongoing MURIA activities include antibiotic point-prevalence studies, ongoing research into infectious diseases, NCDs and DTCs including adherence as well as the third workshop and symposium in Namibia in 2017.