Active Tuberculosis Screening via a Mobile Health App in Myanmar: Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation

A mobile app that calculates a tuberculosis (TB) risk score based on individual social and pathological characteristics has been shown to be a better predictor of the risk of contracting TB than conventionally used TB signs and symptoms (TBSS) in Myanmar, where the TB burden is high. Its cost-effectiveness, however, has not yet been assessed.

This study aimed to determine the incremental costs of this mobile app and of chest x-rays (CXRs) in averting disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) among missed cases of active TB in the population being screened.

Elements of incremental costs and effectiveness of 3 initial TB screening strategies were examined, including TBSS followed by CXR, the mobile app followed by CXR, and universal CXR. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER; ie, the additional cost for each additional DALY averted) was compared to TBSS screening. Based on the latest 2020 gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of Myanmar (US $1477.50), the ICER was compared to willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds of 1, 2, and 3 times the GDP per capita. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was conducted with a Monte Carlo simulation to compute the levels of probability that the ICER for each strategy was below each WTP threshold.

For each 100,000 population, the incremental cost compared to TBSS of active TB screening was US $345,942 for the mobile app and US $1,810,712 for universal CXR. The incremental effectiveness was 325 DALYs averted for the mobile app and 576 DALYs averted for universal CXR. For the mobile app, the estimated ICER was US $1064 (72% of GDP per capita) per 1 DALY averted. Furthermore, 100% of the simulated values were below an additional cost of 1 times the GDP per capita for 1 additional DALY averted. The universal CXR strategy has an estimated ICER of US $3143 (2.1 times the GDP per capita) per 1 DALY averted and an additional 77.2% DALYs averted compared to the app (ie, 576 - 325 / 325 DALYs); however, 0.5% of the simulated values were higher than an additional expenditure of 3 times the GDP per capita.

Based on the status of the economy in 2020, the mobile app strategy is affordable for Myanmar. The universal CXR strategy, although it could prevent an additional 77% of DALYs, is probably unaffordable. Compared to the TBSS strategy, the mobile app system based on social and pathological characteristics of TB has potential as a TB screening tool to identify missing TB cases and to reduce TB morbidity and mortality, thereby helping to achieve the global goal of "End TB" in resource-limited settings with a high TB burden.