Karen Grépin
Assistant Professor of Global Health Policy


DatePublication/Paper
2012

Grépin, Karen 2012. IV Donor Funding Has Both Boosted And Curbed The Delivery Of Different Non-HIV Health Services In Sub-Saharan Africa. Health Affairs July 2012 31:1406-1414.
Abstract

Donor funding for HIV programs has increased rapidly over the past decade, raising questions about whether other health services in recipient-country health systems are being crowded out or strengthened. This article—an investigation of the impacts of increased HIV donor funding on non-HIV health services in sub-Saharan Africa during 2003–10—provides evidence of both effects. HIV aid in some countries has crowded out the delivery of childhood immunizations, especially in countries with the lowest density of health care providers. At the same time, HIV aid may have positively affected some maternal health services, such as prenatal blood testing. These mixed results suggest that donors should be more attentive to domestic resource constraints, such as limited numbers of health workers; should integrate more fully with existing health systems; and should address these constraints up front to limit possible negative effects on the delivery of other health services.

Grépin, Karen 2012. Efficiency Considerations of Donor Fatigue, Universal Access to ARTs and Health Systems. Sex Transm Infect 2012;88:75-78.
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Abstract

Objectives: To investigate trends in official development assistance for health, HIV and non-HIV activities over time and to discuss the efficiency implications of these trends in the context of achieving universal access to treatment and health systems.

Methods: Official development assistance for health, HIV programmes and non-HIV programmes were tracked using data from 2000 to 2009. A review of the literature on efficiency, treatment and health systems was conducted. Findings The rate of growth of donor funding to HIV programmes has slowed in recent years at levels below those required to sustain programmes and to move towards universal access to treatment. These trends are likely due to increased pressure on foreign aid budgets and donor fatigue for HIV programmes.

Conclusions: There is great need to consider how the limited resources available can be used most efficiently to increase the number of lives saved and to ensure that these resources also benefit health systems. Improving efficiency is much more than just improving the productive efficiency and also about ensuring that resources are going to where they will be the most beneficial and making investments that are the most efficient over time. These choices may be essential to achieving the goal of universal access to treatment as well as the sustainability of these programmes. 

2011

Grépin, Karen A, Leach-Kemon, Katherine , Schneider, Matthew, Sridhar, Devi. 2011. How to do (or not to do) ... Tracking data on development assistance for health. Health Policy Plan. (2011)doi: 10.1093/heapol/czr076First published online: December 8, 2011.
View Publication. | How to do (or not to do) ... Tracking data on development assistance for health
Abstract

Development assistance for health (DAH) has increased substantially in recent years and is seen as important to the improvement of health and health systems in developing countries. As a result, there has been increasing interest in tracking and understanding these resource flows from the global health community. A number of datasets, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, are available to track DAH. In this article we review the available datasets on DAH and summarize the strengths and weaknesses of each of these datasets to help researchers make the best choice of which to use to inform their analysis. Finally, we also provide recommendations about how each of these datasets could be improved.

 

Kishore, S.P. et al. 2011. Youth Manifesto on Non-Communicable Diseases. Global Heart, 6(4): 201-210.
Youth Manifesto on Non-Communicable Diseases

Grépin, Karen. 2011. Leveraging HIV Programs to Deliver an Integrated Package of Health Services: Some Words of Caution. JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes: 1 August 2011 - Volume 57 - Issue - pp S77-S79 doi: 10.1097/QAI.0b013e31821f6afa .
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Abstract

Over the past decade, HIV programs have been successfully scaled up in many developing countries, leading some to wonder how the investments made into HIV infrastructure could be leveraged to deliver additional health services. Although the concept is appealing from many perspectives, integrating additional health services into existing vertical HIV infrastructure may not mitigate some of the challenges these programs have introduced in implementing countries. In addition, this approach to integration may countervail parallel efforts of the global health community to strengthen health systems and improve aid effectiveness. It might also undermine the HIV programs themselves. International donors and health system planners should carefully consider whether the benefits outweigh the potential costs of these well-intentioned integration efforts.

2010

Law, Michael and Karen Grépin. 2010. Is newer always better? Re-evaluating the benefits of newer pharmaceuticals. Journal of Health Economics 29 (2010) 743–750.
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Abstract

Whether newer pharmaceuticals justify their higher costs by reducing other health expenditures has generated significant debate. We replicate a frequently cited paper by Lichtenberg on drug “offsets” and find the results disappear using a more appropriate model or updated dataset. Further, we test the suitability of similar methods using newer hypertension drugs. We find our observational results run counter to well-established clinical evidence on comparative efficacy and conclude that our model, as well as other studies that do not adequately control for unobserved characteristics that jointly determine drug choice and health expenditures, are likely subject to significant bias.

2009

Grépin, K.A. & William D Savedoff. 2009. 10 Best Resources on Health Workers in Developing Countries.
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Abstract

Key Messages

 

  • Until recently researchers and policymakers paid little attention to the role of health workers in developing countries but a new generation of studies are providing a fuller understanding of these issues using more sophisticated data and research tools.
  • Recent research highlights the value of viewing health workers as active agents in dynamic labour markets who are faced with many competing incentives and constraints.
  • Newer studies have provided greater insights into human resource requirements in health, the motivations and behaviours of health workers, and health worker migration. We are encouraged by the progress but believe there is a need for even more, and higher quality, research on this topic.

Savedoff, W. & Grépin, K.A. 2009. Chapter 3: Assessing Health Sector Corruption in Ethiopia.
Abstract

In Assessing Corruption in Ethiopia, forthcoming from the World Bank (ed. Janelle Plummer)

2008

Grépin, K.A. & Reich, MR. 2008. Conceptualizing Integration: A framework for analysis applied to neglected tropical disease control programs. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2(4): e174.

2007

Hodgkin, C, Abiose, A, Philippon, B, Reich, M, Remme, HJ, Thylefors, B, Traoré, M, Grépin, K. 2007. The Future of Onchocerciasis Control in Africa. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 1(1): e74.
The future of onchocerciasis control in Africa.

2006

Berndt, E.R., Cockburn, I.M. & Grépin, K.A. 2006. The Impact of Incremental Innovation in Biopharmaceuticals: Drug Utilization in Original and Supplemental Indications. Pharmacoeonomics, 24 (supp 2): 69-86.

2003

Stabinski L., Pelley(Grepin), K., Jacob, S.T., Long, J.M. & Leaning, J. 2003. Reframing HIV/AIDS. British Medical Journal, 327(7423): 1101-3.