Development of vaccines for Chagas disease (CRUZIVAX): stakeholders' preferences and potential impacts on healthcare

Abstract

A vaccine for Chagas disease does not currently exist. This study aims to inform the development of two vaccines for the prevention and treatment of Trypanosoma cruzi infection, and guide their pre-clinical phase up to clinical phase I. The three main objectives are: 1) to explore patients' and policy makers' preferences on the candidate vaccines in Argentina and Spain; 2) to investigate health-related quality of life of patients affected by Chagas disease; and 3) to assess the potential health provider savings associated with the vaccines, in terms of resource use and health care costs. Discrete choice experiments will be employed to estimate and characterize the theoretical demand for the vaccines and investigate patients' and policy makers' preferences. Health-related quality of life will be assessed using the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire. Resources use and costs associated with Chagas disease will be investigated using information from the databases of the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona.

Keywords: Argentina; Calidad de vida; Chagas disease; Costes sanitarios; Encuestas y cuestionarios; Enfermedad de Chagas; España; Health care costs; Patient preferences; Preferencias del paciente; Quality of life; Spain; Surveys and questionnaires; Trypanosoma cruzi; Vaccines; Vacunas.