An agent-based simulation modelling approach to extended cost-effectiveness analysis of health interventions

Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is widely used as a tool for prioritising health interventions, particularly in low-income and middle-income settings. However, among the major limitations of CEA are the omission of health-care seeking behaviour, heterogeneous mechanisms across populations or regions that determine the delivery and quality of health interventions, and the economic benefits of such interventions. Extended CEA complements basic CEA and provides a basis for a multicriteria decision-making approach that looks beyond health measures, but is far less complex than a benefit–cost analysis.