The Healthy Hearts program to improve primary care for hypertension in seven rural health units of Iloilo Province, Philippines: a comparative cost study.

Background: In 2021, the Philippines launched the Healthy Hearts demonstration project for delivering hypertension (HTN) services in seven Rural Health Units (RHUs) in District 1 of Iloilo Province, West Visayas Region. This study evaluates the provider time cost and medication cost of delivering these services under three medication procurement scenarios, projecting them to the district and province levels to inform scaling-up efforts.

Methods: A mixed-methods design was used for cost data collection, including key informant interviews (KII), focus group discussions (FGD), and secondary data sources.

Building the health-economic case for scaling up the WHO-HEARTS hypertension control package in low- and middle-income countries.

Generally, hypertension control programs are cost-effective, including in low- and middle-income countries, but country governments and civil society are not likely to support hypertension control programs unless value is demonstrated in terms of public health benefits, budget impact, and value-for-investment for the individual country context. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) established a standard, simplified Global HEARTS approach to hypertension control, including preferred antihypertensive medicines and blood pressure measurement devices. The objective of this study is to report on health economic studies of HEARTS hypertension control package cost (especially medication costs), cost-effectiveness, and budget impact and describe mathematical models designed to translate hypertension control program data into the optimal approach to hypertension care service delivery and financing, especially in low- and middle-income countries.