Distributional cost-effectiveness analysis (DCEA)

Distributional cost-effectiveness analysis (DCEA) is an extension of a standard cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) that assesses not only a health intervention’s overall impact on health and costs, but also how these effects are distributed across different socioeconomic groups. While a standard CEA might show that an intervention is cost-effective overall, a DCEA reveals who specifically benefits and who bears the costs, highlighting potential health inequities.

DCEA examines how quality-adjusted life years are distributed among different groups, such as those defined by income, ethnicity, or geographical location. This approach allows decision-makers to explicitly consider equity alongside efficiency, providing a more comprehensive basis for policy decisions.