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. 2021 Jan 22;23(1):e21382. doi: 10.2196/21382

Table 4.

Extracted cost information (based on Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards evaluation template)

Study and country Analytic method or model Interventions studied or population per group (1=PPDCa; 2=EDCb) Time horizon, discount rate, currency (base year) Included cost inputs and assumptions (1=PPDC; 2=EDC) Data quality outcome link with input cost Cost range of intervention (1=PPDC; 2=EDC) Conclusions and remark
King et al [7], Ethiopia Input cost analysis

  • 9433

  • 12,112

  • NRc

  • NR

  • US $ (2011)

  • Printing and data entry costs

  • Tablet and accessories Single-use cost

 Not linked

  1. US $13,883

  2. US $10,320

  • Costs of the equipment in EDC approximately the same as with data entry cost, recurrent use of EDC may save costs. Use of person day for comparison of personnel costs
McLean et al [39], Malawi Input cost analysis Differential cost

  • 426

  • 558

  • 1 year

  • NR

  • British Pound (2016)

  • Printing and entry cost and paper archival

  • EDC development and configuration, device cost, data officer cost

 Not linked

  1. £18,895

  2. £11,427

  • In total, the estimated costs for the stages unique to the paper-based process is 65% higher per annum than the unique costs for the EDC system
Giduthuri et al [37], India Differential input cost analysis

  • 98 interviews for both, and extrapolated for larger samples 1000

  • NR

  • NR

  • US $ (2013)

  • Printing and data entry expenses

  • Cost of tablet computers and server charges

 Not linked For 96 interviews, the cost is

  1. US $2598

  2. US $2648

  • The initial investment in tablet-based interviews was higher compared to paper, while the recurring costs per interview were lower with the use of tablets

  • EDC is less expensive for larger surveys
Mukasa et al [38], Tanzania Cost and cost-effectiveness

  • 1000 households for both

  • NR (used deflator values)

  • NR (used the number of households)

  • US $ (2008)

  • All fixed costs and running costs

  • To estimate the costs for 2015, the formula for expenditure in 2016 = Expenditure in 2008 × Deflator 2016, deflator 2008

  • Deflator values of 209.5 for 2008 and 233.6 for 2016

 Error rate For 1000 households, error-free data set:

  1. US $1161

  2. US $9380

Crude data set:

  1. US $993

  2. US $891

  • For error-free data sets, surveys using electronic tools, compared with paper-based tools, were less expensive by 28% for recurrent and 19% for total costs
Zhang et al [42], China Input cost analysis

  • 60

  • 60

  • Extrapolated to

    • 1200

    • 1600

  • NR

  • NR (used projected samples)

  • US $ (2012)

  • Both EDC and PPDC: Items for preparation, training, fieldwork and data collection, and logistics

  • Only printing and transporting the questionnaire, stationery, and data entry

  • Only renting the smartphone and the software

  • Assumptions for the extrapolation are not known

 Not linked Sample size: 60 each

  1. US $1500

  2. US $2700

Sample size: 1200

  1. US $41,570

  2. Cost per sample, US $23.77

Sample size: 1600

  1. US $28,520

  2. Cost per sample, US $25.98

  • The mean costs per questionnaire were higher for the smartphone questionnaire

  • No linked analysis for data quality and cost
Njuguna et al [36], Kenya Input cost analysis

  • Both 880

  • Extrapolated for the first year’s establishing and second year’s operating cost

  • NR

  • 2 years

  • US $ (2011, 2012)

  • First- and second-year costs of starting up and operating based on payroll information

 Not linked First year:

  1. US $15,999

  2. US $17,500



Second year:

  1. US $54,001

  2. US $50,200

  • For establishment cost, EDC 9.4% more than PPDC; in 2 years, EDC costs reduced 7% compared to PPDC

  • No linked analysis for data quality and cost
Dillon et al [41], South Africa Input and economic analysis

  • 95

  • 105

  • British pound (2012)

  • Salary per correctly entered question

  • Technology costs and tablet computer and additional overhead costs (storage space for paper hard copies; office space for data entry clerk, and for EDC, hardware maintenance and upkeep)

  • Formulas presented by Walther et al [19].

  • Assumed minimum staffing:

  • 1 field worker, 1 data entry clerk, and 1 data supervisor

  • 1 field worker and 1 data manager (EDC)

  • Calculation based on 46 questions in a questionnaire, 5 interviews per day, 22 working days per month, 110 interviews per month, and 5060 questions per month

 Error rate Salary cost per month:

  1. £1000

  2. £915

Equipment cost:

  1. £420

  2. £1036

  • EDC salary cost per correctly entered question is 0.5 times that of PPDC

  • Initial technology costs for the EDC is 2.47 times that of PPDC

  • Cost per question

    • EDC: £0.18

    • PPDC: £0.20

  • EDC saved £101.20 per month

  • EDC cost recoup time 6 months
Flexman et al [34], Bangladesh and Philippines Input data analysis

  • 5398

  • 516

  • 2013 verbal autopsies’ data collection in demographic and surveillance sites

  • Differential cost estimation formula excluding similar cost for EDC and PPDC, for example, data collector cost (see the full paper mentioned on page 4)

  • The cost for data entry for a single enterer is the one-time cost of a computer plus the monthly salary multiplied by the number of months required


 Not linked

  • Printing cost per paper questionnaire US $0.246 (Bangladesh) and US $0.774 (Philippines)

  • Cost of a single electronic tablet US $393.78 (Bangladesh) and US $365.76 (Philippines)

  • Cost of a computer for data entry US $984.49 (Bangladesh) and US $1000.00 (Philippines)

  • Monthly salary of data enterer US $384.62 (Bangladesh) and US $326.00 (Philippines)

  • Average number of samples per person per month 107.8 (Bangladesh) and 145.7 (Philippines)

  • For small-scale surveys, the upfront costs of purchasing electronic tablets was the primary cost, and it had a higher total cost. For large-scale surveys, the costs associated with data entry exceeded the cost of the tablets, so

  • EDC provides a cheaper method of data collection

  • Historical cost data from 2 countries. For projects that require fewer than 150 tablets and collect over 10,000 surveys, the upfront cost of the tablets will likely be substantially less than the cost of data entry
Lietz et al [40], Burkina Faso Comparative input cost analysis

  • 10,000 households for both

  • HDSSd and HMSe 2010 and inflated to 2014 values

  • CDAf actual pretesting expenditure in 2014

  • Fixed costs: personnel (team lead), office, and housekeeping

  • Variable costs: data collectors, supervisors, consumables, transportation, and training (full text in Textbox 1)

  • Fixed and variable costs Financial costs of the standalone (HDSS and HMS) and integrated (CDA) survey approaches were estimated from the perspective of the implementing agency

 Not assessed Cost per household visit

  1. HMS + HDSS (PPDC): US $251,641

  2. CDA (EDC): US $206,937

Cost per (10,000 HDSS)

  1. EDC: US $21

  2. PPDC: US $25

  • Cost analysis estimated that the CDA survey would reduce the annual costs of survey implementation by about US $45,000

  • No link with the data quality outcome

aPPDC: pen and paper data collection.

bEDC: electronic data collection.

cNR: not reported

dHDSS: health and demographic surveillance systems.

eHMS: Household Morbidity Survey.

fCDA: Comprehensive Disease Assessment.