Table 1.

The key types of full economic evaluations (6).

Type	Description
Cost-effectiveness analysis	Cost-effectiveness analysis is a form of comparative economic analysis that evaluates two or more policy alternatives in terms of their relative costs and outcomes, where the outcomes are measured in a single natural unit (e.g. life-years gained, disease case averted etc.).
Cost-utility analysis	Cost-utility analysis (a specific type of cost-effectiveness analysis) is a form of comparative economic analysis that evaluates two or more policy alternatives in terms of their relative costs and outcomes, where the outcomes are expressed by a generic measure of health status that considers both the effect on mortality and morbidity (e.g., quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs)).
Cost-benefit analysis	Cost-benefit analysis is a form of comparative economic analysis that evaluates two or more policy alternatives in terms of their relative costs and outcomes, where both the costs and outcomes are expressed in monetary terms. In principle, it should value the interventions relevant costs and outcomes based on the preferences of those affected (i.e., the individuals' willingness to pay).
Cost-minimisation analysis	Cost-minimisation analysis is a form of comparative economic analysis that compares the costs of two or more policy alternatives which are all assumed to have equivalent health effects.
Cost-consequence analysis	Cost-consequence analysis is a form of comparative economic analysis that evaluates two or more policy alternatives in terms of their relative costs and outcomes, where the outcomes are not summarised in a single measure, and multiple outcomes of interest are reported.