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Risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the need for health education in the female garment workers in Bangladesh have been emphasized in the past. Interventions were more acceptable when considered cost-effective. This preliminary study reported on the cost-effectiveness of a health education program that successfully improved knowledge and awareness of STDs among female garment factory workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Using cross-sectional study design, this preliminary study interviewed 41 workers (19 with exposure to health education and 22 without exposure) from six garment factories with a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire. Bivariate analysis associated the exposure to health education to women's knowledge and awareness of STDs. The chi-square test and 95% confidence interval were used for statistical assessments. Personnel, direct and indirect costs were used for calculating cost effectiveness of the program from the perspective of an agency that may wish to replicate the intervention. The study reported increased awareness of STDs with health education exposure (p< 0.05). Incremental cost-effectiveness analysis showed that an additional cost of Taka 1,572.00 (US $ 35.00 approx.) for health education was needed for making one additional worker aware of STDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Texas mandates a two-test newborn screening program for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH): one test at birth and a second test at approximately one to two weeks after birth. The authors compared the dollar cost of detecting infants with CAH clinically and through the screening program. Methods. The authors estimated the costs of screening newborns in 1994 for CAH, including resources used by the Texas Department of Health and the broader cost to society. Results. Fifteen infants with classic CAH were diagnosed in Texas in 1994 among 325,521 infants born (1:21,701 cumulative incidence). Seven infants were detected clinically and the others were detected through screening, six on the first screen and two on the second screen. The first screen identified all previously undetected infants with severe salt-wasting CAH. The cumulative cost to diagnose the seven infants detected clinically was $79,187. The incremental costs for the screening program were $115,169 per additional infant diagnosed through the first screen and $242,865 per additional infant diagnosed through the second screen. Conclusions. If the goal is early diagnosis of infants with the severe salt-wasting form of CAH, a single screen is effective. If the goal is to detect infants with the simple virilizing form of the disorder who may benefit from early treatment, the second screen is necessary, but it is not as cost-effective as the first screen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]