Defining the scope of economic evaluation study and selection of comparators.

One of the most important steps in conducting economic evaluation studies is to have a clearly defined research question and scope of study. The present study describes key components used in defining the scope of economic evaluation study and selecting comparators. All relevant recommendations from international economic evaluation guidelines were reviewed and compared. The author recommends that an economic evaluation study should include a full description of the intervention or program of interest and target populations. The comparator should be the most commonly used alternative or current practice. In some circumstances, the most effective alternative can be a comparator The most preferable perspective is societal perspective; however other perspectives are acceptable if justification is provided. Researchers in the field of economic evaluation need to clearly define the scope of study prior to the conduct.