About the PEDE Project

In recent years, standard methods for the conduct of economic evaluations have evolved to improve allocation decisions. However, child health differs from adult health in important ways. As a result, there are aspects to the measurement of costs and consequences that are unique to the paediatric population.

The Paediatric Economic Database Evaluation (PEDE) Project was conceived as part of a research program in paediatric health economic methods. In Phase 1, a comprehensive database of over 750 paediatric economic evaluations published over a 20-year period was created. Phase 2 examined key trends in publication. With this database available, an important objective was to evaluate the quality of published paediatric economic evaluations to reveal methodological limitations of existing approaches. In Phase 3, the Paediatric Quality Appraisal Questionnaire (PQAQ), a 57-item paediatric-specific quality appraisal instrument, was developed through a systematic process of item selection, validity and reliability assessment and pre-testing. The PQAQ was used to critically appraise the quality of the paediatric health economic literature in Phase 4. Full details of the PEDE Project, the results of each phase of the program and the PQAQ are included in a Technical Report available from the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH).