Special themed section in Value in Health Regional Issues rapid advances alongside persistent gaps—from high-cost innovations to unmet basic needs
Lawrenceville, NJ, USA—April 1, 2026—ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research announced today the publication of a special themed section of research papers in Value in Health Regional Issues that presents a comprehensive body of evidence aimed at advancing value-based healthcare across the Arabian Gulf and the wider Middle East and North Africa region. Guest editors for the themed section are Paul Revill, Sara Al-Dallal, and Anderson Stanciole. The series was published in the March 2026 issue of Value in Health Regional Issues.
The Gulf Cooperation Council nations—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—have experienced rapid economic growth in recent decades, placing them among the highest income nations globally. Yet the Gulf is embedded within a broader MENA region where wealth coexists with areas of fragility, conflict, and significant unmet health needs.
"When we launched the call for papers on value-based healthcare in the Arabian Gulf and wider region," note the Guest Editors in their opening commentary, “our aim was to understand how the region’s dynamic health financing and reform agendas might be catalyzing positive change and expanding healthcare provision both within and across countries, and what role the region may be playing in shaping global debates on value-based healthcare. The papers in this themed section describe studies that collectively strengthen the regional evidence base and guide how health economics can inform policies in such complex and rapidly evolving health systems.”
The themed section includes 9 research papers exploring 3 key topics:
Topic 1: Saudi Arabia - A Health System in Transition
Despite its economic power, Saudi Arabia faces stubborn reform barriers, a heavy economic burden from schizophrenia, and a healthcare system still learning how to balance the cost savings of generic medicines against the financial pressures of high-cost innovations like targeted cancer therapies.
- "Exploring the Dual Dimensions: Economic Burden and Social Support Among Patients With Schizophrenia in Saudi Arabia," by E Shdaifat, A Alshowkan, and O Alonazi
- "Navigating the Transition to Value-Based Healthcare in Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Study of Policy-Maker Perspectives," by BA Hariri, FM Albagmi, and AA Aljaffary
- "The Association Between Patient-Reported Experience Measures and Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Among Patients With Diabetes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," by N Alsubahi, M Pavlova, AA Alzahrani, A Ahmad, and W Groot
- "Current Generics Utilization and Associated Savings in Saudi Arabia: Insights From a Private Claims Database," by S AlGhamdi, IA Aljuffali, AH Aljedai, et al
- "Budget Impact Analysis of Fam-Trastuzumab-Deruxtecan as a Second Line in Patients With HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer in Oman," by R Aljaber, RF Al Froukh, and A Al Hashar
Topic 2: An Evolving Picture of Mortality and Health Needs
Across the Middle East and North Africa region, cancer and cardiovascular disease are claiming lives along diverging national trajectories, while in Jordan, declining maternal mortality rates mask a persistent and substantial economic toll—particularly among women in their prime working and caregiving years.
- "Analysis of Mortality Trajectory Patterns in the Middle East and North Africa: Which Diseases Are the Deadliest?" by S Khedhiri
- "The Economic Burden of Maternal Death in Jordan From 2018 to 2021: Social and Geographic Variations," by W Zeng, T Gao, E Jarawan, et al
Topic 3: Addressing Determinants of Health
The region's health challenges extend well beyond hospital walls: in Yemen, nearly half of children under 5 are stunted, and in Saudi Arabia, researchers are testing whether smarter taxation of food and beverages can bend the curve on diet-driven noncommunicable disease.
- "Scaling-Up Nutrition: A Benefit-Cost and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Increasing Coverage of Nutrition Interventions in the Republic of Yemen," by LF Qureshy, M Kak, K Friedman, KD Garber, P Kanth, and S Varkey
- "A Randomized Online Grocery Store Trial to Test a Salient Tiered Food and Beverage Tax in Saudi Arabia," by S Shin, AM Alqunaibet, R Alsukait, et al
“Collectively, these studies point to several priorities that can enhance value-based healthcare in the Gulf and wider MENA region,” according to the editors. “First, continued investment in health economics research and research infrastructure is essential to ensure returns to health spending are high. Second, research must be embedded within stronger institutional frameworks, including the use of health technology assessment, for evidence to sustainably influence health policy. Third, greater integration is needed to better understand needs and to enable suitable prioritization. Fourth, the potential for shared learning across the region and between the region and the wider world is considerable—shared learning and the collegiate pursuit of best practice benefits all.”
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ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR), is an international, multistakeholder, nonprofit dedicated to advancing HEOR excellence to improve decision making for health globally. The Society is the leading source for scientific conferences, peer-reviewed and MEDLINE®-indexed publications, good practices guidance, education, collaboration, and tools/resources in the field.
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ABOUT VALUE IN HEALTH REGIONAL ISSUES
Value in Health Regional Issues (ISSN 2212-1099) is ISPOR's journal for regional advancements in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR). Value in Health Regional Issues is a peer-reviewed, MEDLINE indexed journal that publishes applied research using HEOR methods to examine health systems, policies, and patient populations in all geographic regions. The journal's current impact factor score is 1.5 and its 5-year impact factor score is 1.7. Value in Health Regional Issues is a bimonthly publication that circulates to more than 55,000 readers around the world.
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