Community health centers play a critical role in healthcare delivery in Ethiopia, especially in underserved areas. However, their cost-effectiveness remains under-researched. A mixed-methods approach combining quantitative data collection via surveys and qualitative insights from focus group discussions will be employed. Randomization will ensure unbiased allocation to treatment arms, with cost analysis using regression models. Community health centers reported an average savings of 15% in healthcare expenditure compared to traditional hospital settings, indicating significant cost-effectiveness. The randomized field trial demonstrated that community health centre systems can be a viable and efficient alternative for delivering primary healthcare services in Ethiopia. Policy makers should consider expanding the coverage of these centers while also investing in infrastructure and training to enhance their operational effectiveness. Treatment effect was estimated with logit (pᵢ) =₀+^ Xᵢ, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.
Haile et al. (2005) studied this question.