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Published on: April 19, 2019
Cost-utility of a cardiovascular prevention program in highly educated adults: intermediate results of a randomized
Nele Jacobs1, Silvia Evers, Andre Ament
1Faculty of Business Economics, Patient Safety, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium. nele.jacobs@uhasselt.be
Objectives:
Little is known about the costs and the effects of cardiovascular prevention programs targeted at medical and behavioral risk factors. The aim was to evaluate the cost-utility of a cardiovascular prevention program in a general sample of highly educated adults after 1 year of intervention.
Methods:
The participants were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 208) and usual care conditions (n = 106). The intervention consisted of medical interventions and optional behavior-change interventions (e.g., a tailored Web site). Cost data were registered from a healthcare perspective, and questionnaires were used to determine effectiveness (e.g., quality-adjusted life-years [QALYs]). A cost-utility analysis and sensitivity analyses using bootstrapping were performed on the intermediate results.
Results:
When adjusting for baseline utility differences, the incremental cost was 433 euros and the incremental effectiveness was 0.016 QALYs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was 26,910 euros per QALY.
Conclusions:
The intervention was cost-effective compared with usual care in this sample of highly educated adults after 1 year of intervention. Increased participation would make this intervention highly cost-effective.
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