Assessing the costs and cost-effectiveness of ICare internet-based interventions (protocol)

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Economics
• Mental Healthcare

Background:

• Mental health issues are prevalent, burdening individuals and society.
• Evidence-based treatments exist, but access is often limited by healthcare resource constraints.
• Internet-based interventions offer potential for prevention, bridging treatment gaps, and enhancing access equity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the study protocol for the economic evaluation of the ICare programme.
• To assess the cost-effectiveness of internet-based interventions for mental health.
• To provide a framework for evaluating digital mental health solutions.

Main Methods:

• Economic evaluation alongside clinical trials within the ICare programme.
• Development of standardized schedules for service and support utilization across seven countries.
• Estimation of unit costs for services and supports to calculate cost per participant.
• Inclusion of productivity loss estimation.
• Joint analysis of costs and outcomes from public sector and societal perspectives using the Production of Welfare approach.

Main Results:

• The study protocol is established for a comprehensive economic evaluation.
• Methods are defined to collect comparable cost data across multiple countries.
• The framework allows for the estimation of cost-effectiveness from multiple perspectives.

Conclusions:

• Internet-based interventions are generally effective, but their cost-effectiveness requires further investigation.
• This economic evaluation will significantly contribute to the evidence base on digital mental health interventions.
• Findings will inform resource allocation and policy for digital mental health services.