Community-involved economic evaluation and development of a cost-effectiveness calculator for two peer-driven...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Economics
• Community-Based Participatory Research

Background:

• Peer-driven substance use interventions are common, but economic evaluations are lacking.
• Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is crucial for ensuring interventions meet community needs.
• Economic evaluations should incorporate the "nothing about us without us" principle.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of peer recovery support services (PRSS) and bystander naloxone distribution (BND) using a CBPR approach.
• To develop a free, web-based calculator for recovery community centers (RCCs) based on CEA findings.
• To engage RCCs as partners in the economic evaluation process.

Main Methods:

• Engaged 10 staff and administrators from two RCCs as community partners.
• Developed preliminary CEA analytic models and refined them based on partner feedback.
• Built and pilot-tested a web-based CEA calculator for PRSS and BND, incorporating user feedback.

Main Results:

• RCC partners actively co-created the CEA calculator and analytic model.
• Most users found the calculator easy to use and interpret results.
• Users found inputting data challenging but agreed the results would be useful for their organizations.

Conclusions:

• A CBPR approach is feasible for economic evaluations in public health.
• This approach can generate both scholarly research and practical tools benefiting researchers and community organizations.
• The developed calculator provides a valuable resource for RCCs to assess intervention cost-effectiveness.