A cost-effectiveness analysis of a health education programme for elderly persons with age-related macular degeneration: a longitudinal study.

Abstract

To analyse the cost-effectiveness of the activity-based Health Education Programme 'Discovering New Ways' versus a standard Individual Programme. Two-hundred and twenty-nine persons were randomized to either the Health Education Programme or an Individual Programme. The present study is based on 131 persons who participated in the 28-month follow-up. Costs for the low vision clinic were documented prospectively along with external costs. A cost-effectiveness analysis was done using cases with an improved level of perceived security in daily activities as the effectiveness measure. The Health Education Programme led to significantly more cases with an improved level of perceived security (45 vs. 10%, CI 95%: 21-49, p value < 0.001) and the total social cost per treatment was lower (28,004 vs. 36,341 SEK). Taken separately the low vision clinic costs were slightly higher due to a higher prescription of assistive devices, but external costs were lower for the Health Education Programme compared to the Individual Programme, though neither of these differences was statistically significant. The results suggest that replacing the standard Individual Programme with the Health Education Programme 'Discovering New Ways' is cost-effective as more persons experience increased security to a lesser total cost.