Conducting economic evaluations of screening and brief intervention for hazardous drinking: Methods and evidence to date for informing policy
Alexander J Cowell, Jeremy W Bray, Michael J Mills, Jesse M Hinde, Alexander J Cowell, Jeremy W Bray, Michael J Mills, Jesse M Hinde
Abstract
Issues: Many policy review articles have concluded that alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) is both cost-effective and cost-beneficial. Yet a recent cost-effectiveness review for the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence suggests that these conclusions may be premature.
Approach: This article offers a brief synopsis of the various types of economic analyses that may be applied to SBI, including cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis, cost-benefit analysis and other types of economic evaluation. A brief overview of methodological issues is provided, and examples from the SBI evaluation literature are provided.
Key findings, implications and conclusions: The current evidence base is insufficient to draw firm conclusions about the cost, cost-effectiveness or cost-benefit of SBI and about the impact of SBI on health-care utilisation.[Cowell AJ, Bray JW, Mills MJ, Hinde JM. Conducting economic evaluations of screening and brief intervention for hazardous drinking: Methods and evidence to date for informing policy.
© 2010 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.
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Source: PubMed